Private company

German Wings

German airline

German Wings was a scheduled German airline that operated for one year between 1989 and 1990. The company slogan was German: Die Business-Line, The Business Line.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1983Founded1
  • HeadquartersHaar1
McDonnell Douglas MD-83 (DC-9-83), German Wings AN0062670
Photo: Konstantin von Wedelstaedt, GFDL 1.2, via Wikimedia Commons4

German Wings was a scheduled German airline that operated for one year between 1989 and 1990. The company slogan was German: Die Business-Line, The Business Line.2

The story

The history of German Wings can be traced to 1983 and began as a small air taxi firm called Airflight. In 1986 the name was changed to German Wings and in April 1989 it commenced scheduled flights using MD-83 aircraft. This airline offered fewer seats per plane (114 instead of the normal 172). The main operating base was in Munich and from there it flew to Frankfurt, Cologne/Bonn, Hamburg and Paris.

German Wings was the first (and unsuccessful) attempt at attacking Lufthansa's domestic stronghold. The airline had all Business class service. Although the public supported German Wings from the beginning, the new airline was not granted enough slots at airports to operate profitably and by 1990 it was in serious financial problems. In April 1990 the airline halted flights and subsequently went bankrupt.

From Wikipedia’s article on German Wings, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Products and brands

The German Wings fleet consisted of the following aircraft:

2 x McDonnell Douglas MD-82

7 x McDonnell Douglas MD-83

From Wikipedia’s article on German Wings, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Timeline

  1. 1990Dissolved Dissolved1
  2. 1983Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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