Lufthansa (LH, Frankfurt International (FRA)) has reportedly cancelled its wet-lease agreement with regional partner Augsburg Airways (IQ, Munich Franz Josef Strauss International (MUC)) from the end of the next IATA summer timetable period on October 26, 2013. Augsburg Airways currently operates ten Dash 8-400s and five EMB-195s on behalf of Lufthansa under the Lufthansa Regional brand. It also operates two EMB-190s, one on behalf of Lufthansa subsidiary Air Dolomiti (EN, Verona Villafranca (VRN)) and the other on charter services. Lufthansa had already terminated the wet-lease agreement with Contact Air (C3, Stuttgart Echterdingen (STR)) earlier this year. It will retain fully owned regional subsidiaries Air Dolomiti (EN, Verona Villafranca (VRN)) and Lufthansa CityLine (CL, Cologne/Bonn Konrad Adenauer (CGN)) as regional feeders while Eurowings (EW, Dusseldorf International (DUS)) will operate on behalf of germanwings (4U, Cologne/Bonn Konrad Adenauer (CGN)) on routes not touching the Frankfurt International (FRA) and Munich Franz Josef Strauss International (MUC) hubs.

OLT Express Germany (OL, Bremen Neuenland (BRE)) has completed the integration of Contact Air (C3, Stuttgart Echterdingen (STR)) on September 1 already and has now returned the air operator certificate of Contact Air. It currently operates 10 Fokker 100s, four Saab 2000s and a single Saab 340A with two Fokker 100s operating on a wet-lease agreement with Swiss (LX, Zurich Kloten (ZRH)).

OLT Express Germany (OL, Bremen Neuenland (BRE)) has announced officially announced plans for the first bases for its new low-cost carrier style operation with the Contact Air (C3, Stuttgart Echterdingen (STR)) Fokker 100s. It will acquire Contact in early September and take over the carrier’s wet-lease agreement with Swiss (LX, Zurich Kloten (ZRH)) for two Fokker 100s. The other six Contact Air Fokker 100s will be used for new scheduled routes. From Münster/Osnabrück International (FMO) it will serve Berlin Schönefeld (SXF) and Munich Franz Josef Strauss International (MUC) twice daily, Stuttgart Echterdingen (STR) and Vienna International (VIE) daily, Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) four times and Milan Malpensa (MXP) three times weekly. From Saarbrücken Ensheim (SCN) OLT will operate to Munich twice daily, to Hamburg Fuhlsbüttel (HAM) daily and also offer international flights to Vienna International (VIE) four times and London Southend (SEN) three times weekly. Flights from Saarbrücken will be launched on October 1 while its operation at Münster/Osnabrück is scheduled to start on October 15. In addition based on a full schedule unintentionally made public last week, it also plans to introduce new routes from Dresden (DRS) (from where it already serves Hamburg Fuhlsbüttel and Zurich Kloten (ZRH)) to Budapest Ferenc Liszt International (BUD), London Southend and Vienna as well as from Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden (FKB) to Hamburg and Vienna.

OLT Express Germany (OL, Bremen Neuenland (BRE)) has been sold by its Polish investor Amber Gold to Dutch investment company Panta Holdings with immediate effect. Panta also controls Denim Air ACMI (J7, Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS)) as well as aircraft manufacturer Rekkof Aircraft (Woensdrecht (WOE)). According to statements made by OLT and its new owner, plans to take over Fokker 100 operator Contact Air (C3, Stuttgart Echterdingen (STR)) and to expand regional operations in Germany are now expected to go ahead as planned.

OLT Express Germany (OL, Bremen Neuenland (BRE)) plans to base one of the Fokker 100s added to its fleet as a result of the acquisition of regional carrier Contact Air (C3, Stuttgart Echterdingen (STR)) to set-up a base at Saarbrücken Ensheim (SCN) where Contact Air already has a maintenance facility. It reportedly plans to serve Munich Franz Josef Strauss International (MUC) from the airport with a Fokker 100 from the end of October according to Saarländischer Rundfunk.