History
Descended from the Luxembourg Airlines Company, founded in 1948, Luxair was set up in 1961 to meet the growing demand for air links between Luxembourg and other European cities.
In 1962, Luxair began flights by launching a Luxembourg–Paris route with a Fokker F27 Friendship. From 1964 to 1969, Luxair operated three Lockheed L-1649A Starliner aircraft in a co-operative agreement with Trek Airways, from Luxembourg to Johannesburg. The Starliners were painted in Luxair livery along with Luxair registrations. By 1967, Luxair's fleet consisted of three Fokker Friendships and one Vickers Viscount. The latter was written off in a non-fatal accident in 1969 and replaced the following year by the airline's first jet airliner, a Caravelle built by Sud Aviation in Toulouse. The first Boeing aircraft, a Boeing 737–200, joined the fleet in 1977. Over the years, Luxair gradually introduced further jet aircraft Boeing 747SP (for routes to South Africa), Boeing 737–400 and Boeing 737–500 as well as Fokker 50 turboprops and Embraer jets. In an effort to move to an all-jet fleet, the last Fokker 50 aircraft was withdrawn from service in April 2005.
In March 2003, Luxair ordered two new Boeing 737–700 to replace its older Boeing aircraft. The first of the new aircraft was delivered on 18 February 2004. A third aircraft was ordered in August 2003 and delivered in January 2005.
In the last few years, the rising cost of oil made operating regional jets increasingly difficult. To lessen its exposure, Luxair therefore decided to reintroduce turboprop aircraft. In June 2006, it signed a firm order with Bombardier for three Dash 8-Q400, plus three options. The last of these aircraft was delivered in September 2007. In the meantime, 2 additional Q400s have been ordered. The fifth aircraft is expected to join the fleet by 2010.
In October 2008, Luxair decided to place an order for its first Boeing 737–800. This aircraft replaced the last Boeing 737–500 in Luxair's fleet and facilitated Luxair's offer on its holiday destinations.
The airline is owned by the State of Luxembourg (26.85%), Banque et Caisse d'Épargne de l'État (21.81%), Banque Internationale à Luxembourg (13.14%), Deutsche Lufthansa (13.00%), Panalpina World Transport (12.09%) as well as Luxair Group and others (13.11%). It had 2,210 employees (at March 2007) The State of Luxembourg owns a total of 49.96% of the company through various state-owned corporations and through its recent acquisition of 10% of Banque Internationale à Luxembourg.
In 2009, the airline was awarded as the most punctual scheduled operator at London City Airport during 2008 by Flight on Time, based on CAA statistics.
In 2011 Luxair carried 1,302,771 passengers.
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