Summary
- Discover Airlines & Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced a multi-year marketing partnership.
- Discover Airlines plans to expand flights to Florida, with additional routes from Munich to Orlando next summer.
- The airline is set to receive nine more aircraft in the coming years and plans to introduce a new Business Class product.
German carrier Discover Airlines has announced a marketing partnership with the American football team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, just in time for the commencement of the upcoming NFL season – 2024/2025. While the airline sees Florida as an important market for the carrier, the Buccaneers see this as an opportunity to gain more visibility in Germany, where they have a growing fan base.
A new partnership
Discover Airlines
, a German carrier also part of the
Lufthansa Group
, announced its partnership with the NFL team Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday at a special ceremony held at
Tampa International Airport
(TPA). The partnership will see the two entities jointly participate in various marketing and communication activities, complementing each other’s presence in their important markets.
The carrier considers Florida one of its key destinations and operates 20 weekly flights between Germany and Florida, thereby having the largest market share of flights between the two cities. The Buccaneers, on the other hand, have Germany as one of its central international growth markets with a growing fan base in the country, thus making this partnership mutually beneficial.
Photo: Discover Airlines
As part of this multi-year partnership, the airline is planning further expansion into Florida in the near future. While the carrier currently serves three Floridian destinations from Frankfurt across 20 weekly services, it aims to add another three weekly services from Munich.
23 weekly flights in the summer of 2025
The airline currently operates 20 flights a week from
Frankfurt Airport
(FRA) to three destinations in Florida:
- Tampa International Airport (TPA)
-
Orlando International Airport
(MCO) – 10 weekly flights
- Fort Myers (FMY)
However, as part of its commitment to the market, the airline aims to expand by launching three new weekly services to Orlando from
Munich Airport
(MUC) during the summer of next year. Considering that no direct services currently exist between MCO and MUC, the airline will be able to capture the passenger market from Munich without any competition.
Photo: Tom Boon | Simple Flying
Additionally, with brilliant weather and countless activities to enjoy, Florida proves to be the preferred destination for travelers not just in Germany but across Europe. With an additional three flights set to launch from Munich, the airline is simply increasing capacity in a market that has the supply.
Fleet growth
Data from ch-aviation.com shows that the airline currently has a fleet of 27 aircraft, with 14 belonging to the A320 family and the remaining 13 aircraft being the Airbus A330s. However, the airline will soon be receiving six more A330-300 aircraft and three more A320s by 2027, thus indicating that the airline will soon grow its operations by either increasing services to key markets (as seen with the planned service increase to MCO) or launching new routes.
At the same time, the carrier has stated that it will be retiring its three older A330-200 aircraft. While this would reduce the airline’s capacity a bit, the airline will also reduce its operational cost and turn more efficient with the A330-200 leaving its fleet in the coming years.
Photo: InsectWorld | Shutterstock
Apart from fleet expansion, the carrier is also working on improving its onboard offering in premium classes by introducing a brand new Business Class product along with a new In-Flight Entertainment system (IFE) that will see larger and higher-resolution screens deployed in all travel classes.