Eurowings expands its Berlin base - Get updated on what's happening in tourism!

Eurowings is continuing to expand its presence at Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER). Germany’s leading leisure airline will grow its Berlin base to eleven aircraft and more than 300 crew members in the upcoming winter programme. With two additional aircraft, new routes and increased frequencies, the airline is responding to the latest market developments at BER. Through this latest expansion, the value airline of the Lufthansa Group is also moving closer to becoming the number one carrier in the German capital. Eurowings is already the market leader at Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Cologne/Bonn and Stuttgart airports.

As part of the expansion, Eurowings is adding new destinations from Berlin Brandenburg Airport, including for the first time the Italian university city of Bologna. The new nonstop service to the capital of the Emilia-Romagna region complements the airline’s growing Italy portfolio – including destinations such as Rome, Naples and Olbia – and further strengthens Berlin’s direct connectivity to attractive European cities. In the leisure segment, Eurowings is significantly expanding its BER programme to the Canary Islands, with additional frequencies to Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Tenerife. The new Bologna route (starting from 49.99 euros in the BASIC fare) as well as the additional Canary Islands flights can be booked from Thursday, 21 May, via eurowings.com. Further new connections and the final winter programme at BER are expected to be decided in July.

With the expansion, the Lufthansa Group is further strengthening its undisputed number one position in the German capital. In addition to Eurowings, Lufthansa, Swiss International Air Lines, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and SunExpress also operate regular flights to and from Berlin. Together, the airline group now accounts for around 30 percent of all flights to and from the capital airport.

Eurowings is responsible for the largest share of this growth: from initially three aircraft stationed at Berlin Brandenburg Airport after the pandemic to eleven in the future, serving almost 50 destinations. Over recent years, the airline – which specializes in affordable nonstop connections – has steadily strengthened its position at BER, including through the introduction of the “Capital Express”, new business and city routes, and numerous leisure-focused nonstop services.

Max Kownatzki, CEO of Eurowings: “We believe in Berlin and, despite all current crises, see strong prospects for the market. Berlin attracts people from all over the world – as a political capital, a cultural powerhouse and a business hub with significant potential. That is why we are investing in a rapidly growing network of direct flight connections that are relevant both for tourism and for the economy.”

At the same time, the industry urgently needs internationally competitive framework conditions to ensure that this network expansion can remain sustainably successful, warns Max Kownatzki: “Taxes and fees, which have more than doubled since 2019, are causing many airlines to increasingly avoid Germany. Combined with the rapid rise in fuel costs, they are acting as a stop sign for investment in Germany. In addition, there is a growing number of EU regulations that place a disproportionate burden on German and European airlines, particularly in the area of climate policy. This makes it all the more important for policymakers to act now and correct the significant competitive disadvantages affecting the domestic aviation industry.”

Picture Credit: © ramboldheiner