33 aircraft for Eurowings / Airline hires 33 aircraft from Air Berlin on competitive terms on a six-year lease / Comprehensive wet lease agreement including cockpit crew, cabin staff and maintenance
- All jets to fly under the Eurowings colours and adopting the Eurowings service and rate concept
- Eurowings to strengthen the new brand’s presence at eight airports
- Reasonably priced direct flights for southern Germany: Eurowings to station four aircraft in Munich
- Garnadt: “Growth of the kind no other European airline has experienced”
The German airline, Eurowings, is initiating steps to consolidate European air traffic and shall be taking on 33 Air Berlin aircraft under a comprehensive wet lease agreement. The Airbus A319 and A320 jets fit perfectly with Eurowings’ uniform Airbus fleet and will be leased to them on competitive terms, complete with cockpit crew, cabin staff and maintenance contracts.
These measures will strengthen Eurowings’ position of becoming one of Europe’s leading providers of top-quality and reasonably priced direct flights. The agreement between Eurowings GmbH and Air Berlin plc, signed on 16th December 2016, will last for six years and is slated to begin in February 2017, when the first aircraft is handed over. The implementation of the wet lease contract is subject to examination by the relevant cartel authorities.
It is reported that the aircraft shall fly under the new Eurowings banner as soon possible, with the interior of each aircraft being furnished with equipment and product components featuring the new Eurowings branding. Customers will still be able to take advantage of Eurowings’ popular Basic/Smart/Best rate concept.
This move is specifically intended to strengthen the presence of the Lufthansa concern’s quality low cost carrier at eight airports – including Hamburg, Cologne/Bonn, Düsseldorf, Hanover and Stuttgart. In Munich, the regional capital of Bavaria, Eurowings is building a new base which will host four aircraft. In addition, Eurowings is stationing further aircraft in Vienna, Austria, as well as at their location at Palma de Mallorca, Spain. Customers will be able to book flights on these new routes from 22nd December 2016 – this can be done by visiting www.eurowings.com or by calling the Eurowings call centre on 0180 6 320 320 (within Germany only).
This agreement is “a milestone in the development of the new Eurowings into one of the leading pan-European platforms”, says Karl Ulrich Garnadt, member of the Lufthansa executive board responsible for Eurowings. “We are currently undergoing rapid growth of the kind no other European airline has experienced. With our larger fleet, we will be able to convince even more guests of our high quality flights at reasonable prices,” he adds.
With this access to the new Air Berlin aircraft, Eurowings will gradually begin removing 20 older Airbus A320s from its fleet. This will help to reduce the current surplus capacity in the airline market. At the same time, Eurowings flight operations are growing considerably as a result of the 51 Brussels Airlines aircraft. The Belgian airline will also become part of the Eurowings group from 2017.
COLOGNE/BONN, 16 December 2016
