The capital continues to struggle with connecting to the non-European world. United Airlines resumed flights to New York on Monday, the third of only seven long-haul routes that existed before the corona pandemic. At the same time it became known that the summer route to Washington DC, which had just been announced for the end of May, had been canceled again. And further intercontinental flights are not in sight for the time being, despite the long-haul initiative of the Berlin economy.
The restart of the daily flights to and from Newark Airport was celebrated accordingly. According to Burkhard Kieker, head of the Visit Berlin tourism promotion, the New York connection brings around 90,000 visitors to Berlin every year, who stay in the capital for an average of three to four days and bring in double-digit millions of euros to the economy in Berlin and Brandenburg.
Companies such as Bayer, BMW and many others have also been waiting for the route to be resumed, emphasized the Managing Director of the Berlin Partner business development agency, Stefan Franzke. She hopes that this is “just the beginning” of new flight connections, said Governing Mayor Franziska Giffey (SPD). “Berlin thrives on being well connected”. This is “very crucial” for the economic development of the city.
But there is little prospect of that for the time being. United Airlines had canceled the additional connection to Washington DC announced for the end of May. After a recent analysis of costs, demand and alternatives for passengers, “the issue is on hold,” says Thorsten Lettnien, the airline’s sales director for continental Europe.
Also in focus are transatlantic flights and routes to Asia
And according to airport boss Aletta von Massenbach, the focus is currently on recovering the long-haul routes that existed before Corona (Beijing, Philadelphia, Toronto, Ulan Bator), although China is “still closed”. In addition, other transatlantic flights and routes to Asia are in focus. “We work with passion and a lot of commitment”. Results are not expected until next year at the earliest.
Efforts are concentrated on foreign airlines, because people here have long stopped hoping for Lufthansa. In times of Allied air sovereignty, they had always vehemently demanded their return to Berlin and, after the fall of the Wall, announced long-haul routes to New York, Beijing, Tokyo, Bangkok and Singapore.
But when she had the opportunity to do so after unification, she quickly lost interest in the capital after a change at the top of the board. Flights to New York and Washington DC were each canceled after a very short time with reference to alleged inefficiency. It is better to force Berliners to change trains in Frankfurt or Munich, the only destinations that Lufthansa still serves from BER under its own name.
Initiative called for 17 new routes by 2025
At the time, Air Berlin, whose route network stretched from Tegel from New York to Bangkok, showed that things could be done differently. While flights to Asia were limited to feeder services to Abu Dhabi after Etihad Airways got involved, five non-stop destinations in the USA alone were served until the bankruptcy in 2017.
A campaign launched by business shortly before the start of the pandemic had pointed out the discrepancy with other capitals. At that time, London had 127 intercontinental connections, Paris 120, and even Oslo (twelve) and Athens (nine) were ahead of Berlin. At the time, the initiative called for 17 new routes by 2025, but instead all existing long-haul flights were canceled due to Corona.
Qatar Airways proved to be the most reliable partner, resuming flights to Doha even before BER opened and making powerful competition for Lufthansa, especially on trips to Asia and Oceania. Scoot is already connecting Berlin with Singapore again.
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Emirates has also wanted to fly to Berlin in Germany for decades, but so far there has not been such a liberal air transport agreement between the EU and the United Arab Emirates as with Qatar. Much to the delight of Lufthansa, which, thanks to joint membership in the Star Alliance, can also offer United’s Berlin flights under its own flight number.
There is also a need for action on the ground when it comes to BER. “In the next few months” they want to “think carefully” about how the airport’s connection to Berlin and Potsdam can be improved, said Berlin’s Economics Senator Stephan Schwarz (independent, for the SPD).
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