Lufthansa Group has over 100 more aircraft than second ranked IAG and number three Air France-KLM, thanks to narrowbody and regional aircraft, while all three have similar widebody numbers.
Data from the CAPA Fleet Database illustrate IAG’s comparative focus on long haul, Lufthansa Group’s on short/medium haul and a comparatively balanced approach by Air France-KLM.
Lufthansa’s fleet is also the largest among the individual airlines of Europe’s big three legacy groups, outnumbering Air France and IAG’s British Airways. KLM is the largest ‘number two’ brand, beating Lufthansa’s SWISS and IAG’s Iberia.
However, Air France-KLM only has two major legacy brands whereas IAG also has Aer Lingus, and the Lufthansa Group also has both Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines. The newly established LEVEL (IAG) and Joon (Air France-KLM) are small compared with total group size.
With Vueling, IAG has the largest LCC fleet among the three groups, while Air France-KLM’s Transavia is the smallest. If Lufthansa integrates Brussels Airlines into its low cost Eurowings group, this would become the largest LCC brand.
Aircraft order numbers for the three groups illustrate their relative fortunes and prospects. IAG, the most profitable, has the most orders, while underperforming Air France-KLM the fewest.
For Air France-KLM, playing catch-up is not easy.
