British budget carrier EasyJet will use the share of bankrupt Air Berlin it is buying to set up a new base and schedule at northern Berlin's Tegel Airport with a wide schedule of flights within Germany.
The move, which will make EasyJet the #2 carrier in Berlin after Lufthansa, and a major competitor in the German market, will take a while to set up. EasyJet will start a limited Tegel schedule over the winter, in addition to its continuing flights from Schoenefeld, south of the capital. Full service will begin in spring.
The expansion becomes possible with EasyJet's addition of 25 A320s and Air Berlin flight slots at Tegel. The €40 million deal doesn't include transition costs, and still requires EasyJet to take over Air Berlin's aircraft leases. EasyJet hopes to hire over 1000 Air Berlin pilots and other crew to staff the service.
Air Berlin was previously the #2 in Berlin and in domestic German flights to Lufthansa, which is the other major buyer of assets from Air Berlin, whose last flights landed over the weekend. EasyJet's strong entry into the domestic market will ease fears over Lufthansa enjoying a virtual monopoly in the market. Other low-cost carriers have focused on flights to and from, but not within Germany.
Lufthansa, meanwhile, is providing extra service on some routes where Air Berlin has disappeared, using larger-than-usual planes for the flights, but service to some German destinations this winter may see seat shortages and perhaps price spikes.
Photo: Pieter van Marion/Wikimedia
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