Air Berlin tackles Scandinavia

Air Berlin is ramping up its Scandinavian presence with services out of Denmark's Copenhagen Airport starting 2 May. This follows the low-cost carrier's successful introduction of service to Helsinki in February.

A glance at the Copenhagen Airports press release would lead you to believe that its low passenger charges have been instrumental in luring the low-cost airline. "Air Berlin, Germany's largest low-cost carrier, has now finally confirmed that it is going to start up service out of Copenhagen Airport," it boasts.

"Flying out of Copenhagen Airport has become cheaper. Not only have we lowered our airport charges, but the political decision to phase out the Danish passenger tax gives us a good trump in our sales vis-à-vis the airlines - low-cost airlines in particular," says Copenhagen Airports chief executive Niels Boserup. "There is no doubt that we are going to see a clearly favourable effect on the number of new routes at the airport."

But a quick call to Air Berlin sets the record straight: "Saving money is always a big plus, but not the biggest factor in our decision," says the carrier, as it seeks to expand its network to European capitals.

Including Air Berlin, there are now nine low-cost carriers to choose from for passengers wanting to fly out of Copenhagen Airport. Last year, low-cost carriers accounted for 10% of total traffic at Copenhagen Airport.