Frankfurt and Munich Shift Focus as Lufthansa Phases Out Regional Jets by End of 2025

Published on July 3, 2025

Munich, Milan, and Frankfurt will see major changes in air connections with the revelation of a conclusive exit from the regional jet business by the year 2025 by the Lufthansa Group. The national airline of Germany has revealed the plans to discontinue its Bombardier CRJ900 fleet operated by its short-haul arm Lufthansa CityLine, a major change in its short-haul strategy.

This transition marks the end of the decades-long reliance by Lufthansa on small-capacity fleets to penetrate lower-demand regional markets. Instead, the airline is transitioning to larger-capacity, fuel-efficient wide-body aircraft, optimizing operations, and rationalizing its network toward hub-based hub-to-hub connectivity and environmental responsibility.

Phase-Out of the CRJ900 Fleet

The Bombardier CRJ900, a 90-seat regional jet widely used for intra-European routes, has long been a workhorse for Lufthansa’s CityLine services, connecting secondary cities such as Nuremberg, Bologna, and Lyon to main hubs like Frankfurt and Munich. The retirement of these aircraft, expected to conclude by Q4 2025, aligns with the group’s environmental targets and cost-efficiency programs.

According to data from the German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV) and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), newer, larger aircraft typically result in lower emissions per seat kilometer, a metric increasingly prioritized in EU environmental regulation.

A Strategic Pivot in Line With Industry Trends

Lufthansa’s decision follows its earlier phasing out of the “Lufthansa Regional” brand, once a symbol of its dense European connectivity. The airline has shifted toward streamlined operations, placing an emphasis on high-demand routes operated from its Frankfurt and Munich hubs, using Airbus A320neo family aircraft and similar models that deliver improved fuel efficiency and lower cost-per-seat.

This is part of a broader trend among legacy European carriers, such as Air France-KLM and IAG, who are reducing complexity in their regional operations and focusing on feeder traffic to support long-haul international service.

“Retiring the CRJ900s allows us to modernize our fleet while also supporting our carbon reduction targets and unit cost efficiencies,” a Lufthansa spokesperson said in a statement coordinated with the German Environment Agency (UBA).

Impact on Secondary Markets and Subsidiaries

While Lufthansa’s withdrawal from the regional jet segment will affect service to certain secondary markets, not all routes will disappear. Some will be transferred to other Lufthansa Group subsidiaries, including:

• Eurowings: Targeting leisure and point-to-point traffic within Europe.
• Air Dolomiti: Serving select Italian cities with strong business travel demand.

Routes from cities like Graz, Trieste, Lugano, and Leipzig may be reassigned based on load factor performance and network relevance. However, low-yield, thin routes with limited demand are likely to be suspended permanently, reflecting Lufthansa’s new “hub-centric” strategy.

Environmental and Economic Drivers Behind the Move

The environmental rationale is central to Lufthansa’s decision. Under Germany’s National Aviation Climate Strategy and the EU’s “Fit for 55” plan, airlines are expected to improve fleet efficiency and reduce per-passenger emissions.

CRJ900s, while versatile, are no longer competitive with new-generation narrowbodies that offer greater seating, better fuel burn, and lower emissions. Lufthansa has already begun taking deliveries of Airbus A320neo and A321XLR aircraft, aligning with its net-zero commitment by 2050, a goal consistent with the European Commission’s Green Deal for aviation.

What’s Next for Lufthansa CityLine?

With its core aircraft being phased out, Lufthansa CityLine is expected to either:

• Transition to larger aircraft within the group’s fleet
• Be absorbed or restructured into other Lufthansa divisions
• Focus on wet-lease or charter operations for group subsidiaries

The German Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) will monitor the route and slot transitions, particularly where state-subsidized or PSO (Public Service Obligation) routes may be impacted.

Conclusion: The End of an Era, the Start of a New Model
With the retirement of its CRJ900 fleet, Lufthansa closes a chapter in traditional European regional operations while opening a new one based on efficiency, scale, and sustainability. The transition underlines the need for legacy carriers to keep adapting against the trends of mounting environmental pressures, changing passenger requirements, and post-pandemic trends in the market.

Despite the loss of direct access to the Lufthansa flights for the smaller city passengers, the eventual goal is an improved core network with fewer emissions and less complexity in order to remain competitive in a dynamic industry.

(Source: Lufthansa and Germany Tourism .)