Lufthansa City Airlines is still expanding its fleet despite the arbitration deal between Lufthansa and the Vereinigung Cockpit pilot union, with further aircraft due to arrive in the coming weeks. The German short-haul subsidiary can continue taking new factory-delivered aircraft and aircraft transferred from Lufthansa’s mainline operation as the group reshapes its feeder network around the City Airlines platform.
Internal guidance relayed to employees indicates that the arbitration-related limits apply only to a limited number of aircraft within Lufthansa itself, not to City Airlines. That leaves the subsidiary free to keep building capacity for the group’s hub-and-feed structure in Germany, where Lufthansa is moving more short-haul flying into lower-cost operations.
Current fleet development points to a steady ramp-up. Lufthansa City Airlines already operates 15 Airbus A320neo and four A319 aircraft, with more A320neos expected before year-end. A first Airbus A220-300 is also anticipated around November or December 2026, extending the carrier’s role in replacing capacity within Lufthansa Group’s German domestic and European network.