The Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair plans to launch a base at Berlin’s Tegel Airport, by taking it over from subsidiary Laudamotion.
April 2019 is set as the start date for the new base in the German capital, which is making Ryanair the next carrier to operate from both Berlin airports, Tegel (TXL) and Schönefeld (SXF).
Ryanair (FR) will operate four Boeing 737-800 on routes to and from Tegel. All of them are currently flying in a ‘wet-lease’ for Laudamotion (OE) out of the same airport. Therefore, not much will change for passengers, as tickets for the Austrian subsidiary are also being sold via Ryanair.com.
Laudamotion will in turn take over Ryanair’s base at Düsseldorf Airport and plans a ‘massive expansion’. It is also adding many new routes from Stuttgart Airport.
The Irish carrier, which calls itself ‘Europe’s favorite airline’ despite being one of the worst airlines on the continent according to passenger ratings, is using slots taken over by Laudamotion from former Austrian airline and Air Berlin subsidiary Niki, to operate a total of 15 routes from Berlin Tegel Airport, making it Ryanair’s 10th base in Germany.
Ryanair operated Laudamotion flights to Tegel were launched in June 2018.
Meanwhile, Ryanair is closing its base in Bremen (BRE) and is ‘significantly’ reducing flights offered at Weeze Airport (NRN), blaming recent pilot strikes for these ‘measures’. CEO Micheal O’Leary says the airline will not expand its total capacity in Germany, until disputes with the labour unions are resolved.
Read more: Laudamotion orders 18 new Airbus A320 to end dispute with Lufthansa
Jakob Wert is an aviation journalist from Germany. He built up the website IFN.news and is the Editor-In-Chief of International Flight Network.
