Germanwings 'will kick out' easyJet
By Russell Hotten
GERMANWINGS has vowed to “kick out” easyJet from Germany, a sign that the country is fast becoming Europe’s most competitive market for budget airlines.
EasyJet and Ryanair are making inroads into Germany where, unlike in Britain, the market for low-cost travel is still relatively underdeveloped.But with the emergence of several German budget operations in the past two years, the market is overcrowded.
Last week Michael O’Leary, chief executive of Ryanair, forecast that at least one low-cost airline would close by the end of the year.
Andreas Bierwirth, Germanwings’ deputy managing director of marketing, said the airline saw easyJet as its main competitor. “We will fight them route for route,” he said.
When easyJet announced services between Cologne and Gatwick for £40 return, Germanwings said it would serve the same route for £26.
“We will kick them (easyJet) out by beating them on every route where we compete”, Dr Bierwirth said in an interview with The Times.
The two airlines do not compete from Berlin, where only easyJet has a base. “They can keep Berlin. There is not a good enough market there for a low-cost airline,” he added.
An easyJet spokesman said: “Are we scared? No. (Germanwings) will learn soon enough that the way to make money is not to pick a fight by competing on our routes.”
