Lufthansa will boost its UK services to Berlin with new daily services from Manchester and Birmingham to coincide with the opening of the new Berlin-Brandenburg “Willy Brandt” Airport in June 2012.

The new services are due to start on 3rd June and will be operated with modern and fuel-efficient aircraft from the Airbus 320 family (A321, A320, A319) in a two class configuration. 

Announcing the new service Karsten Benz, Lufthansa Vice President Sales and Services Europe, said: “The addition of more direct flights to Berlin reaffirms the importance of the UK within the Lufthansa network. The opening of the new Berlin-Brandenburg ‘Willy Brandt’ Airport next year provides new opportunities for Lufthansa to increase its offering to UK passengers. The new Manchester and Birmingham services will complement the existing three times daily London-Heathrow to Berlin service operated on behalf of Lufthansa by bmi.

“Lufthansa offers a range of highly competitive fares for both business and leisure travellers and a high quality product that provides passengers with their seat, hold & cabin baggage allowances, in flight food & drink, the ability to check-in on line, from their mobile phone or at the airport and all taxes and charges for one all inclusive fare with no hidden extras. We are launching the Manchester and Birmingham to Berlin services with our lowest UK entry fare of £39 one-way and £79 return inclusive of all taxes and charges. We will also offer highly competitive Business Class fares. All Lufthansa fares include the opportunity to collect miles with Europe’s largest airline loyalty programme, Miles & More, free luggage allowance and creative on board catering.

“The opening of the new Berlin-Brandenburg ‘Willy Brandt’ Airport next year creates new growth dynamics and market opportunities so Lufthansa is planning a massive expansion of flights, the creation of several hundreds of jobs in Berlin and investments of more than 60 million EUR. Currently, the Lufthansa Group and its partner airlines account for a quarter of the 21 million passengers at Berlin airports. In order to increase this share significantly, the Group will deploy 35 aircraft on routes to and from Berlin from next summer. This is in addition to the existing flights by Lufthansa’s partners Germanwings, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and bmi.

With more than 8.2 million visitors in 2010, Berlin is one of Europe’s most popular destinations and the third largest convention & exhibition city in the world. Berlin can be described as the city of superlatives which is never short of new experiences. Its diversity, opposites and the infinite opportunities thrill visitors from all over the world. The city sets trends: whether sightseeing or the alternative scene, galleries or gourmet restaurants, music or fashion. With its legendary nightlife, the attractive and unusual shopping opportunities but also the unique historical background merging Eastern and Western Europe, the city is more popular then ever before with visitor numbers currently growing faster than Paris, London and even New York.

Business class travellers will benefit from a significantly bigger Business/Senator Lounge – including a VIP Suite – with 1585 square metres and 150 square metres respectively compared to the existing lounge area at Tegel Airport. The check-in area for First Class passengers, Senators and HON Circle members will be bigger and more comfortable than the current ones. In the future, premium customers will enjoy the amenities of a 100 square metres waiting lobby with four designated private check-in counters.