Germania Aims to Become Germany's First No-Frills Carrier

Germania Fluggesellschaft mbH, a closely held charter airline based in Berlin, aims to become Germany's first no-frills carrier now that it's offering domestic flights in a bid to break Deutsche Lufthansa AG's near- monopoly, Chief Executive Mustafa Muscati said.

Germania started four scheduled flights a day in November between Frankfurt and Berlin, offering a one-way fare of 55 euros ($49) and no free food or drinks on board. The cheapest one-way ticket for Lufthansa, which flies 13 times a day on the route, is currently $231, according to its Web site.

``Low-fare carriers haven't come to Germany before as everyone's scared of Lufthansa, as it's so aggressive toward newcomers,'' said Muscati in an interview. ``There should always be competition and we're going to do something about that.''

Scheduled airlines have yet to make a profit competing in Germany with Lufthansa, Europe's No. 2 carrier. British Airways Plc's Deutsche BA unit, which runs domestic flights from Munich, has lost since it started flying in 1992 and has said it dropped Frankfurt-Munich service after Lufthansa slashed fares.

Germania is owned by Managing Director Heinrich Bischoff. The airline until late last year offered only charter flights, focusing on Mediterranean holiday destinations such as Spain and Greece as well as the Canary Islands. It operates on behalf of tour operators TUI Belgium Holdings AG and Berliner Flug Ring.

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