I recently had the opportunity to fly both British Airways and Iberia in short-haul economy, and talk about a 180-degree difference, especially striking when both are owned by the same parent company. While short flights don’t generally get much consideration, when one carrier offers so much more than another on the exact same route (namely between London and Madrid) for the exact same price, it’s probably better to go with the airline that will offer more and avoid the one that (spoiler alert) won’t even give you water.
This is the Germanwings Airbus A320 (D-AIPX) involved in the crash, seen on 3/14/15 at Zurich Airport – Photo: Aero Icarus | Flickr CC
Today, a Germanwings Airbus A320 (registration D-AIPX) crashed in the Alps in southeastern France. The aircraft was carrying 144 passengers and six crew members and there are no survivors. The flight left at about 10:01am local time from Barcelona and was on its way to Dusseldorf. The crash happened near the village of Prads-Haute-Bleaone, at an altitude of about 6,550 feet. The search will be difficult, since the plane crashed in a remote, mountainous area.
The descent of flight 9525 – Image: Google Earth | @GueardedDon
According to FlightAware, it appears that flight 9525 descended in a controlled manner from 38,000 feet at 1500 to 4000 fpm. The aircraft hit cruise altitude at about 10:45am and then started descent at 10:46am and lost contact with Air Traffic Control (ATC) at about 10:53am.
Germanwings new livery on an Airbus A319 (D-AGWT). Photo from Germanwings.
Behold Germanwing’s new livery which was recently painted on an Airbus A319 (D-AGWT). The change is more than just a new design; they are altering the way that they do business as well.
Germanwings was founded in 1997 as a German based low-cost airline and in January 2009, they became a subsidiary of Lufthansa Airlines. Germanwings currently operates a fleet of almost 40 Airbus A319 aircraft, but it will soon grow.
Lufthansa will start moving aircraft to the “new” airline and Germanwings fleet will grow to about 90. Germanwings is set to take over all of Lufthansa’s domestic and European, non-hub flights.
Germanwings previous livery on an Airbus A319. Photo by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren.
Christoph Franz, Chairman of the Executive Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG stated: ’œWith the ’˜new Germanwings’ we are going on the offensive in respect of point-to-point connections. We have developed a convincing array of products and have many years of experience in the low-cost and premium segments. We will combine elements of both in the ’˜new Germanwings’ and set new standards in our home market of Europe. This will enable us to operate profitably away from our large hubs again while also exciting our passengers with a modern offering.’
Germanwings new pricing structure is a bit easier to follow than other low cost airlines. Image from Germanwings.
On July 1, 2013, the official “new Germanwings” will start operations with only economy seating, but with three types of service (see the chart above).
Lufthansa’s website states, “True to the motto ’œReasonably priced but not cheap’, the airline’s employees will focus all the more on meeting customer’s wishes to the fullest in the future. Passengers will be able to choose from three basic Economy Class modules for this ’“ Best, Smart and Basic.”
The more you pay; the better service you get. Not too difficult.
What do you think of Germanwings new livery? Photo from Germanwings.
The new livery is a pretty radical departure from the previous one. It moves to a more conservative look, that mirrors Lufthansa.
As far as European-white liveries, I think this one does quite well. The swooping, colorful “W” on the tail goes well with the titles on the side. I only wish that color would have been added to the winglets, but maybe that would have been a bit too much. Lufthansa has probably one of the most simple, yet regal liveries and probably wanted Germanwings to have a bit more of a “fun” or “cost effective” look, while steering clear of the Spirit Airlines or Wizz Air look.
This story written by…David Parker Brown, Editor & Founder.
David started AirlineReporter.com in the summer of 2008, but has had a passion for aviation since he was a kid. Born and raised in the Seattle area (where he is currently based) has surely had an influence and he couldn’t imagine living anywhere else in the world.
Ah, creative advertising. I love it. I also love ad-wars. This cleaver ad is brought to you by Germanwings and was filmed on a easyJet flight. At least easyJet made some money when the people paid for tickets!
Germanwings Airbus A319 (D-AKNF) with Park Inn Hotels livery
I love special liveries. I am even ok when a livery advertises something to make the airline a little money. However, some liveries just go too far and I think this might be one of them.
First of all, it almost gives me a headache to read what the side of the plane says. Secondly, I just get confused looking at a head-on shot of the plane. Third…well I hate to admit it, but it does get my attention.
By looking at the livery you surely know it is advertising the Park Inn Hotels which love their nice colored boxes. But it might take a little more searching to find the airline flying this plane (hint: check the engines).
This is an Airbus A319 flying for the airline Germanwings. The airline is based out of Germany and is a low-frills airline. It has a fleet of about 25 Airbus A319’s and flies to just over 65 destinations.
