Paperjam: Last year was a great one for Luxair, with a new record of 2.5m passengers. What’s next?

: In 2024 and 2025, Luxair will open new destinations… [and] in 2025 the first Embraer E195-E2 aircraft will arrive [seating capacity: 130 passengers; editor’s note]. In 2026, we will have four Embraers and two Boeings joining our fleet.

We’re also going to continue to invest in quality, because we’re convinced that, as a full-service airline, this is the right approach for the future. The aim is for flying to go beyond being a mere convenience: consumers need to be ecologically responsible and also socially responsible. That’s why, with our social model in particular, we need informed consumers who are investing in Luxair’s social model.

Is the aim to have more and more passengers?

I think we will continue to grow in terms of passenger numbers. We will have two more Boeing aircraft [in use] in 2024-2025 compared to 2023… which will enable us to grow. We have also finalised our fleet renewal: we have a firm order for four E195-E2s and five options; and we’ve ordered eight Boeing aircraft.

To prepare for the arrival of these new aircraft, we are very pleased to be completing our new hangar this year--in the first half of the year, I hope--in collaboration with Lux-Airport. We’ve been waiting 72 years for it!

All this will enable us, in the long term, to expand our network and increase our passenger numbers. However, the aim is not to grow without limits--but in a reasonable way, to be able to serve Luxembourg and the Greater Region. Luxair is truly the airline of the Greater Region, and we are transporting more and more people from this area. Numbers from Germany in particular are progressing.

In terms of bookings, have passengers returned to their pre-pandemic habits?

We’re seeing a return to early bookings: people are booking earlier to secure the best prices. I can already tell you that, in terms of bookings--especially from LuxairTours--we are a little ahead of what we had in 2023 at this moment. And during the Christmas and New Year season, we had 50% more passengers than in 2019, which is huge.

Ultimately, leisure travelling is much more pronounced, whereas business travel has not yet fully returned. We are down by between 10% and 20% on that front.

This article in Paperjam. It has been translated and edited for Delano.