Virgin Express new route : Berlin SXF

[FlightSimCrew]

In addition to the 4x daily flightsfrom SNBA to THF Virgin Express will start operations to SXF as from september 05. Have a look at their booking engine for details, no press release yet... stay tuned

[vueling]

Yes indeed.
Hope their price will go down because at the moment it does not seems to be a LCC :

Prix du billet d'avion/Adulte
€ 249,00 EUR

Taxes/Adulte (Détails)
42,36 EUR

Sous-total/Adulte
291,36 EUR

Only for a one way segment ... ouch

[sn26567]

Still cheaper than monopolistic Lufthansa to Frankfurt...

A bright move, anyway, as SXF will become the major airport of Berlin and it is probably much cheaper to secure slots now.

[themole]

Virgin Express will indeed return to Berlin SXF after several years of absence. They tried to serve Berlin SXF before, but it flopped graciously. In the meantime, industry prospects and circumstances have changed drastically. So this time, a Berlin SXF service might work out well for Virgin Express.

Anyway, those who have paid close attention to the latest developments in the industry, already knew about this new route for quite some time. Nice that finally somebody noticed it.

[FlightSimCrew]

I agree "the mole" as in the time TV was operating SXF the internet was not used heavily in Germany, now thanks to EasyJet and the other german LCC everybody knows how to book online and pay with credit card so I feel results will be drastiaclly better..

[luchtzak]

Found a press-release in my mailbox today, but in German. Here is a small summary in English:

In September 1 X daily Brussels - Berlin SXF, as from October 2005 twice-daily. Depending on the demand a Boeing 737-300 (142 seats) or a Boeing 737-400 (164 seats) will be used to operate the route. Tickets from €39 one way, taxes included.

Virgin Express kehrt nach Berlin zurück

Brüssel, 28. Juni 2005 • Die belgische Niedrigpreis-Airline Virgin Express nimmt am 5. September 2005 erneut Verbindungen zwischen dem Flughafen Brüssel (BRU), der Heimatbasis von Virgin Express, und Berlin-Schönefeld (SXF) auf. Diese Entscheidung fällte das Management Board des Unternehmens, nachdem die Streckennetze von Virgin Express und SN Brussels Airlines einer gemeinsamen Prüfung unterzogen wurden. SN Brussels Airlines wird trotz der neuen Virgin Express-Route nach Berlin-Schönefeld auch weiterhin Berlin-Tempelhof anfliegen – mit mehr Verbindungen als jede andere Fluggesellschaft.

Ab September 2005 wird die Route Brüssel-Berlin zunächst einmal täglich bedient. Von Oktober 2005 an erhöht sich die Frequenz auf zwei tägliche Verbindungen. Alle Flüge werden mit Flugzeugen vom Typ Boeing 737-300 mit 142 Sitzen oder 737-400 mit 164 Plätzen geflogen – abhängig von der Nachfrage im Markt.

Virgin Express flog bereits 1999 und 2000 nach Berlin-Schönefeld. Nach einer massiven Umstrukturierung des Unternehmens, einhergehend mit einer Flottenreduzierung um rund 50 Prozent, verschwand Berlin zunächst aus dem Flugnetz des Günstigfliegers. Neil Burrows, Direktor von Virgin Express, begründet die heutige Kehrtwende so: “Wir haben die Entwicklung in Berlin-Schönefeld stets aufmerksam beobachtet, weil unserer Einschätzung nach die Verbindung zwischen der deutschen Hauptstadt und der EU-Zentrale eine der wichtigsten in Europa ist. Schönefeld hat sich in den vergangenen Jahren zudem zu einem der attraktivsten europäischen Flughäfen für Niedrigpreis-Airlines entwickelt, mit einer nun immer besser ausgebauten Anbindung ans Stadtzentrum durch den öffentlichen Nahverkehr”.

Reservierungen für die neuen Berlin-Flüge können Passagiere ab sofort über Internet (www.virgin-express.com), Reisebüros sowie die zentrale Servicenummer in Deutschland 01805/1332125 vornehmen.
Plätze auf diesen Verbindungen sind bereits ab 39 Euro (pro Strecke, inkl. Steuern und Sicherheitsgebühren) verfügbar.

[wImPiE-D]

In Dutch:

http://www.luchtvaartnieuws.nl/news/?ID=9098

[sn26567]

In French:

http://www.companynewsgroup.com/communi ... _id=103236

In English: http://www.virgin-express.com/downloads ... 628_en.pdf

Press release
Virgin Express to Return to Berlin

Brussels, 28th June 2004 • Virgin Express, the Belgian low fare airline, will resume services between Brussels (BRU) and Berlin-Schönefeld (SXF) as from 5th September 2005. This decision has been taken by the Management Board of Virgin Express following a joint network review with SN Brussels Airlines. SN Brussels Airlines, which serves Berlin-Tempelhof more frequently than any other airline, will continue to fly that airport.

In September 2005, the Brussels-Berlin route will be flown once a day. As from October 2005, the frequency will be stepped up to two daily flights. All flights will be made using Boeing 737-300 aircraft (142 seats) or 737-400s (164 seats) depending on market demand.

Virgin Express used to fly to Berlin-Schönefeld in 1999 and 2000. Following a massive company restructuring at the end of 2000 reducing the fleet size by 50% Berlin disappeared from Virgin Express’s route network. Neil Burrows, Director of Virgin Express, justifies today’s decision as follows: “We continued to keep an eye on Berlin-Schönefeld because we acknowledge the importance of this route linking the German capital with the capital of the European Union. In recent years, Schönefeld Airport has developed into one of the major low cost airports in Europe and public transport between the airport and the centre of Berlin has greatly improved”.

Reservations for these flights can be made as from today via www.virgin-express.com, the call centre (tel. 070-35.36.37 (Belgium) or 01805/1332125 (Germany)) or any travel agent.
* * *
At present, Virgin Express offers flights from Brussels Airport to Athens, Barcelona, Catania, Faro, Geneva, Lisbon, Madrid, Malaga, Milan-Orio al Serio, Murcia (Alicante South), Nice, Palma de Mallorca, Rome, Toulon-St. Tropez and Valencia. The Belgian low fare carrier also operates daily flights from Amsterdam to Rome.

www.virgin-express.com