Lufthansa today issued a press release dedicated to their great efforts at Berlin’s new Berlin Brandenberg Airport (BER).
Among some of the highlights:
*30 new destinations from Berlin starting summer 2012. This includes 28 new European destinations and 2 new Middle Eastern routes.
This route expansion will mean that Lufthansa will have more than 1000 take offs and landings per week based on the Summer 2012 timetable.
*Dedicated Berlin fleet increases 75% – Lufthansa will base 15 A320’s at the new airport. Seating capacity increases over 40%. As a result, Lufthansa will require an additional 130 pilots and 200 flight attendants to be stationed out of BER.
*A total of 35 Lufthansa aircraft will be committed to serve on BER routes.
*Lufthansa investing 60 Million Euro towards development of the new airport, creating new jobs in the area.
*The next A380 will be Christened “Berlin”. That aircraft, registration D-AIMI, is scheduled to enter service in April 2012.
AND………..
***** A new Lufthansa Business and Senator Lounge ***** (the most important thing to us, right???) The plans call for a 16,000 sq. ft. facility to host both lounges. That amounts to a lounge that is 10% bigger than the current one at Berlin’s Tegel Airport.
Sounds like the new airport is one that needs to go on my list of places to see next year! Always wanted to take a Mileage Run to Berlin, and now there’s the motivation of a new airport and increased service.
It does not sound LH is operating much of a hub at BER. Most of the new destinations are stricly leisure destinations. Some will have just one flight weekly, and most others at most a single daily flight, and often just 5 or 6 weekly. It’s not a schedule for connections. The LH schedule will continue to have frequent flights to LH’s hubs in FRA and MUC, as well as DUS and CGN.
As for visiting Berlin itself, TXL is very close to the city and inside the basic transit tarrif. The new BER airport will be a 40 minute train ride away. The existing Senator lounge at TXL is pretty good.
thanks for the additional insight!