Germany must have Europe’s most orderly, some would argue the most sensible, domestic aviation policy.
In which other nation do the airlines tell their customers to take the train rather than their planes?
Which other country debates whether or not to reduce domestic aviation?
In 2020, reports Bloomberg, a poll by the European Investment Bank, found 67 per cent of respondents favouring curbs on short-haul flights.
And which other country has the national operator developed rail-air to the same degree?
Now Easyjet may have upset the apple cart by announcing it will restart Berlin-Cologne services next month. Bild.de reports that Easyjet is poised to start a price war on this route.
This comes after Easyjet announced last year that it would withdraw from the domestic market. Bild notes that restarting this route comes as a surprise and that it is “completely against the anti short-haul trend”.
“In the middle of the climate debate, the cheap airline Easyjet ignites the price bomb against top dog Eurowings.”
The route Cologne-Berlin is used by government officials who, notes Bild, “are supposed to take the train.”
Doubtless that was one reason why Deutsche Bahn will run Sprinter ICE trains next month to lower journey times to under four hours.
Quoted by Bild, Easyjet says the route is being “re-introduced in response to the demand for domestic flights in Germany.”
And this news has emerged just as COP26 gets under way.
