ROBERT JAEGER
The lifting of travel warnings, rising Covid vaccination numbers and the opening of more and more travel destinations led to very high booking dynamics, said Eurowings boss Jens Bischof on Monday. Mainly holiday flights are booked, often just four weeks in advance. Even when it comes to business trips, there is a hesitant recovery. Ten to 15 aircraft were reactivated every month, which had to remain on the ground due to travel restrictions in the Corona crisis. By the end of the month, 60 planes should take off, in late summer there should be 81.
He is confident that the machines “will not only fly, but are also well filled,” said Bischof. Because the costs of restarting are still high because the planes are far from fully booked. Around two thirds of the places are currently occupied. “We expect to pass the 80 percent mark in the summer.”
After the Corona crisis, Eurowings wants to boost growth with new locations outside Germany. Last week, the airline announced that it would be opening a new base in Prague this autumn, initially with two aircraft. The Czech capital was chosen because there are gaps in the route network, the location is not an ultra-cheap flight market and there is a need for business travel. With Palma de Mallorca, Pristina and Salzburg, Eurowings now has four locations in Europe outside of Germany. According to Bishop, at least one more will be added in the coming year.