Germanwings is a low-cost airline based in Cologne and Bonn, Germany. Its main UK base is London Stansted. It operates services to over 66 destinations in Europe. Its main base is Cologne Bonn Airport, with secondary bases at Stuttgart Airport, Berlin-Schönefeld International Airport and Hamburg Airport and Dortmund Airport. On 29th January 2008, plans were announced to merge low-cost airline operations of Deutsche Lufthansa AG and TUI Travel PLC (Germanwings, Eurowings, TUIfly) into a joint and independent holding company

The airline was established in 1997 (as "Eurowings Flug GmbH") and was renamed to Germanwings GmbH on 27 October 2002. It is wholly owned by Eurowings, which is fully controlled and 49% owned by Lufthansa. Its main competitors are other no-frills carriers such as Ryanair and easyJet as well as TUIfly and Air Berlin. The airline is rapidly expanding and is continuing serving new destinations. Over and above the airline is the first low cost airline in Germany which offers connecting flights. This special program was founded around Fall 2007 and is called Smart Connect.