Lufthansa Group is expanding its business by entering the package travel market. The airline conglomerate has established Eurowings Holidays GmbH, a new tour operator dedicated to providing package deals that combine flights with hotel stays, transfers, and car rentals. The venture is set to officially launch on April 1.
Initially, the new digital unit will cater to Eurowings, Lufthansa’s direct-flight subsidiary, which serves over 20 million customers annually. The business model follows the example of EasyJet in the UK, where similar package deals have already gained significant popularity. While Eurowings Holidays is the first step, Lufthansa is also considering extending similar bundled travel services to other airlines within the group. Currently, Lufthansa redirects such inquiries to Eurowings Holidays.
To build this new enterprise, Lufthansa has acquired personnel and tourism-related IT systems from Binoli GmbH, a company owned by tourism entrepreneur Karlheinz Kögel in Baden-Baden. The acquisition, for an undisclosed amount, involves approximately 100 employees. Binoli’s parent company, HLX Group, previously managed Eurowings’ bundled travel offerings and serviced other clients as well. In 2023 alone, around 250,000 Eurowings passengers purchased package holidays through this model.
Kögel, known for founding L’tur and introducing last-minute travel bookings to the German market, played a key role in shaping the industry. Now, Eurowings CEO Jens Bischof is setting ambitious growth targets, expecting double-digit expansion rates. He envisions the new tour operator soon ranking among Germany’s top ten travel companies.
