733 Drvier,
You are correct - the charter and low-fare markets are different markets in terms of groups of passengers. I was merely stating that travelers, in general, will have more choices in the future - they can either book via travel agent and fly on a package that includes flying Condor/Air Berlin or they can fly "Germanwings" to Palma a la carte.
The fact is that the low-fare market is growing at a much faster pace than the IT market, therefore, it makes sense to reallocate some potentially idle aircraft to a joint-venture that includes a lot of cash and marketing muscle. Germania is a prime example.
I do find the entire "Low-fare" revolution to be quite interesting with a number of new players popping-up. Have you seen the pictures of that new Swedish operator called "goodjet" that uses A320s out of a number of Scandinavian airports?
With all of the new low-cost carriers sporting brand new 737-700/800s and Airbus A320s (combined with the new flock of regional jets) the European airspace will soon be buzzing with new call-signs and filled to near capacity! You won't be hearing many "Speedbird" callsigns as much anymore...
733 Driver, I know you fly for DBA - I hope that easyJet does, in fact, acquire DBA and give you a chance to fly with one of the eventual winners...
Cheers