Major Airlines of Western Europe
Lufthansa, Air France, Air Berlin, SAS, and Alitalia are some of the major airlines from Western Europe. This article describes key information about these airlines to help you understand key similarities and differences among their services.
Lufthansa
Headquartered in Cologne, Germany, Lufthansa (LH) is the largest airline in Europe in terms of fleet size and number of passengers carried. The parent company of Lufthansa owns a great number of other airlines which are its subsidiaries. Lufthansa and all its subsidiaries operate regular flights in more than 215 destinations in Asia, Africa, Europe, North America and South America. LH is one of the founding members of Star Alliance and flag carrier of Germany.
LH has three hubs at Dusseldorf, Frankfurt International, and Munich airports. The current fleet size of LH is 281 planes with an average age of 11.3 years. 78.83 percent of LH flights maintain exact schedule which is significantly better than average for all international airlines (75.64%).
LH allows its economy class passengers to carry one standard item free of charge but charges $200 for the second checked bag. The maximum allowed dimensions and weight of the 1st check bag are 46 inches and 17 pounds respectively. The other items economy fare passengers can carry free of charge include Food, Mobility or Assistive Device and Stroller. Economy fare passengers enjoy 2 feet and 7 inches of legroom and 1 foot 6 inches wide seats.
Air France
Air France (AF) is the flag carrier of France. AF operates regular flights in more than 204 destinations in Asia, Africa, Europe, North America and South America. It is one of the founding members of SkyTeam Alliance. Air France-KLM is the parent company of AF. The global hub of AF is located at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. It has a number of secondary hubs which include Blagnac, Lyon/Bron, Orly, Nice/Cote D’Azur, and Marseille/Marignane airports.
The current fleet size of AF is 345 planes with an average age of 10.4 years. 77.14 percent of AF flights maintain exact schedule which is slightly better than average for all international airlines (75.64%).
AF allows its economy class passengers to carry the first checked bag free of charge but charges $80 and $228 respectively for the 2nd and 3rd checked bags. The baggage prices of AF are approximately 115.5 percent more than the average for all international airlines. Economy class passengers can carry only Outerwear, Diaper Bag, and Stroller free of charge.
Seats for economy fare passengers in AF flights are 1 foot 6 inches wide which is 8.2 percent wider than average for all international airlines. Economy fare passengers enjoy 2 feet 7 inches of legroom which is 0.79 inches more than average for all international airlines.
Air Berlin
Air Berlin (AB) is the 2nd largest airline in Germany after Lufthansa and 8th largest in entire Europe in terms of number of passengers carried every year. AB operates regular flights in more than 171 destinations in Africa, Australia, Asia, Europe, North America and South America. AB is a member of Oneworld Alliance. It has two hubs located at Dusseldorf and Tegel airports.
The current fleet size of AB is 149 planes with an average age of 6.6 years. 81.79 percent of AB flights maintain their exact schedule which is significantly higher than the average for all international flights.
Economy class passengers of AB travelling domestically within Germany can expect to carry 2 free standard items and 2 free personal items. Economy class passengers in all international AB flights can carry 1st checked bag completely free of charge. But AB charges $168 each for 2nd and 3rd checked bags. Passengers are allowed to carry Stroller and Mobility or Assistive Device free of charge as well.
Seats for economy fare passengers on AB flights are 1 foot 6 inches wide which is slightly wider than average for all international flights. Economy fare passengers enjoy 2 feet 6 inches of legroom which is 1.21 inches less than the average for all international flights. Topbonus is AB’s miles based frequent flyer program.
SAS
Based in Sweden, Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) is the largest airline in Scandinavia and flag carrier of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. It operates regular flights in more than 280 destinations in Asia, Europe and North America. SAS is a member of StarAlliance. The airline has four hubs at Arlanda, Helsinki, Gardermoen and Copenhagen airports.
The current fleet size of SAS is 132 planes with an average age of 11.4 years. 80.86 percent of SAS flights maintain an exact schedule which is significantly higher than the average for all international airlines (75.64 percent).
SAS allows its economy fare passengers to carry first checked bag free of charge but charges $65 each for the second and third checked bags. The highest allowed dimensions and weight for the standard item is 47 inches and 18 pounds respectively. Passengers are allowed to carry Food, Mobility or Assistive Device, Approved Child Restraint Device and Stroller free of charge.
Alitalia
Headquartered in Fiumicino, Rome, Italy, Alitalia (AZ) is the national airline and flag carrier of Italy. AZ operates regular flights in more than 103 destinations in Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America. AZ is a member of SkyTeam Alliance. Its only hub is located at Leonardo Da Vinci airport in Rome.
The current fleet size of AZ is 120 planes with an average age of 8 years. 75.4 percent of AZ flights maintain an exact schedule which is almost the same as the average for all international airlines (75.64%).
AZ allows its economy fare passengers to carry 1st checked bag free of charge but charges $75 and $200 respectively for 2nd and 3rd checked bags. The baggage prices of AZ are 92.4 percent higher than the average for all international airlines. Economy fare passengers enjoy 2 feet 7 inches of legroom in AZ flights. The seats for economy class passengers are 1 foot 6 inches wide which is about 4 percent wider than average international airlines.
Courtesy of Tidy Space Products
