 | |
| Brief information | |
| IATA code | X3 |
|---|---|
| Seat | Hanover, Germany |
| Passenger volume | |
| aims | Europe, North Africa, Turkey |
| alliance | no |
history
The airline Hapag Lloyd (actually Hapag Lloyd Flug) was founded in 1972 as a subsidiary of the shipping company Hapag Lloyd. The company's headquarters were originally supposed to be Bremen, but they couldn't agree on the terms. That is why they moved to Hanover, where TUIfly's headquarters are to this day. A shipyard for the aircraft is also operated here (see also Hanover Airport). The new airline initially limited itself to tourist traffic in the Mediterranean region with just a few aircraft. In between there were long-haul flights, but these were discontinued. There was only one incident in the company's operation. It is flight 3378 from Crete to Hanover, when the landing gear of the Airbus A 310 could not be retracted and the aircraft had to make an emergency landing in Vienna due to a lack of fuel. The engines failed shortly before landing, the emergency landing succeeded, but the aircraft suffered irreparable damage.
In 2002, due to increasing competition from Great Britain, the airline Hapag Lloyd Express was founded. The airline was to be established on the market with a huge advertising campaign. At the same time, the Hapag Lloyd Flug aircraft flew under the Hapagfly brand. The concept did not work, so that in 2007 the two airlines were merged. The product is called TUIfly, although the aircraft was still operated by the companies Hapag Lloyd Flug and Hapag Lloyd Express. The name TUIfly was just the brand. The former Hapag-Lloyd Fluggesellschaft mbH has been operating as TUIfly GmbH since July 2010.
fleet
Today, TUIfly relies exclusively on Boeing 737 aircraft. Most of the aircraft it operates belong to TUI AG itself. only a few aircraft are still operated on wet lease by other airlines. Maintenance of the company's own aircraft is also carried out in-house. All of their own machines are not very old. The older aircraft fly with the registration D-AHF * or D-AHL *. These are exclusively aircraft of the type 737-800. There are some newer 737-800 aircraft. They are marked D-ATU *. In addition, new aircraft of the type 737-700 were delivered for the area of scheduled flights, which were supposed to replace the old machines of Hapag Lloyd Express, those of the Germania were rented in wet lease. They are marked D-AHX *
Alliances
TUIfly does not belong to any alliance. However, it is linked to the other TUI subsidiaries. This includes Corsairfly, Thomsonfly, Arkefly, TUIfly Nordic, Jetairfly and Jet4you. It is not an alliance in the strict sense of the word, but rather the flight plan is coordinated with each other and the design is uniform, with TUIfly being the only company that has already switched to yellow.
Route network and hubs
At TUIfly there are two divisions that you have to serve. First of all, it is the traditional tourist operation of Hapag Lloyd Flug, which serves destinations to which holidaymakers usually fly. Second, there is the line service operated by Hapag Lloyd Express.
The holiday destinations are the classic European travel destinations. The Mediterranean area is covered, the Canary Islands including Madeira and Egypt. Scheduled flight operations are going to Italy in bulk, where there is such a mixture of both sectors. There is no real hub, as TUIfly only serves its destinations directly, without changing passengers. There are relatively many departures at the Hanover base, but also in Stuttgart.
Classes of carriage
There are no different classes in the TUIfly jets and the seats are an average of 74 cm apart. You can reserve a seat up to 48 hours before departure for a fee of € 9. The seats in the first row are particularly popular, as there is a little more space due to the lack of people in front. However, it can be a bit drafty in these seats and you cannot stretch your legs under the front seat. For € 25 you can book a seat in the emergency exit row (seat spacing 96 cm). For safety reasons, however, children, pregnant women, passengers with animals, elderly and disabled people are not allowed to sit in the emergency exit row (see Travel by plane). The seats are very comfortable and the legroom is very good. In contrast to other low-cost airlines, TUIfly luggage up to 20 kg is free of charge (up to the departure date April 30, 2014). As of May 1st, 2014 the baggage allowance is only 15 kg. For a fee, additional kilos can be booked when booking. When booking a TUIfly flight as part of a trip booked with a tour operator, the 20 kg free baggage allowance still applies in some cases.
Only guests in the Perfect tariff (single seat) receive free meals in the form of a snack plus a free non-alcoholic drink. Some tour operator brands also include this catering service when booking with TUIfly.
Lounges
TUIfly does not operate any lounges.
Frequent flyer program
TUIfly does not offer a frequent flyer program.
Check in
TUIfly does not check-in itself. It is left to the handling companies who are responsible for it. TUI monitors these companies with specially employed employees. Check-in is very easy wherever you go. The possibility of dropping off baggage on the evening before the flight (for a fee) has been discontinued. Instead, customers have the option of checking in online 30 days before departure. In some cases, fees can arise here if the customer does not accept the proposed seats and changes them in the system.
Booking options
You can book flights at a travel agent or - often cheaper - on tuifly.com.
Web links
- The airline's website is at www.tuifly.com reachable
