Air Berlin has been the unlikely candidate for the launch of two UK domestic flights.
The German low cost airline, which already operates out of Stansted to nine European destinations, plans to launch flights from the Essex airport to Glasgow and Manchester.
The UK domestic routes, a first for Air Berlin, will launch on December 16, with fares from £19 one-way including taxes, which also includes in-flight refreshments. The carrier faces stiff competition though, from Easyjet and Globespan on the Glasgow route and from Eastern Airways on the Manchester route.
Air Berlin hopes passengers will use the new domestic flights for economical travel between Germany and both Manchester and Glasgow. The carrier claims to be the first to use Stansted as a transfer hub, meaning passengers transitting through the airport on Air Berlin flights will be able to do so without retrieving bags and checking in for the new flight. It expects transfer times to be no longer than one hour.
Air Berlin is not the first non-UK and Ireland carrier to operate domestic flights. Belgian carrier VLM operates domestic flights from London City to Liverpool and Manchester, but without any geographical leaning implied in its brand name, it has had less of a marketing challenge to overcome than Air Berlin.
Air Berlin is well established in Germany and already operates flights from Stansted to Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hanover, Leipzig, Munster-Osnabruck, Nuremberg, Paderborn, Palma de Majorca and Vienna. For more information go to www.airberlin.com.
Report by Ginny McGrath
