Summary
As part of the Lufthansa Group, Eurowings has become one of Europe’s most versatile airlines — serving everything from low-cost leisure routes to essential domestic connections and even long-haul holiday flights in recent years.
For aviation enthusiasts, Eurowings offers a mix of modern aircraft, colourful liveries, and interesting route patterns that span Europe’s busiest airspace. Its fleet reflects its dual role as both a low-cost leisure carrier and a key connector within the Lufthansa family.
Here’s a closer look at Eurowings’ fleet, operations, and highlights — and why it’s an airline worth keeping an eye on from the terminal fence.
The Airline at a Glance
Airliners at Palma. Photo (c) Aero Icarus
Eurowings traces its origins back to 1993, when it was founded as a regional airline in Germany. Over the following decades, it evolved dramatically — first into a feeder airline for Lufthansa, and later into the group’s answer to the low-cost boom across Europe.
It previously operated a range of aircraft types, including the ATR 42/72, Bombardier CRJ and BAe 146.
Eurowings BAe 146. Photo (c) Matt Taylor
Today, Eurowings operates hundreds of daily flights across the continent, connecting German bases to leisure and business destinations from Spain and Greece to Scandinavia and the UK.
Its main bases include:
- Düsseldorf (DUS) – the airline’s largest hub
- Cologne/Bonn (CGN)
- Hamburg (HAM)
- Stuttgart (STR)
- Berlin (BER)
- Palma de Mallorca (PMI) – a major seasonal base for Mediterranean holiday traffic
The airline has also operated long-haul flights under Eurowings Discover (now rebranded as Discover Airlines), flying to destinations such as the Caribbean, North America, and Africa.
Fleet Overview (2025)
An older Eurowings A320ceo.
Eurowings operates a 100% Airbus narrowbody fleet, optimized for flexibility and efficiency across its short- and medium-haul network.
Airbus A320 Family
- Airbus A320-200 – The backbone of the fleet, with 28 aircraft in service. These jets handle most of Eurowings’ European network, including domestic German routes and popular leisure destinations such as Palma, Malaga, and Athens.
- Airbus A320neo – The new-generation version is now joining the fleet, offering improved fuel efficiency and range. The neo fleet is growing steadily, presently standing at 7 examples, and will replace older A320s over time.
- Airbus A321 and A321neo – Eurowings also operates 6 Airbus A321-200, and 5 A321neo variants, with greater capacity.
- Airbus A319-100 – A smaller but still important part of the fleet, ideal for routes with lower demand or shorter sectors, such as Hamburg–Prague or Stuttgart–Copenhagen. These are actively being retired and replaced, however.
Past Widebody Operations
Venkat Mangudi, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
While Eurowings’ current focus is short-haul flying, it’s worth noting that the airline previously operated Airbus A330-200s and A330-300s for long-haul flights under the Eurowings and Eurowings Discover brands. These aircraft served destinations such as Miami, Punta Cana, Windhoek, and Las Vegas before being transferred to Discover Airlines (Lufthansa’s dedicated long-haul leisure subsidiary).
Cabin and Operations
Eurowings positions itself as a low-cost airline with full-service flexibility. Passengers can choose between three fare options — BASIC, SMART, and BIZclass — depending on whether they want just the seat, extra services, or full business-class amenities on short-haul routes.
Cabins are configured in a 3-3 all-economy layout, with BIZclass seats offering the middle seat blocked for extra comfort. Many of Eurowings’ A320s feature modern Recaro slimline seats, mood lighting, and USB charging ports.
Routes and Network Highlights
Eurowings operates one of the most diverse networks in Europe — and for spotters, that means a wide range of destinations and aircraft movements through its hubs.
Some of the airline’s most notable routes include:
- Düsseldorf – Palma de Mallorca (PMI): One of the busiest leisure routes in Europe.
- Cologne – Berlin (BER): A key domestic trunk route.
- Hamburg – Salzburg (SZG): Popular during ski season.
- Stuttgart – Pristina (PRN): A niche but frequent route serving visiting friends and family markets.
- Düsseldorf – Stockholm / Oslo / Copenhagen: Core business routes connecting Northern Europe.
In the summer, Eurowings aircraft are a common sight across Mediterranean airports such as Heraklion, Larnaca, Alicante, Rhodes, and Corfu, as well as on island routes in the Canaries and Balearics.
Special Liveries and Aviation Highlights
Photo (c) Matt Varley
Eurowings has featured several colourful and creative aircraft liveries over the years — always a hit among spotters. Many of its aircraft feature stickers, titles or special liveries. Some highlights include:
- “Europa Park” A320 (D-ABDQ): A bold special livery promoting Germany’s famous theme park, with cartoon mascots across the fuselage.
- “Love Hurts” / “Boomerang Club” schemes: Promotional liveries from the airline’s loyalty programme era.
- “Team Lufthansa” heritage jet: Some A319s still feature remnants of older Lufthansa-era branding, making for an interesting contrast with the modern Eurowings colours.
- Eurowings Holidays branding: Certain aircraft sport the “Eurowings Holidays” logo to promote the airline’s vacation package brand.
- Borussia Dortmund jet: Promoting the German football team, on Airbus A320 D-AEWM.
For spotters, these special schemes are frequent visitors to airports across Europe — particularly Palma de Mallorca (PMI), where multiple Eurowings aircraft overnight.
Looking Ahead
Eurowings’ future Boeing 737 MAX fleet.
Eurowings is continuing its fleet renewal. While older A319s and A320s are gradually being phased out, the airline is expecting deliveries of 40 brand new Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft in their place. The airline has also increased its focus on sustainability, aiming to reduce emissions and noise through next-generation aircraft and operational improvements.
While it no longer operates long-haul flights itself, Eurowings’ role within the Lufthansa Group remains vital — feeding Discover Airlines, Swiss, and Austrian networks and serving as a flexible, efficient short-haul operator for millions of leisure travelers each year.
