Cheap Low-Cost Airlines in Germany
Fly on German Budget Carriers Air Berlin, TUIfly, and Germanwings
Air Berlin, TUIfly, and Germanwings are German low-cost airlines with cheap airfares, surprisingly good service, excellent safety records, and many European destinations.
German low-cost Air Berlin, TUIfly, and Germanwings have good reputations for customer service and excellent safety records. None charges separately for checked luggage and all three airlines have frequent-flyer programs of some sort.
Air Berlin (AB) – Europe’s Favorite Low-Cost Airline
Air Berlin frequently achieves the highest satisfaction rating by passengers of low-cost airlines in Europe. It places a high priority on service with free drinks and food, in-flight entertainment, and liberal luggage and cancellation policies. Seats are assigned at check-in or specific seats can be reserved in advance (for a fee).
- Since early 2008, the airline spelling changed to airberlin.
Air Berlin’s base is Berlin-Tegel (TXL) airport with further major hubs at Düsseldorf (DUS), Köln-Bonn (CGN), München (MUC), Nürnberg (NRN), and Palma de Mallorca (PLM).
Air Berlin flies mostly Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 aircraft. Its fleet of 94 planes is on average 7.6 years old.
- Air Berlin’s tickets are generally less cheap than competing low-cost airlines but the service and facilities compare well with full-service airlines. Air Berlin is thus often described as a semi-low-cost airline.
TUIfly (X3 & HF)
TUIfly belongs to TUI, Europe’s largest tourism company. The airline was formed in 2007 from Hapag-Loyd Express (X3) and Hapag-Loyd Flug (HF) – for legal reasons the different call signals of these two airlines are sometimes still use in addition to TUIfly itself.
TUIfly flies mostly to popular holiday destinations in the Mediterranean region but also has flights to major European capitals. Longer distance flights are planned for the future. In 2007, it flied to over 75 destinations. Customer satisfaction with TUIfly has been high, in some surveys equaling that of Air Berlin.
TUIfly has 53 Boeing 737s that are on average 7.6 years old. Its base airport is Hannover.
Germanwings (4U)
Germanwings is a low-cost airline controlled by Lufthansa. It has been flying since 1997 to German and European destinations.
Of all low-cost airlines in Germany, Germanwings comes closest to the operating model of Irish and British low-cost airlines. Thrills are non-existent, no free drinks, or seat assignments. Not surprisingly, Germanwings tends to rate the lowest of German airlines in customer satisfaction surveys but still much better than European competitors Easyjet and Ryanair.
- Germanwings tickets are generally cheaper than those of its German competitors.
Germanwings main bases are Köln-Bonn (60 non-stop destinations) and Stuttgart (40 non-stop destinations). Germanwings has 27 Airbus A319 planes that are on average 6.2 years old.
- Germany has airports in all parts of the country but for long-distance flights none equal Frankfurt International (FRA), the hub of German full-service airline Lufthansa. Munich Airport (MUC) has the largest number of European destinations while Cologne-Bonn (Köln) (CGN) claims to have the largest number of low-cost flights.
Sources:
Fleet numbers and average age: Airfleets
Safety records: Jet Airliner Crash Data Evaluation Center (JACDEC)
Customer satisfaction: ServiceRating GmbH, Stiftung Warentest
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