airberlin reduces winter schedule to increase efficiency

Aviation tax results in routes being unprofitable in winter
Around 40 fewer flights per week in the winter than originally planned in Hamburg

2012-07-19 — /travelprnews.com/ — From the next winter schedule, airberlin will adjust its capacity according to market requirements. In the context of its Shape & Size efficiency-increasing programme, airberlin constantly monitors its route network. The aim of this is to increase productivity and optimise the network and also aircraft turnaround. This includes cancelling unprofitable routes during the winter. The additional burden caused by aviation tax has meant that a number of flight connections can no longer be operated profitably and must therefore be completely removed from the winter schedule.

more efficient and are constantly optimising our flight offer. Unfortunately this also means that we must give up some flight connections for the winter. This course of action has been caused primarily by aviation tax. This excessive burden no longer affects only the regional airports but now also has an impact on larger airports. This shows how harmful and unreasonable aviation tax is. It puts German airlines at a great disadvantage and destroys jobs at our airports.” Gregorowitsch is therefore once again calling for the immediate abolition of the tax.

airberlin is removing routes from the winter schedule which are unprofitable due to reduced capacity utilisation. From Hamburg Airport flights to Karlsruhe, Barcelona and Zurich are affected. This reduces the flight offer on the winter schedule in Hamburg from the 220 flights which were originally planned to 182 flights per week. Examples of other connections which have been cancelled are Stuttgart – Milan and the flight between Sylt and Cologne. Overall airberlin is reducing its capacity by 2% compared to the winter schedule of 2011/12.