Germanwings, the low-cost airline for Europe, has announced that it plans to launch a new route between Cologne / Bonn and Manchester from October 2009. Introduced as a part of its winter timetable, the carrier will offer five services a week from its German headquarters, allowing travellers from Manchester to connect to destinations across Europe.

The announcement comes as a part of Germanwings’ ongoing focus on business travel. More than 40% of the airline’s customers are now made up of corporate travellers and it will look to build on this by adding Manchester, the UK’s fastest growing economy outside of London and the economic powerhouse of the North West, to its route network.

The news also reiterates the carrier’s commitment to the UK and Ireland. Germanwings already serves London all year round and Edinburgh and Dublin during the summer months, and is reviewing additional options within the market for future opportunities.

Commenting on the launch, Thomas Winkelmann, CEO of germanwings said: “Manchester is an important step for us. It has one of the fastest growing economies in Britain today, and is seen by many as the UK’s second city. By launching a service connecting it directly with Cologne / Bonn we hope to tap into a major business market which continues to grow rapidly.”

“At the same time we also expect the route to be extremely popular with leisure travellers in the North West, who will now not only be able to visit Germany’s oldest city, Cologne, but will also be able to connect to more than 60 other European destinations quickly and efficiently.”

Andrew Harrison, Commercial Director for Manchester Airport, said: “Just this week at a European business leader conference I’ve been vocalizing the importance of business routes to the development of the wider North West economy, so I’m delighted to see Germanwings further developing our European links and I hope to see businesses utilizing the new service.”