Lufthansa subsidiaries Austrian Airlines and Germanwings have started offering codeshare flights as part of closer collaboration efforts.
Germanwings flights between Germany and Austria will carry the Austrian OS flight number. The codesharing is part of a strategy started in December to further connect services to create added benefits to passengers of both airlines.
The two airlines plan five daily return flights from Vienna to Cologne instead of the three offered previously as well as seven daily connections to Stuttgart.
Non-stop Germanwings flights with OS flight numbers are now also offered from Salzburg and Klagenfurt to Cologne.
Austrian Airlines passengers will be able to easily book Germanwings flights online via the website.
Thomas Winkelmann, Germanwings spokesman, said: “This closer co-operation with Austrian Airlines will make Germanwings even more attractive to clients.
“The changeover possibilities at Vienna airport in particular multiply the travel possibilities for our passengers.”
Austrian Airlines run flights to around 130 destinations worldwide from its Vienna hub. Passengers from Vienna will be able to connect to Germanwings flights to Cologne/Bonn, Stuttgart and Hannover.
Karsten Benz, chief commercial officer at the Austrian carrier, said: “This co-operation means that the clients of both airlines will benefit. We can now, for example, offer our clients more connections from Vienna to Cologne and Stuttgart and even a new connection to Hannover under an OS flight number.”