Germanwings vows to ‘kick out’ easyJet!
Germany looks set for a fares war after budget carrier Germanwings unveiled a £26 return fare on the Cologne-Gatwick route, undercutting easyJet's standard fare of £40.
Germany looks set for a fares war after budget carrier Germanwings unveiled a £26 return fare on the Cologne-Gatwick route, undercutting easyJet's standard fare of £40.
Germanwings begins operating the route later this week. Its deputy managing director of marketing, Andreas Bierwirth, identified easyJet as its main rival, saying: 'We will fight them route for route...We will kick them out by beating them on every route where we compete.'
But a spokesman for easyJet told today's Times: '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.'
Until recently, Germany was underserved by low cost carriers. However, following expansion by easyJet and Ryanair and the emergence of a number of German operators over the past two years, the market is now considered overcrowded.
Michael O'Leary, Ryanair chief executive, predicted last week that at least one European budget airline would close by the end of 2004, following a 'ferocious' price war this autumn.
