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BERLIN, March 4 (Reuters) - Lufthansa said it willstart long-haul low-cost flights to tourist destinations inplaces such as Cuba and Thailand under the Eurowings banner fromOct. 25, as it tries to find new ways to grow.
Lufthansa has lost market share in European short-haultravel to budget carriers such as Ryanair and easyJet and wants to attract more leisure travellers onlong-haul routes.
"Markets have changed significantly in the last few years,we're seeing much more competitive pressure," Karl UlrichGarnadt, head of the group's main passenger airline divisionsaid on Wednesday at the ITB travel fair in Berlin.
"Eurowings is one of the ways Lufthansa wants to achievegrowth in the future," he said of the small regional carrier.
Lufthansa's current budget brand, Germanwings, will bebrought under the Eurowings banner from October.
Costs at Eurowings are around 40 percent below that of themain Lufthansa brand, and it should be possible to make a profitwithin 12 to 24 months, Garnadt said. Eurowings will have sevenA330s operating on long-haul routes by 2017 and this will beexpanded if successful, Garnadt said.
Eurowings will fly only to tourist destinations such asVaradero in Cuba, Bangkok and Phuket to begin with, but Garnadtsaid the group also saw opportunities for it to operate flightson its regular network in the future.
One-way tickets to Dubai start from 99.99 euros ($111) for alimited time, with the starting price increasing to around 149euros after that.
The new Eurowings long-haul flights will not offer abusiness class, but a three-tier ticket pricing system, with themost expensive including lounge access and miles and seatsequivalent to those of the Lufthansa Premium Economy. Thecheapest tickets include only hand luggage, a 30 inch seatpitch, while meals can be booked for extra.
The Eurowings long-haul flights will be operated bySunExpress Germany, a joint venture between Lufthansa andTurkish Airlines. (Reporting by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Thomas Atkins andElaine Hardcastle)
