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German regional airline companies (1918-1940) – Part 1

By: Rob Mulder
For: www.europeanairlines.no

Today we start a new series of articles about regional airline companies in Germany. During the year between 1918 and 1940 many small airline company were formed. They usualy had a regional character were formed. We would like to present some of these airline companies. Below please find part 1:

Luftverkehrs Aktien Gesellschaft Westfalen – WELU (1925-1936)

Luftverkehrs-Gesellschaft Wilhelmshaven-Rüstringen mbH – LUWIR (1927-1937)

Luftverkehrs Aktien Gesellschaft Westfalen

WELU (1925-1936)

The years 1924-25 showed the foundation of a number of German regional airline companies, which mainly aimed to propaganda aviation. Except that, some airline companies owned and managed the local airfield. One of those airline companies was the WELU.

The foundation

During a session in Dortmund (in the Rheinland) on April 29, 1925 the lord-major of Dortmund, Dr. Eichhoff, said that there had to come an airline company in Dortmund, or else the Luftverkehrsgesellschaft Ruhrgebiet AG – LURAG from Essen (this company was founded in February of that year with financial aid of Junkers Luftverkehr AG) would gain a monopoly on the routes to and from Northern-Germany. And, according to Dr. Eichhoff, this could not be allowed. Contact was made with the Deutscher Aero Lloyd AG, which should supply a great part of the stock-capital (about 4-500,000 Reichsmark).

After several financial promises the foundation of a company could take place and on May 25, 1925 the Luftverkehrs Aktiengesellschaft Westfalen – WELU was founded in Dortmund. The stock-capital was RM 1.000.000, of which RM 700,000 was paid in full. On July 1, the stock-capital had, after the joining of several new investors, increased to RM 934,000. The list of shareholders was very long and included seventeen towns, twenty districts, three Industrial- and Chambers of Commerce, two mining companies, one steel factory and three electricity-companies. Some large communities were also included, among them, Dortmund (with RM 300,000), Gelsenkirchen (with RM 28,000), Bochum (with RM 24,000) and Hagn (with RM 40,000). The Deutscher Aero Lloyd had a share of RM 200,000. The Board of Directors, lead by Dr. Dieckmann, figured that the Deutscher Aero Lloyd was better off if it supplied aircraft instead of money. In that way the WELU could start flying air routes. The managing director of the WELU, Major a D Paul Sommer, proposed the Fokker-Grülich F.III as best suited aircraft; it had to fly in the livery of the WELU and the timetables should indicate which lines were flown by the WELU. Nothing of this kind was ever to come and first in May 1927 the company received its first aircraft.

A special WELU-network was never set up either. An agreement with the Dutch airline company KLM and the Deutscher Aero Lloyd was signed on July 13, 1925 and this was followed by the opening of the route Dortmund – Rotterdam with connection to London by KLM. But Dortmund was not forgotten. A number of services were opened. The Deutscher Aero Lloyd flew the state-subsidized routes Hamburg – Bremen – Dortmund – Frankfurt am Main and Amsterdam – Dortmund – Frankfurt am Main and further it had the non-subsidized routes Dortmund – Hannover – Berlin and Dortmund – Halle – Leipzig. The subsidy given to the WELU was RM 100,000 and with this money the company managed to cover its expenses. To give an example of the costs of flying in those days, the Dortmund – Hannover – Berlin route cost the WELU RM 114,703.50 to operate and the revenues covered only RM 14,425.60!

On August 23, Deutscher Aero Lloyd granted the request from the WELU to form an aerial photographic department in Dortmund. The WELU signed an agreement with the Aero Lloyd Luftbild GmbH and the Luftbildstereographik GmbH (from München) that had a term of three years. The WELU had a supporting task. The department started up for full in 1926.

During the year 1925, the WELU flew no routes and the traffic results of course felt under those of Deutscher Aero Lloyd.

Part of Deutsche Luft Hansa AG

In the beginning of January 1926 the WELU was one of the regional airline companies that supported the foundation of Deutsche Luft Hansa AG. The shares of WELU were worth RM 400,000 and Dr. Dieckmann was elected as representative of the Board of Directors of the Deutsche Luft Hansa AG.

On April 16, 1926 the Dortmunder Flughafen GmbH (Dortmund Airport Ltd.) was founded. This company had to administrate the airport of Dortmund. The WELU moved its offices to the airport and Major a D  Paul Sommer became the manager of both the airport and the airline company. He played a significant role in the further development of aviation in Dortmund.

An aircraft at last!

The WELU was still looking for a suitable aircraft for the planned Schnell- und Luftdroschkenverkehr (Fast- and Taxi Traffic), which it scheduled to start in 1927. In September 1926 the Albatros Flugzeugwerke offered an Albatros L.58 with a BMW IV-engine. The price for the airframe was RM 20,000, while another RM 15,000 had to be paid for the engine. Although the Board of Directors of the WELU approved the sale, the aircraft was never delivered. The reason was, that the plane was unsuitable for the company. Actually Paul Sommer meant that the German aircraft industry would never be able to make a suitable aircraft as long as the restrictions laid upon the industry by the Allies after the Great War were not lifted. The WELU needed a smaller airliner than the Albatros L.58, because that one would be cheaper in use and thus reduce the costs for the company. He was of the opinion that even a second hand aircraft could be purchased.

On April 27, 1926 the WELU was registered in the Register of Commerce in Dortmund. This delay was caused by the difficulties in getting the remaining capital and the changes in German aviation.

Deutsche Luft Hansa AG started in 1927 with flying to Dortmund on twelve different lines. One of these was the connection between Dortmund and the North Sea island of Borkum. This line was planned to operate by the WELU, if a suitable aircraft could be found. Meanwhile, Deutsche Luft Hansa AG flew the service between June 25 and August 29, 1927. In May 1927 WELU took over a brand new Focke-Wulf A.16d, which was built by Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau AG in Bremen. The aircraft received the registration D-1129 and was christened with the name Dortmund Luftdroschke Nr.1 (Dortmund Air Taxi No 1). It was equipped with one 120 hp Mercedes engine. The cabin accommodated one pilot and 3-4 passengers. The pilot was to be Mr Schmidt and from mid-May until mid-August he performed a number of joy rides and taxi flights with the aircraft. Many asked for a tour and many had to be disappointed due to lack of an aircraft. Some were scarred of by the price per flown kilometre, which with its price of RM 1.25 per flown kilometre was rather high. In the above-mentioned period Mr Schmidt made 382 flights and transported 939 passengers. Over the whole year 480 flights were made, divided over 15 scheduled flights, 414 joy rides, and 51 test flights. 1,335 passengers (of which 1,127 paying) were transported during 1927.

Major a D Paul Sommer was content with the result. As he put it, he saw the taxi flights more as a completion, rather than a replacement of the scheduled flights. For example, the German city of Münster paid in the Summer of 1928 RM 24,000 for a scheduled connection with Dortmund. A such large amount of money did not had to be paid if the city should decide to base its connection on air taxi-flights. Major a D  Paul Sommer was of the opinion that large amounts could be saved this way.

In February 1928 the Focke-Wulf A.16 was re-engined with a Daimler IIa and was re-allocated to the register. Between January 1 and July 4, 1928 the Focke Wulf A.16d flew taxi flights to Bonn, Bochum, Norderney and Berlin. The last mentioned city became the destiny of the aircraft as on July 4, 1928 the hangar in which the aircraft was parked collapsed and destroyed the aircraft beyond repair. Subsequently, it had to be written off. Until then the aircraft had made 131 joy-riding flights and 25 test flights. It had carried 370 passengers. WELU  did not organise any more flights that year.

Scandal and new aircraft

A little scandal hit the company as an accountant took RM 9,500 from the WELU and tried to disappear. He was caught and on January 16, 1929 he was sentised to six month of imprisonment for the embezzlement of the money and forgery.

In 1929 the purchase of new aircraft was the central issue of the company. On the agenda of the Board of Directors Meeting of March 16, 1929, Major a D  Paul Sommer told the Board “…On Dortmund Airport no aircraft will be stationed in 1929, so no joy-riding flights will be made”. He suggested to buy a Focke Wulf A.28 (with a Wright Whirlwind engine), which would cost the company RM 45,000. Director Merkel (member of the Board) offered a Junkers F 13, the famous aircraft with the registration D 1 (supplied with a Junkers L.5 engine) for the price of RM 50,000. This aircraft was found too expensive and the offer was eventually rejected. The Board asked Major a D  Paul Sommer to prepare an essay on the issue of the purchasing of a new aircraft. On April 5, he handed over an essay, bearing the impressive title: Die Beschaffung eines Flugzeuges durch die Luftverkehrs AG Westfalen (Welu) ist notwendig (The purchasing of an aircraft for Luftverkehrs AG Westfalen (Welu) is needed) and in the essay he wrote that an aircraft was necessary in order to be able to make propaganda for aviation. This would in the long run mean more business for the Deutsche Luft Hansa AG as well. Especially on Sundays, people were attracted to the airport to look to the activities. In the second part of 1928 (after the loss of the Focke Wulf A.16d) viewers at the airport sunk dramatically. The possibility of leasing an aircraft from Deutsche Luft Hansa AG was very small, as the company needed all the material themselves. The shortage of aircraft led already to the closure of the connection Dortmund – Borkum. The Deutsche Luft Hansa AG could offer the use of a four-seater instead of a six-seater used so far, but this would lead to a shortage of seats at rising demands. Together with the essay Major a D  Paul Sommer handed over a review over the costs of a Focke Wulf A.28 compared with a Junkers F 13. There was also a column over the average of the costs of ten Messerschmitt M.18 and 1 Junkers F 13 all in service of the Nordbayerische Verkehrsflug GmbH (NOBA). The Focke Wulf A.28 would cost (when flying at least 40,000 km. per year) RM 1.30 per flown kilometre, the Junkers F 13 (when flying at least 50,000 km. per year) RM 1.73 and the NOBA-fleet would cost (when flying at least 51,000 km. per year) RM 0.87. The total cost for a Focke Wulf A.28 was RM 40,776.

On April 18 Major a D  Paul Sommer underlined the necessity of buying an aircraft. As time was running out, three options for the 1929-season stood open:

  1. The buying of a Focke Wulf A.28 (which was not possible to get in time for the start of the season);
  2. The leasing or buying of an aircraft from Deutsche Luft Hansa AG; or
  3. The purchasing of an aircraft on other favourable conditions.

The company chose for the point 2: The leasing of an aircraft, though not from the Deutsche Luft Hansa AG, but from NOBA. The WELU chartered for the year 1929 a Messerschmitt M.18 with a Siemens Sh.12-engine, which arrived in Dortmund on June 15 and was used until September 30.

On Saturday June 22 this Messerschmitt M.18 (registration unknown) started with a flight from Dortmund to Bonn. A few days later, on June 26, a route from Dortmund to Borkum was opened. Both lines were flown until August 28.

Results on these two scheduled services were satisfactory: the aircraft had flown 8,500 km, carried 102 passengers and 160 kgs. of freight and luggage. During the taxi flights another 9,280 kms were flown and 132 passengers and 210 kgs freight and luggage transported. Finally, 202 joy rides with in total 620 passengers were made. During 1929 the company thus had flown 23,930 kms and carried 854 passengers and 370 kgs freight and luggage. The profit was RM 2,895.68.

For the 1930-season four aircraft were chartered from NOBA. From May 1 to October 15 the Messerschmitt M.18, D-1643 (for four passengers), from May 1 until August 4 the Messerschmitt M.18d, D-1812 (for six passengers), from August 5 until 27 the Messerschmitt M.18, D-1496 as a replacement of the D-1643. Finally the Focke Wulf A.32 Bussard, D-1942 replaced the Messerschmitt M.18 as from August 28 until the end of the season on October 6. In this way two aircraft were stationed at Dortmund at all times.

That year the line Dortmund – Borkum was the only route flown on a schedule basis, but could be prolonged to Norderney in case of need. On this scheduled service 92 flights were made (22,036 kms. flown) and 180 passengers carried. At the so-called Bäderdiensten (services to the bathing resorts) 96 passengers were carried. On taxi flights 96 passengers were carried and the highest figure of all joy riding figures was reached this year: 2,584 passengers (635 flights and 15,875 km flown). During 1930 a total of 870 flights were made, 53,266 kms. flown and 2,956 passengers carried. The costs per flown kilometre were on the Dortmund – Borkum route RM 0.85, of which RM 0.25 was covered by the revenues from the passenger and RM 0.60 was subsidized. The highest revenue came from joy-riding flights: The costs were RM 1.05, of which RM 0.74 was covered by revenues.

During 1931 only one aircraft could be leased. This was during the period March 1 until December 31. Route 282 Dortmund – Borkum was flown between July 18 and September 12. Aircrafts used that year included one Messerschmitt M.18d (March 1 – July 15 and October 1 – December 31) and one Focke Wulf A.32 Bussard (registration D-1942, used from July 16 – September 30). On the service 466 flights were made, flying a total of 48,196 kms. and the WELU carried 1,687 passengers.

The Messerschmitt M.18d made between November 1 and December 24 a number of charter flights from Dortmund to Köln and from Dortmund to Essen/Mühlheim. The number of charter flights made between these cities was respectively 24 and 37 passengers transported. The aircraft flew 1,262 kms.

A decrease in the number of joy-riding flights was explained by the fact that only one aircraft was at the airline’s disposal. No more aircraft could be supplied by the NOBA, as this company also had problems in maintaining its network.

The fallback in the number of joy rides continued in 1932, which was caused by the economic crises in the Germany. People could no longer afford to make a flight with an aircraft.

Again the Focke Wulf A.32 was chartered for the Dortmund – Borkum service and it flew from 16 July until 3 September. The aircraft was however used by WELU from April 1 until September 30. The rest of the year the Messerschmitt M.18d was at WELUs disposal. This aircraft was a little bit smaller than the Focke Wulf A.32. The expenses for 1932 were RM 39,971.23, of which RM 13,083.25 was covered by revenues. The subsidy was RM 26,887.98. Only 36 flights to Borkum were carried out, transporting 122 passengers. Totally that year, WELU transported only 1,046 passengers and made 243 flights (32,261 kms.).

The end of WELU

Another disastrous year was 1933. On July 27 the Board of Directors of the WELU had to conclude that the service between Dortmund and Borkum could not be flown by the WELU. Why not? On July 1 Major a D Paul Sommer had talked with Mr Riemann (of Deutsche Verkehrsflug AG – DEVAG, the successor of NOBA) and was told that the chartering of an aircraft from DEVAG was out of the question, as the Board of Directors of the DEVAG declined the request from WELU. Three days later Major a D  Paul Sommer called the Secretary of State, Mr Croneiß, and informed him about the problems. Croneiß would take contact with the Secretary of State Mr Kolbow and Milch. Ten days later Mr Riemann informed Major a D  Paul Sommer that he had talked with Mr Milch and Croneiß on July 12 regarding the matter and that Mr Milch had said that the services to the North Sea resorts were luxurious services that were to be treated as any other service. A subsidy from the State was therefor out of the question and even although Mr Riemann had promised to support WELU with RM 28,000 this money was never transferred to WELU (the company needed RM 25,000 to be able to run the service). On July 18 it was clear that the WELU could not fly the services and that DEVAG had to take over and take all expenses. With the Focke Wulf A.32 Bussard, D-1942, DEVAG flew until September 4 307 passengers on 88 flights (20,944 kms.). No charter- or joy-riding flights were made by WELU that year, so the year ended with a loss of RM 25,089.26. In addition to this loss, a law was passed in the German Parliament on December 15, 1933, which gave the Reich the power to take over all regional airline companies. This meant the end for WELU.

The DEVAG had to stop its services in 1934 as well. On April 18, 1934 a regulation came into force, which ordered the closedown of all regional airline companies. These companies, which were all united in the Deutsche Regionale Luftverkehrsgesellschaften (German Regional airline companies) decided to dissolve the DRL as from April 27. Because of the closedown of the DEVAG no services from Dortmund to Borkum were operated. This line was now served by the Deutsche Lufthansa AG and received the route number 85. The Junkers F 13 was put into traffic between July 7 and September 8. 55 flights were made, 340 passengers carried. In 1935 this services was flown between June 29 and September 9, but again WELU had nothing to do with the operations.

After the preparations by a Executive Committee (concluded February 21, 1936) the Board of Directors of the WELU decided on its meeting of May 29 to change the name and the articles of association and on May 29 the Luftverkehrs Aktiengesellschaft Westfalen WELU changed its name into Westfalische Flughafen Aktiengesellschaft. The WELU had changed from an airline company into an airport company. Deutsche Lufthansa AG flew now all services out of Dortmund. The WELU ceased to exist.

Luftverkehrs-Gesellschaft Wilhelmshaven-Rüstringen mit beschränkter Haftung – LUWIR (1927-1937)

On June 15, 1927 the airport of Wilhelmshaven-Rüstringen (north of Germany), called Marien­siel, was opened after a record construction time of just four months. That day Deutsche Luft Hansa AG started no less than two air services: Hamburg – Bremerhaven – Wilhelmshaven-Rüstringen – Wangerooge – Norderney – Borkum and Bremen – Wilhelmshaven-Rüstringen – Wanger­ooge. The cities of Wilhelmshaven and Rüstringen supported the service financially. It paid the money to a subsidiary of Deutsche Luft Hansa AG, called Luftverkehrs AG – Niedersachsen – NILU. The following amounts were paid:

  • For the first mentioned air route in the period June 17 – August 31, 1927 a total of RM 10,080; and
  • For the latter air route in the period June 15 – September 16, 1927 a total amount of RM 10,000.

But for the cities of Wilhelmshaven and Rüstringen the air route was no success at all. Every time the aircraft landed at the Mariensiel Airport they were fully booked and despite the great demand no air tickets could be issued nor sold. During the summer the municipalities took the matter up with the NILU and this led to the holding back of one seat from Wil­helmshaven-Rüstringen to the islands. Thus only 112 passengers could board the aircraft at Mariensiel.

Many passengers had to be disappointed. Of course not a satisfying situation. The NILU came with a proposal for the 1928-season and suggested the following:

  1. A Hamburg – Bremerhaven – Wilhelmshaven-Rüstringen – North Sea Island service would be upheld during the holiday-season (June 18 – August 31) with Focke Wulf-aircraft with seating for eight passengers. Required subsidy from the cities: RM 20,973.90.
  2. The stretch Wilhelmshaven-Rüstringen – Bremerhaven is flown in the remaining season (April – June 17) for a subsidy of RM 13,431.60.
  3. A shuttle-service between Wilhelmshaven-Rüstringen and Bremen could be flown between June 10 and September 15 with a subsidy of RM 5,460 per month.

This meant a subsidy of RM 50,785 excl. take-off- and landing fees for the year 1928. The NILU was of course positive, but the cities of Wilhelms­haven and Rüstrin­gen found it not a satisfying solution. They knew there was a great demand among the public and so they had a better idea: “We found our own airline company!”

And thus on December 27, 1927 the Luftverkehrs-Gesellschaft Wil­helms­haven-Rüstringen mit beschränkter Haftung – LUWIR was formed with a stock-capital of RM 20,000. Shareholders were with each 50 % the municipality of Wilhelmshaven and Rüstringen. Both cities awar­ded the company with an additional subsidy of RM 14,000.

The LUWIR bought a second hand Focke Wulf A.16d, the D 162, and ordered a brand new Focke Wulf A.20 Habicht. The latter aircraft, regi­stered D-1439, was delivered on July 7, 1928 and financed by the Spar­kasse (the local banks). On May 12, 1928 the LUWIR received its concession from the RLM and could start flying!

Traffic commenced on May 17, 1928 with the LUWIRs Focke Wulf A.16d, which continued to fly until on the 7 July the Focke Wulf A.20 Habicht could take over. Unfortunately the new aircraft was involved in a crash landing (on July 13) and had to be taken back to the Focke Wulf-factory for repairs. From July 14 to Septem­ber 18 the smaller Focke Wulf A.16d flew again for the compa­ny. On some days a hired Junkers F 13 supple­mented the Focke Wulf A.16d. LUWIR flew the air services Wil­helms­haven-Rüstringen – Wan­gerooge – Langeoog – Norder­ney – Borkum, Wilhelms­haven-Rüstringen – Bremer-ha­ven – Ham­burg, Wilhelmshaven-Rüstringen – Bremen, Wilhelmshaven-Rüstringen – Olden­burg and Wil­helmshaven-Rüstringen – Osnabrück. The passengers were mainly tourists and holiday-guests for the North Sea Islands.

The first 7,5 months of the year were despite the mishap with the Focke Wulf A.20 very successful, especially when compared with the results of the previous year:

Deutsche Luft Hansa AG               May-September 1927: 112 passen­gers

LUWIR                                             May-September 1928: 1,353 passengers.

But also after the closure of the season, LUWIR continued flying to serve the southern situated cities and carried another 131 passengers and 191 kgs freight. The total number of passengers for 1928 ended therefore on 1,484, of which 1,208 were counted on the regular services and 276 on joy rides.

Without doubt it can be established that the LUWIR achieved better results than Deutsche Luft Hansa AG, because of its small organisation. Flying-costs were considerably lower: An air ticket Wilhelmshaven-Rüstringen – Wangerooge cost with Deutsche Luft Hansa AG RM 20, but with LUWIR only RM 12. The staffs of the LUWIR were modest: one director, one secretary, one pilot and one engineer. They were during the high season supplemen­ted by an additional pilot and engineer.

All the costs could be covered by the incomes and when the first financial year ended on 16 May 1929 the total number of passengers carried ended on 1,801 and 19,477 kgs freight and mail. This enormous increase in freight and mail was thanks to the extra flights during the severe winter of 1928-29, when LUWIR performed a number of so-called Eishilfsdienst-flights. These flights were made to bring goods and mail to the isolated islands in the North Sea. The extra-ordinary flights were made between January and May 1929 and gave the LUWIR an additional result of 196 passengers and 19,286 kgs of mail and freight transported.

In 1928 the Focke Wulf A.16d (supplemented by a Junkers F 13) and A.20 made 854 flights and flew 31,779 km. The subsidy needed to fly was only RM 28,000 against the earlier proposed RM 50,785.

Both aircraft resumed the holiday flights on May 17, 1929, but the newly required Focke Wulf A.28 Habicht, D-1664, at June 15, 1929 replaced the Focke Wulf A.16d. This aircraft could carry six passengers and was equipped with a 220 hp Gnome-Rhône Titan engine.

Accept the regular flights it was also possible to make charter flights with the LUWIR-aircraft. Germany knew two systems:

  1. Regular charter traffic, according to a fixed schedule and the service was only flown when passengers or cargo were at hand. This system was generally known as the Krefeld System;
  2. The pure charter traffic, independent from any schedule or any fixed hour and possible to fly to each city requested. This system was known as the Wilhelmshaven-Rüstringen System.

LUWIR applied of course the latter system and with great success, because the subsidy per flown kilometre was considerably lower than with other airline companies was the case. During a ten-month period in two years time a company flying according to the Krefeld System carried just 10,861 kgs freight and a modest number of passengers with a subsidy of RM 113,542.60! In a twenty-month period in two years time LUWIR had carried 47,565 kgs freight and 4,390 passengers. The subsidy required for this service: RM 63,000! The system was very successful and taken over by many other cities.

In 1929 LUWIRs aircraft made 1,525 flights with a total length of 62,492 km. They carried 2,906 passengers and 47,565 kgs freight and luggage. A further increase compared with 1928. Subsidy required for their services in 1929: just RM 35,000.

Also during the winter of 1929-30 extra flights to the North Sea Islands were carried out together with a hired Junkers F 13. Goods delivered were mail, butter, herring, flower and medicines. During landings at the islands the engine was not turned off in order to avoid freezing of the oil in the engine. They made short stops and returned as soon as possible to Wilhelmshaven-Rüstringen. On an average flight 240 kgs of mail was transported to the islands, while around 50 kgs mail was taken to the mainland.

During the summer months (May-September) the regular flights were upheld again. The fleet was supplemented in June 1930 by a Focke Wulf A.33 Sperber, registered as D-1931 and especially built for LUWIR. It was a single-engine aircraft designed for freight- and taxi flights. The cabine offered accommodation to three passengers and one pilot. It was generally known under the flatte­ring name: Luxusluftdroschke (Luxury Air Taxi). The average income per flown kilometre rose after the introduction of the Focke Wulf A.33 Sperber from RM 0.50 to RM 0.90. The total number of passengers carried in 1930 sank by 28 passengers to 2,878. This might well have been caused by the economic recession.

An incomplete history?

Unfortunately, the history of this company stops here. It is known that the Focke Wulf A.16d crashed and was cancel­led from the register in March 1932, while the Focke Wulf A.28 and A.33 were re-registered in 1934 into D-OXYK and D-ONUT. No detailed infor­mation is at hand, but the facts that could be established was that the LUWIR continued to fly as it had done before. The Reichluftkursbuch (the official German time-table) mentio­ned the LUWIR under Air Service No.299 and wrote that all services were on demand against agreed flying-hours. On December 15, 1933 a Degree came into effect: All domestic air service were to be handed over to the Reich. This was followed on April 18, 1934 by a new one instructing the liquidation of all regional airline companies. LUWIRs concession was withdrawn as well and the company started its liquida­tion. This was concluded in 1937, after which the two remaining Focke Wulf’s (A.28 D-OXYK and A.33 D-ONUT) were handed over to Deutsche Lufthansa AG. The air services were transferred to Deutsche Lufthansa AG.

In 1934 the company was still active on the joy ride front and made 212 joy ride flights (37 hours and 50 min. flying time) and carried 658 passengers. In addition 701 charter flights were made, flying 23,115 km, carrying 947 passengers and 2,442 kgs goods.

The German carrier flew until 1939 to Wilhelmshaven-Rüstringen in which year the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM) decided to close the Marien­siel Airport for all civil aviation.