Germanwings introduced in late August a low-cost transfer scheme in which passengers can connect between its flights but must re-check their bags and be re-screened by security.
Chief executive Thomas Winkelmann says three airports are covering the cost of its new "Smart Connect" service by supplying a booth for re-checking bags. There is "zero cost" to germanwings because passengers move their bags themselves.
"We have a slogan: 'You always see your luggage,'" Winkelmann says. "We're a point-to-point, not a connecting airline."
He acknowledges it is inconvenient for passengers to re-check bags and go through security twice but says: "These days no one understands when to go through security or not."
Winkelmann expects the new transfer scheme will give germanwings a two-percentage point load factor boost from 82% to 84%. He says Cologne/Bonn, Stuttgart and Berlin Schonefeld airports are willing to pay for it because the scheme will generate traffic that is now going through other European hubs. Germanwings will only sell Smart Connect on flights that are not traditionally full because the Smart Connect fare is less than two single fares combined.
Source: Airline Business
