Germanwings has been operating flights since October 2002. In their first year there were over 1 million passengers, but now they transport in the region of 7 million passengers each year. The airline follows the easyJet-type low cost formula, flying to major European airports, rather than into small isolated airfields. Over 95% of flight bookings are made online. The major shareholder is Lufthansa with 49% of shares and Germanwings share flight crews, maintenance and some aircraft with Lufthansa.
|
Germanwings Routes and Destinations
Flight schedules are published twice a year, one for summer and one for winter. With a total of 53 destinations to 20 European countries and nearly 100 routes, German wings is now one of the major low cost airlines in Europe. Their base is in Germany at Cologne Bonn airport, with other flight hubs at Berlin Schoenefeld, Hamburg and Stuttgart airports.
From the UK, Germanwings scheduled flights depart from: Edinburgh - Cologne-Bonn; London Gatwick - Hamburg; London Stansted - Cologne-Bonn & Stuttgart.
For fare details see
Edinburgh Cologne Bonn Flights from under £50 return
London Cologne Bonn Flights from under £60 return
London Hamburg Flights from under £50 return
London Stuttgart Flights from £40 return
Quick Information
| Booking Tips | Book early for the cheapest flights, or try the early morning flights. No tickets are issued, just keep your Booking Reference number for check-in. A credit card payment charge of £1 pp. per flight is added to the fare. Babies under 2 years travel for a fixed fee of 10 Euros. |
| Food | Not included in the fare, purchase on board or at the airport.
|
| Seats | Seats are all the same and have 30-32" seat pitch between rows, very good legroom for a low cost airline. Seats can't be reserved either when booking or checking in, but there is priority boarding for the less able and parents with small children.
|
| Baggage | Free 20 kg baggage limit, but a maximum of 50kg per person is allowed for a fee. No weight restriction on hand luggage, one item only of maximum dimensions 56x45x25cm. Babies under 2 years old get no baggage allowance.
Excess baggage costs £5/kg per flight. Sports equipment costs from £14-£17 per item, skis are carried free on selected routes. |
| Check-In | Desks open 2 hours prior to departure, latest check-in time is 30 mins. There is no advance check-in service. |
| Flight Changes | Date changes can be done online for £17 pp. per flight plus any fare increase. Changes by telephone cost an extra £5 on top of this (Germanwings call centre 0870 252 12 50, 7am - 8pm). Destination or passenger name changes are not possible. No refunds of you miss or cancel a flight.
|
| Fleet | Number of aircraft used varies depending on season. They mainly use modern airbus A319 and a few Airbus 320. |
Passenger Opinions, Comments and Reviews
In April 2006, Germanwings was voted best German airline, according to a survey by consumer protection groups from 6 European countries. Passengers voted for excellence in punctuality, price, service, cleanliness and efficiency of ground staff. Skytrax awards them 3 stars, with food, seats and staff getting good marks.
General opinion about the food is good and recommended as good value for money. The new airbus 319 has leather chairs and lots of legroom. Passengers also like the clean aircraft, but unallocated seating is thought to be a disadvantage by some.
"nice leather seats"
Latest News
November 2006 Germanwings announces a large route expansion, especially to Southern and Eastern Europe, from its 4 German airports, starting spring / summer 2007.
Back to Low Fare Airlines Guides
|
|