Dubai: Lufthansa, Europe’s second-largest airline, on Thursday announced €99.99 introductory fares for its new long-haul venture, Eurowings, to Dubai from later this year.

The airline will fly to Al Maktoum International at Dubai World Central (DWC) from Cologne Bonn Airport, in Germany’s east, from October 25, Eurowings said in a statement. It added that promotional fares will start at €99.99 one-way and will soon be raised.

“We are not presumptuous to think that we could challenge Emirates with two weekly flights to Dubai given the massive capacity they have,” Karl Ulrich Garnadt, who heads Lufthansa’s passenger business, told Bloomberg in an interview in Berlin where the announcement was made.

Eurowings will offer 620 seats per week between Dubai and Cologne compared to the 3,500 weekly seats offered by Emirates to the German cities Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich.

“This is not a provocation; I believe Emirates won’t even notice this,” Garnadt said.

In the past, Lufthansa has openly opposed the growth of the three major Gulf airlines — Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways.

The German airline decided in October to axe its Abu Dhabi service citing increased capacity from fellow German carrier Air Berlin, in which Etihad owns nearly 30 per cent.

Eurowings will be the second European low cost carrier flying from DWC, located in the emirate’s south. Hungary’s Wizz Air was a launch carrier at DWC when passenger flights started in October 2013.

“From DWC’s viewpoint attracting LCCs (low cost carriers) is a good way of using available capacity before the airport assumes a more centre stage role in the years ahead,” said John Strickland, director of UK-based JLS Consulting, by email.

DWC will undergo a $32 billion expansion over the next six to eight years to increase its capacity from around five to seven million passengers today to 120 million. Eventual passenger capacity is expected to top 200 million.

“From an LCC angle the airport provides them with an uncongested facility allowing fast turn arounds and good punctuality which their models dictate whilst still offering excellent surface access to Dubai for the leisure travellers which their services attract,” Strickland said.

Eurowings, which is based on Lufthansa’s Germanwings model, a low cost airline in Germany and Europe, will also fly to Bangkok and Phuket in Thailand and Caribbean cities Varadero, Bridgetown and Punta Cana.

The Eurowings fleet will initially consist of two long-haul aircraft Airbus A330-200 and later expanded to seven.

SunExpress, a Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines joint-venture, will operate the long-haul route aircraft on behalf of the new Eurowings. Vienna has been chosen as the first definite location outside of Germany as a new Eurowings base.

— With inputs from Bloomberg