By removing the 112-seater E190s from its fleet and using additional Airbus aircraft, the Austrian airberlin subsidiary will become more efficient in terms of its network and cost structure.
The airberlin group had already announced the harmonisation of its fleet back in September, as part of its restructuring program. And now the Group has taken another important step with its Austrian subsidiary, NIKI. By the middle of 2015, the existing Embraer aircraft in the NIKI fleet will be replaced by Airbus planes.
“Harmonising our fleet will enable us to achieve increased productivity, lower costs per seat kilometre and more efficient flight operations. The decision to switch to the larger Airbus planes will also create new growth opportunities for NIKI. In 2015, NIKI will therefore see capacity increase” said Chief Executive Officer, Wolfgang Prock-Schauer.
“The standardisation of our fleet is a bonus for NIKI. It will allow us to operate more economically on the whole. And the increased overall capacity will also enable us to support an important trend: Vienna airport has established itself as a hub for airberlin passengers for flights to Greece and Cyprus, for example,” said NIKI Managing Director, Christian Lesjak.
By removing the 112-seater E190s from its fleet and using additional Airbus aircraft, the Austrian airberlin subsidiary will become more efficient in terms of its network and cost structure. Instead of its seven Embraer planes, it will operate five Airbus A319 aircraft (seating 150) and two Airbus A320s (with 180 seats). The change-over will be gradually implemented by June 2015.
airberlin plans to defleet all its 45 Boeings by 2016 and become an Airbus-only operator whereby the accessions will consist of both existing Airbus orders and market access.
airberlin is one of the leading airlines in Europe and flies to 171 destinations worldwide each year. The second largest airline in Germany carried more than 31.5 million passengers in 2013. airberlin offers a global route network through its strategic partnership with Etihad Airways, which has a 29.21% share in airberlin, and through membership of the oneworld airline alliance. topbonus, the frequent flyer program of airberlin, is one of the leading programs in Europe with more than 3.5 million members. The airline with the award-winning service operates codeshare flights worldwide with 19 airlines. The fleet is among the most modern and eco-efficient in Europe.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
