18 ordini e 12 opzioni per il 319 ad "alta densità", se non sbglio è il primo ordine per questa variante dopo quello iniziale di EasyJet ...

Spero che non sia già stato postato...

Da ATW:
Germanwings adds to Airbus order book
Monday June 20, 2005
Germanwings placed an order for 18 156-seat A319s and took options for 12 more, the carrier announced Friday, adding that the new aircraft are scheduled to arrive between 2006 and 2008.Management Board Chairman Joachim Klein told ATWOnline that some of the new equipment will replace leased aircraft and "the other A319s we need to grow. We want to operate up to 30 aircraft in the next two years." Germanwings plans to increase frequencies on its network, which currently includes 39 destinations from its existing bases at Cologne, Stuttgart and Berlin Schoenefeld. "In Berlin, where we started on June 5, we have already reached an 80% load factor. We hope to transport around 2 million passengers [from Berlin] in 2006," Klein said.

Further expansion should lead the carrier into the future EU member states of Eastern Europe. "I believe cities like Sophia or Bucharest we should add as soon as possible to our network, but we have to keep in mind that we extend our network just to destinations which are profitable," he commented.

Klein also said the company could announce plans for its next base in Germany as early as this winter and that it could be located in Nurnberg, Hannover or Dusseldorf.

In addition, the airline continues to work on its Wings concept. It has kept brand names like Austriawings and Swisswings in some markets in order to extend activities when the time is right. "But first we have to take care of our home market. And there are still a lot of opportunities for us," he said. Germanwings currently operates 15 A319s and five A320s and expects to carry 5 million passengers this year.

by Kurt Hofmann