Backed by what is claimed to be "the world's largest travel and tourism business," a new upstart airline has entered the airfare wars over Europe. This time, it's Hapag-Lloyd Express, wholly owned by TUI AG, a behemoth that operates 80 aircraft of its own, with 81 tour operator brands, 285 hotels and resorts and 22 million customers. The new airline is intended to frighten the engines off Germanwings, another new air service, and older companies, many based in or bred out of Britain. Although the London-Cologne route and that from Cologne to Berlin have been operating since December of 2002, many other routes start operations on March 30, 2003.
Introductory fares start as low as £s;12.99 or 19.99€ (just about $20) one-way; the first route is between London's Luton Airport and Cologne, the second is a series of departures out of Cologne/Bonn. For 19.99€ you can get certain flights from Cologne/Bonn to Rome/Ciampino, Marseille, Madrid, Barcelona/Reus, Valencia, Berlin, Hamburg, Milan/Orio al Serio, Naples and Pisa.
Note that there are more fares at higher prices than there are at the cheaper introductory cheap fares. In trying to book a trip from London to Cologne, for instance, I found there were no flights with seats at the £12.99 rate on the date I selected, the other flights costing £39 (about $60) one-way. On the return I wanted, however, there was one flight with £12.99 seats and two at £29 (about $45). Rates include taxes and fees, which is nice, so there are no unpleasant surprises at the airport. No refunds or credits will be issued for missed flights, however.
Note that London's Luton Airport is farther out than either Heathrow or Gatwick, and not as convenient in terms of transportation. It's fully accessible by road and rail, but not so easily as the two major airports.
At the moment, the best way to book is on the Internet. You can usually book up to six months ahead, but during this start-up phase, you can only book through March 31, 2003. If you book by phone, there will be a surcharge. Call them at 0180/509-3-509 in Germany (at 12 Eurocents per minute, they say, or at 0870/ 606-0519 in the UK at UK national rates. The call center is open from 6 AM to midnight, daily. The Web site, where booking brings no surcharge, is www.hlx.com.