JUSTIN WASTNAGE / COLOGNE
Move aimed at reducing procurement and operating costs across European leisure giant's six subsidiaries
German leisure giant TUI Group expects to complete a study in November on a fleet restructuring for its European charter airline subsidiaries. The move, designed to lead to implementation next year, comes as the group launches a low-fare division in Germany.
TUI, formerly Preussag, controls six charter airlines across Europe, each with a diverse fleet. "There is a need to rationalise the fleet in the near future," says TUI airline group chairman Charles Gurassa. The six airlines - Britannia Airways in the UK and Scandinavia; Corsair in France; Hapag-Lloyd in Germany; Neos in Italy; and White Eagle Aviation in Poland - between them operate more than 90 aircraft, the majority of which are Boeings.
Gurassa says once the group completes the study it will be ready to enter negotiations with manufacturers. Although some aircraft retain special roles, notably five Boeing 747 Classics used by Corsair to fly to French overseas territories, the aim is to streamline the fleet to cut procurement and maintenance costs.
TUI's airlines operate around 50 Boeing Next Generation 737 models - the largest charter fleet in Europe - and Gurassa confirms that the group has been discussing the proposed extended range 737-900X. However, he maintains that there is no commitment to the new variant, and he says that TUI will also consider aircraft in the Airbus A320 family.
Meanwhile, the group's new low-cost subsidiary Hapag-Lloyd Express (HLX) will start services from its Cologne-Bonn hub on 3 December using 148-seat 737-700s. The first four aircraft will be wet-leased from German independent charter airline Germania. A further four will be added in March which will be dry-leased. TUI says that its decision to use Germania aircraft was based on aircraft availability and operating cost.
HLX will initially offer two domestic routes, Berlin and Hamburg, and is in negotiations with other German airports. As well as the domestic routes, the service will start operating to four points in Italy and to London Luton.
The group is said to be unhappy at the decision by Germania to start its own low-cost shuttle between Frankfurt and Berlin. HLX chief executive Wolfgang Kurth says that Germania is "not a partner in HLX, merely a supplier". He adds that HLX will lease further aircraft from other sources and will not renew Germania's contract after the five-year deal expires.
Source: Flight International
