Tourist air travel becomes more expensive in the summer, even with the largest German provider, Eurowings. The increasing costs are being passed on to customers, explained airline boss Jens Bischof in Cologne. He particularly referred to the state-influenced fees, which have almost doubled in Germany since 2019. This includes fees for passenger checks and air traffic control as well as the air traffic tax, which was increased in May. Further increases are planned.
Bishop admitted that costs in Eurowings operations had also increased “moderately”. Among other things, new collective agreements were concluded for all employee groups, which was achieved without strikes. The airline manager did not give a specific percentage of the price increases.
The Eurowings boss expects a special boom due to the European Football Championship in Germany from June. 70 special flights with 13,000 additional seats have already been launched from European airports. This number could increase in the final rounds, and higher utilization can be expected on regular flights. However, Eurowings is not planning any additional domestic flights between the ten venues.
The Lufthansa subsidiary is on track to make a profit like last year, explained Bischof. With around 120 aircraft, Eurowings is now offering 13 percent more seats than in the previous year due to the continued strong growth in demand. “The desire to travel is coming back strongly.”