German Tour Operator FTI have confirmed six more planes a week to connect Lanzarote with Germany from the 1st November 2013.
This is fantastic news for Lanzarote as Germany is the second largest market for the island and tourism has been suffering through flight prices and connections.
The additional flights will be operated by SunExpress which is a joint venture between Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines, they will depart from Düsseldorf, Munich, Leipzig, Frankurt, Stuttgart and Cologne every Friday. The Boeing 737-800’s each have a capacity for 189 seats, which represents 1,134 additional seats per week. This operation will double FTI’s current offer from 60,000 to nearly 120,000 seats per year.
The announcement was made during a conference at the Castillo de San José, heartfelt thanks were expressed by Lanzarote officials. President of the Cabildo de Lanzarote, Pedro San Ginés confirmed his “deep satisfaction for the strong commitment to Lanzarote from FTI”. Director General of Tourist Management for the Canary Islands, Rita Hernández reiterated the appreciation for FTI to keep believing in Lanzarote and the Canary Islands.
CEO of FTI Dietmar Gunz and Ralph Schiller their head of marketing were both present at the meeting. They explained to the delegates that the company hopes to position itself as one of the most established tour operators for the island and archipelago, they have been working with Lanzarote Tourism through their various brands to optimize their Lanzarote programme in recent years. The FTI Group is the fourth largest tour operator in the German market, they’re based in Munich and employ 3,500 people around the world, with a turnover of 1.800 million euros.
Last year 302,313 German tourists visited Lanzarote.