Germanwings is not at all a low fare airline, but the attempt by LH to lower operating cost. The lowest fares, especially if with luggage, often work out higher than the LH entry fares of the time. That's right.
However, HAM-BHX never excelled really when it was LH, and so far has not improved as a 4U route (I am writing this without rechecking the historical pax data, but largely I believe this to be true).
Overall it appears that Germanwings is working (better than their European operations before in any case) - see LH Groups's recent financial updates & commentary.
Regarding the BHX-HAM, as a user of that service I (and I know others) alternate between HAJ and HAM, and during the summer period I am likely to combine the morning HAMBHX flight with evening BHXHAJ departure - from HAM to the city centre it takes just under 30mins by train, from HAJ to Hamburg city centre no more than 2h (or 2h20min if taking the slower but cheaper train). Or cheap rental car from HAJ - takes me around 90mins from HAJ to Hamburg, my German colleagues do it in an hour...
Last edited by insuindi; 26th Mar 2014 at 11:54.