Air Berlin hub closure threatens flights.

Air Berlin hub closure threatens flights. | R.L.

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterPalma25/11/2015 00:00
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Following the decision by Air Berlin to close its Palma hub and to stop flights to and from airports on the Spanish mainland from the start of next year, a process of re-programming has begun, with Air Europa and Vueling both looking initially to take over the more profitable routes - notably those to Seville and Bilbao - and later adding those to Alicante, Jerez and Valencia in competing directly with Ryanair.

Air Europa considers the Palma-Bilbao route to be most feasible, but the airline’s parent company, Globalia, is saying that it will not be increasing its current weekend service to the rest of the week until Air Berlin finally pulls out at the end of March.
As for the Seville route, this is being looked at, with both it and Bilbao offering opportunities to increase frequency and to commence operations.

Aside from the Air Berlin decision, Jet2 and Ryanair - as has been noted previously in The Bulletin - will be operating between Palma and Leeds-Bradford, Edinburgh, Manchester and Birmingham from February; this being a response to increased holiday demand from the UK for Majorca.

This bringing forward of flight schedules will result in an earlier start for the tourism season in Majorca, with 11 February being spoken about and many hotels looking to open between two to three months earlier than in 2015. Airlines operating from Switzerland, Scandinavia and France are also expected to bring forward their schedules for flights to Majorca.