easyJet Opens Its First European Maintenance Hangar

EasyJet has opened its first European maintenance facility at Berlin-Brandenburg (BER).

The four-bay hangar will allow easyJet's Austrian-registered aircraft to have easy access. This will ensure that easyJet's fleet is reliable and active.

Opening a shop

This facility opened in the wake of a EUR20million ($22 million) investment by easyJet. It will further strengthen its presence in Berlin. EasyJet's choice of location perfectly fits in with its Berlin growth plan. The move was supported by Wirtschaftsforderung Brandenburg, MRO Facilities and MRO Facilities who oversaw construction.

The base is located close to Terminal One and will provide light maintenance and repairs for the low-cost carrier’s 135-strong European fleet, which includes Airbus A320 family planes. The hangar measures 11500m2 and can hold four Airbus A321s at once. It is almost double the size of London Gatwick's (LGW) maintenance facility.

The facility will also employ over 100 easyJet employees, creating new opportunities for engineers and skilled workers based in Berlin.

EasyJet celebrated its launch Wednesday with a joint-opening celebration hosted by Dr. Jorg Steinbach, the Chairwoman of Berlin Brandenburg's Management Board, and Thomas Haagensen, easyJet Europe’s Managing Director.

Capital David Morgan, easyJet's COO, stated that Berlin-Brandenburg's brand new hangar is crucial for the airline as it transitions towards zero emissions.

"The opening ceremony of the maintenance hangar was a significant milestone for the year. We thank our partners for their support and look forward to bringing one of the oldest aircrafts that were maintained here back to our operation. The NEO aircraft has the latest Descent Profile Optimisation technology (DPO), which allows for the most efficient descents and helps to reduce carbon emissions.

Moving forward

Despite a slow start to 2022 for the airline, easyJet continues to move forward for 2023 after a busy winter season. Morgan spoke to Bloomberg and expressed cautious optimism about the year, despite Europe's skyrocketing inflation rates. The airline believes that passenger numbers will return to pre-pandemic levels in 2023 as holidaymakers look for affordable travel options.

EasyJet's renewed focus in Berlin is a reflection of that confidence. The airline had planned to reduce winter operations in order to meet lower demand during Q2 of last year. The airline, like Ryanair, has drastically scaled back its operations in Germany. It reduced its fleet at Berlin Brandenburg airport by 11.

The airport has a growing demand for low-cost flights. After both airlines had to scale back, Eurowings, a rival budget carrier, has shifted its attention towards Berlin and added eight routes to sunny destinations and city breaks.

Berlin's new-opened airport saw traffic slow down in late 2022. Passenger numbers reached just 65% of their pre-pandemic peak. As the numbers rise slowly, easyJet may try to reclaim that market later in 2019.

 

Source: simpleflying.com