Easyjet is to expand its German operations with a new base at Hamburg and adding an extra aircraft at Berlin.
The no-frills carrier will base three Airbus A319s at Hamburg from spring 2014 which will allow it to introduce around 15 new services on top of its existing six routes, which include Gatwick, Luton, Manchester and Edinburgh. Details of the new routes have not been announced.
Easyjet will also base an 8th aircraft at Berlin Schoenefeld from next spring which will be used to operate “additional frequencies on key routes”.
Hamburg will be Easyjet’s 23rd European base and the airline estimates that business travellers account for around 20 per cent of its traffic through the airport. Easyjet carried around 525,000 passengers on its Hamburg routes in the last 12 months.
The airline wants to grow its corporate passenger numbers by adding more frequencies and early morning departures from Hamburg.
Carolyn McCall, Easyjet’s chief executive officer, said: “Hamburg and its region is one of the most dynamic economies in Europe with a significant and growing tourist industry.
“Germany’s second largest city is also one of Europe’s wealthiest economies with a strong local industry in banking, aviation, renewable energy media and publishing and the second largest European harbour.
“Easyjet expects to bring 275,000 additional business and leisure visitors in Hamburg in the first year.”
Easyjet is currently the fifth largest carrier in Germany with a 3.5 per cent market share and operates from seven airports – the other five are Dusseldorf, Dortmund, Cologne/ Bonn, Dresden and Munich.