Lufthansa steals Eurovision airline contest crown from easyJet for Vienna 2026
Aviation expert ranks European airlines according to flights and seats heading for the Austrian capital this weekend
Hollif
Lufthansa of Germany has overtaken Britain's biggest budget airline, easyJet, for the title of Eurovision airline champion 2026.
The results have been computed by the airline revenue economist, Oliver Ranson. Each year before the sparkly song contest, he computes the number of flights and seats to the host city (or a nearby airport) from participant nations.
For Vienna, the figures include Bratislava, Slovakia's capital – whose airport is only 30 miles away from the Austrian city.
In 2025, the tuneful television tussle was hosted in the Swiss city of Basel – a major hub for easyJet, which swept the board. But Britain’s biggest budget airline does not trouble the scorers this year.
The Lufthansa Group includes “daughter” carriers Austrian Airlines, whose hub is Vienna, as well as ITA of Italy, Swiss and Brussels Airlines and the German carrier itself. With such strength, the Frankfurt-based flyer has a stronghold in the Eurovision host city.
Mr Ranson looked at flights between Wednesday 13 May and 3 pm on Saturday 16 May – ensuring fans can get to the venue.
The compiler says: “Greater Lufthansa lift the trophy this year with a whopping 58 per cent of the seats.
“That puts ‘Lufty’ at the top of the all-time leaderboard too.”
The German conglomerate would have dominated even more were Bratislava not included. But Ryanair, which has a large presence in the Slovakian capital, finishes second with a healthy 24 per cent of available seats.
Wizz Air, which is also busy in Bratislava, takes a distant third place with barely five per cent of available seats.
One welcome addition to the overall table is Ethiopian Airlines, thanks to its “fifth-freedom” link between Copenhagen and Vienna.
The second verse of the UK entry – “Eins, Zwei, Drei”, performed by Look Mum No Computer – includes the lyrics: “I've always been a fan of aviation/ I’m jumpin’ on a plane to another nation.”
Bookmakers are offering odds of between 250-1 and 500-1 on a British win.
Read more: Eurovision 2026: All the countries through to the song contest’s grand final
