FRANKFURT: EasyJet has been approached to provide feeder flights from Berlin’s Tegel airport for other airlines’ long-haul routes, the British budget carrier’s Europe managing director told a German newspaper.
EasyJet is taking over some of failed German airline Air Berlin’s operations at Tegel, covering leases for up to 25 A320 aircraft. It already operates at Berlin’s other airport, Schoenefeld.
“We have already had very many enquiries from other airlines that want to use our flights as feeders,” daily Berliner Morgenpost quoted Thomas Haagensen as saying on Saturday.
He did not provide details.
Both easyJet and Ryanair have been looking at so-called feeder flights to attract more customers, and have often said traditional carriers should use low-cost rivals to bring passengers to their hubs.
EasyJet in September launched a new booking platform allowing customers to connect more easily onto long-haul flights by Norwegian Air Shuttle and WestJet at London Gatwick.
Haagensen said easyJet had so far brought on board around 100 of the 1,000 Air Berlin crew it plans to recruit.
Around 500 former Air Berlin staff are in the recruitment process and 300 of those are poised to sign contracts, he said.
EasyJet in November agreed a deal with German trade union Verdi over job terms for former pilots and cabin crew of Air Berlin.
EasyJet says other airlines interested in feeder flights from Tegel
EasyJet says other airlines interested in feeder flights from Tegel
Citi shuts most UAE branches temporarily as banks evacuate offices in region
DUBAI: Citibank will close most of its UAE branches and financial centers until March 14 as a precaution, its website showed on Thursday, as banks in the region sent staff home in response to a deepening Middle East conflict.
The US financial group’s measures are the latest sign of growing concern among banks after Iran threatened Gulf banking interests linked to the US and Israel.
The Citi branch in the Mall of the Emirates in central Dubai is exempted from the closure, the bank said on its website, adding it plans to reopen all affected branches on March 16.
Citi had moved to a fully remote model for all UAE-based staff and was continuing to serve clients without interruption, a spokesperson for the bank told Reuters.
The US-Israeli war on Iran has so far killed around 2,000 people and thrown global energy markets and transport into chaos as the conflict has spread across the Middle East, with Iranian strikes against Israel, US bases and Gulf states.
Citi told its staff to evacuate offices in the Dubai International Financial Center and Dubai’s Oud Metha district this week and to work from home until further notice.
“The decision to evacuate three of our buildings and to close branches in the UAE was responsive to information we received and is consistent with our commitment to prioritize the safety of our colleagues,” the spokesperson said.
HSBC, another major global bank, has closed all branches in Qatar until further notice, a customer notice said, to ensure the safety of staff and customers.
The war has dented Dubai’s sales pitch to international businesses as the region’s most reliable economic hub, prompting concerns of capital flight, layoffs and firms relocating elsewhere, Reuters reported last week.
Citi said on its website that its phone banking service in the UAE was currently operating at a limited capacity and the processing of cheques would experience delays.
