| Carrier: | Germanwings
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| Headquarters: | Germany
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| Founded: | 2002
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| Destinations: | 53
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| Bases: | Cologne, Stuttgart
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| Owners: | Eurowings of which: Dr Albrecht Knauf (50.02%), Lufthansa (49%)
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| Listed: | Yes
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| Online Booking: | Yes
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| Website: | http://www.germanwings.com
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| Fleet | A320 3
A319 21 + 18 on order
| Overview - Germanwings
Germanwings – gets by with a little help from its friends Germanwings is the low cost arm of German regional, Eurowings, itself half-owned by Lufthansa. The carrier was quick to establish a presence at its flagship base at Cologne-Bonn, where it based its first eight A319s after its Oct-02 launch.
Since then, it has followed a similar pattern of going into a new market wholesale, bringing service to multiple business and leisure destinations. In this way, it has launched comprehensive bases at first Stuttgart, then Berlin (Schönefeld) and then Hamburg in Aug-05. From these bases, the carrier serves destinations within Germany, as well as elsewhere in Europe – both East (e.g., Warsaw, Moscow, St Petersburg) and West. Germanwings started life operating from business centres that were underserved with non-stop flights. The proliferation of LCCs in the German market has meant that growth will mean competition with other carriers. And Germanwings has not shied away from the challenge, launching a base in Berlin that will compete for passengers with easyJet and Air Berlin. The early results are promising, as the carrier, which continues to take on new aircraft, earned its first profit in 2004.
Although it does not codeshare with parent Lufthansa, it has used the major’s alliance partnerships to its own advantage, linking up with bmi baby, LOT low cost affiliate Centralwings and Condor to generate more passengers for both. Outlook promising Germanwings has found a successful role for itself in offering low cost flights from its bases to the important business and leisure destinations in Europe, bringing it higher yields than most LCC operators achieve. The growth that will accompany its new aircraft acquisitions will be harder pressed to find a profitable outlet in LCC-intense Germany, leading the carrier to consider new bases in Austria, Poland and Switzerland.
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