It seems that Etihad/Air Berlins plan to feed more traffic into its Abu Dhabi hub has taken a knock, with Air Berlin suspending its operation between Stuttgart and Abu Dhabi in June.
Air Berlin Airbus A320 pushing back at Frankfurt Airport – Image, Economy Class and Beyond.
The daily route – currently operated by an Airbus A320 – will be formally suspended on 1st June 2016, with operations to continue until the route is pulled.
Passengers from Stuttgart will need connect either in Berlin-Tegel (twice daily Air Berlin service), Düsseldorf (twice daily, Air Berlin/Etihad)
Re-bookings will be offered free of charge.
This one is defiantly on to put in “routes I’m surprised that didn’t suspend earlier”.
Whilst Eithad and Air Berlin are trying to create traffic flows (and funnelling through their hubs) – sometimes demand doesn’t exist.
Considering Air Berlin committed an A320 to this operation shows how much demand they were expecting (and they couldn’t fill that from the sounds of it), the service being cut was inevitable.
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How much of the (little) demand on this route was related to US military related travel? EY may have been expecting more than they got.
I actually looked into booking this route a few months ago, but booked AUH-FRA instead (and in first!) when I found out the Stuttgart route has recliner seats in business class, a no-no for me given the timing of the flights. I’m also surprised the route has lasted this long. The ICE train takes you in an hour straight from Stuttgart to Frankfurt airport, and the cost is cheaper than a cab to the airport if you book ahead (19 euros). Frankfurt is a much better bet given the bigger plane and 2x daily frequency.