The airports have also been fighting for their business for two years of the pandemic, and Nuremberg Airport is now announcing a second major step within a few weeks to get out of the crisis. From the end of March, British Airways will take off and land at Albrecht Dürer Airport, for the first time to London Heathrow, initially four times a week and from May six times a week. This means that Nuremberg is connected to one of the world’s most important air traffic hubs, airport boss Michael Hupe said on Wednesday. The managing director had recently announced that Ryanair was stationing two machines at the airport and was also expanding the range of routes at the end of March.
Unlike the Irish low-cost airline Ryanair, British Airways is said to attract many business customers. Heathrow is a popular transfer airport and the USA should also be much easier to reach from Nuremberg in the future – New York, Boston or Chicago, for example. In addition, with good transfer times at Heathrow, it is also easier to get to Santiago de Chile, São Paulo and Dubai, said Hupe. Mayor Marcus König (CSU) praised the expansion with a view to the Nuremberg trade fair business.
Less dependence on strong airlines
Heathrow was last a direct destination from Nuremberg more than 20 years ago. After that, travelers had to change trains there in Frankfurt or Amsterdam. But British Airways itself was in Nuremberg – on a weekly basis, when charters commuted from the smaller London Gatwick Airport to the Christkindlesmarkt.
With the offensive advertising for the expansion of the airline, the management obviously also wants to show that they have learned from the past. Albrecht Dürer Airport used to focus on Air Berlin. The once second largest German flight provider was once the player par excellence in NUE with a market share of 58 percent and gave the airport record figures. When Air Berlin went bankrupt, the Nuremberg model failed and the airport had to completely reorganize itself. That’s why Managing Director Hupe keeps talking about “diversification of connectivity”, meanwhile the market shares are more balanced. As the largest provider, Ryanair holds around 30 percent of the passenger volume, followed by the Turkish holiday line Corendon with around 23 percent.
With British Airways, the three major airline alliances are now represented in Nuremberg: Star Alliance (including Lufthansa and Aegean), Sky Team (KLM) and, now new, Oneworld Alliance. This should also increase the attractiveness of the location for travellers. British Airways’ decision for Nuremberg came at relatively short notice, with only about two months’ notice. In the unpredictable pandemic, airlines are trying to close gaps in their own flight schedule. How long the Brits will stay is difficult to say and depends on the number of bookings. What is certain is that the route can initially be booked until March 2023.
Meanwhile, NUE is expanding its offering to Eastern Europe. Air Serbia will fly direct to Belgrade for the first time from June. The airline had previously offered Niš but withdrew due to the pandemic. And other destinations are being worked on in Nuremberg: Because of the large Russian community in the region, flights to Moscow and St. Petersburg are always being discussed.