Germania (airline)

Germania Fluggesellschaft mbH

Company type	Privately held company
Industry	Airline
Founded	April 1978 (1978-04)
Defunct	February 5, 2019 (2019-02-05)
Fate	Filed for bankruptcy and ceased operations
Headquarters	Berlin , Germany
Area served	Europe, North Africa, Middle East
Key people	Hinrich Bischoff (founder and long-time manager), Ingrid Bischoff (principal shareholder before divesting)
Products	Passenger air transport (charter and scheduled flights)
Number of employees	850 (2014)

Germania Fluggesellschaft mbH, operating under the brand name Germania (), was a German airline privately held and based in Berlin. Originally specializing in charter flights, Germania gradually expanded into scheduled services while still offering some charter options. This strategic evolution fueled its growth, enabling the airline to serve destinations across Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East from several German airports. By 2009, Germania had transported 2.5 million passengers and employed approximately 850 people as of summer 2014. The airline filed for bankruptcy on 4 February 2019 and halted all operations the following day.

Foundation and Development 1978–1999

Established in April 1978 as Special Air Transport (SAT) in Cologne, the airline commenced flights on 5 September 1978 utilizing a Fokker F-27. Shortly thereafter, in November 1978, it acquired a Sud Aviation Caravelle from LTU, which was later replaced by two pre-owned Boeing 727-100 aircraft sourced from Hapag-Lloyd Flug (now known as TUIfly). Germania Express adopted the IATA code "ST," formerly assigned to Yanda Airlines.

In early 1986, the company underwent restructuring and rebranded itself as Germania—the classical Latin term for Germany—effective from 1 June that year. For an extended period, Germania concentrated on charter operations for clients such as TUI, Condor, and Neckermann Reisen, earning recognition for competitive pricing. In 1992, the corporate headquarters relocated to Tegel, and Germania secured a government contract to operate flights between Bonn and Berlin, launching a short-lived Beamten-Shuttle service catering to civil servants.

The year 1998 marked Germania's introduction of aircraft advertising within Germany, collaborating with clients including Siemens and various tour operators. That same year, it broadened its leasing activities by supplying aircraft to airlines like Hapag-Lloyd Express, Maersk, and Delta.

Expansion into Scheduled Flights

On 12 November 2001, Germania inaugurated scheduled routes connecting Berlin Tegel and Frankfurt, initially offering one-way fares at EUR 99.00. In response, Lufthansa promptly matched these reduced prices after previously charging EUR 485.00 for a return ticket. Lufthansa faced legal action over anticompetitive pricing practices and was subsequently mandated to maintain fares at least EUR 30.50 above Germania's rates.

By mid-2002, Germania encountered financial challenges following the loss of its principal leisure charter contract with TUI, which had represented roughly 75% of its flight capacity. At that time, the combined fleet of Germania and S.A.T. comprised 27 aircraft; only eight were deployed for their own operations while the remainder were leased out.

Following this period, Germania collaborated with TUI to assist in launching TUI's low-cost carrier division, Hapag-Lloyd Express. Although TUI assumed full ownership of this new venture, Germania wet-leased eight Boeing 737-700s to support the start-up. Operations for Hapag-Lloyd Express commenced on 3 December with an initial fleet of four aircraft. Germania transferred its Berlin–Cologne/Bonn routes to Hapag-Lloyd Express but maintained scheduled flights between Berlin Tegel and Frankfurt as well as Munich. In November 2002, service was extended to Palma de Mallorca. Around late 2002 or early 2003, Germania acquired a fleet of seventeen Fokker 100 jets at a discounted price following the bankruptcy of US Airways.

Budget airline operations under the "gexx" brand

Germania utilized its fleet of Fokker 100 aircraft to establish the low-cost virtual airline "gexx," which was operated by Germania and commenced short-haul services from Berlin Tegel on June 1, 2003. Distinct from conventional airlines, gexx implemented a fixed-price ticketing strategy, offering a uniform fare per route regardless of the booking date. Germania refurbished additional Fokker 100 planes to grow the gexx operation, which carried 1.42 million passengers in its inaugural year, achieving a 72% seat occupancy and an average ticket price of EUR 82, resulting in profitability. The fleet consisted of 15 Fokker 100 jets serving 26 destinations across Europe.

Following the acquisition of a 64% share in dba on March 28, 2005, Germania provided dba with 12 wet-leased Fokker 100 aircraft. At the same time, dba integrated Germania Express's portfolio of 15 low-cost routes along with the gexx brand. Consequently, Germania discontinued its own passenger flight operations as all aircraft were leased out.

Germania reinstated scheduled services under its own name from Berlin and Düsseldorf beginning with the summer timetable of 2008.

On March 21, 2011, Germania began building its first maintenance hangar at Berlin Brandenburg Airport, intending to use the facility once the airport became operational.

In March 2014, Germania temporarily lost traffic rights for flights to Iraq due to intervention by Iraqi Airways but resumed flights by March 17, 2014.

Plans for further growth

During summer 2013, Germania established two seasonal UK bases at Manchester and London-Gatwick after securing charter agreements with holiday providers. London-Gatwick evolved into a permanent base featuring scheduled services to Pristina and Erfurt and also handled inbound flights for sister company Gambia Bird. Norwich International was added as a third seasonal UK base in summer 2014.

In spring 2015, Germania announced its intention to retire its Boeing 737-700 fleet by 2020 and switch entirely to an Airbus fleet, placing an order for 25 Airbus A320neos with deliveries commencing in 2020.

By September 2016, Germania had withdrawn all operations from Kassel Airport, where it had been the only scheduled airline. In August 2017, it received an air operator's certificate (AOC) for its Bulgarian subsidiary, Bulgarian Eagle, registering an Airbus A319 in Bulgaria intended for wet-lease arrangements with partner airlines.

Insolvency and shutdown

In December 2018, Germania disclosed substantial financial losses during that year, leading its owners to explore potential buyers. On January 31, 2019, salary payments to employees were delayed. The airline unexpectedly halted all operations overnight between February 4 and February 5, 2019, filing for bankruptcy protection covering itself as well as its technical and service divisions (excluding Germania Flug in Switzerland). The last scheduled flight was ST 3711 from Fuerteventura to Nuremberg, which landed at 01:11 CET on February 5.

Ownership and organizational structure

Germania Fluggesellschaft mbH was a privately held company founded and long managed by Hinrich Bischoff until his passing in 2005. His widow Ingrid Bischoff was the principal shareholder before divesting her stake. The company’s headquarters were situated at Riedemannweg 58 in Berlin, Germany.

The enterprise operated three primary subsidiaries:

• Germania Flug, launched in 2014 in Switzerland to conduct leisure flights under the HolidayJet brand in collaboration with Swiss tour operator Hotelplan (operating three aircraft).
• Bulgarian Eagle, established in 2016 in Bulgaria as an ACMI provider with aircraft based at London Gatwick (operating two aircraft).
• Germania Technik Brandenburg GmbH, a fully owned aircraft maintenance firm located at Berlin Schönefeld.

Moreover, Germania held a stake in Gambia Bird, headquartered in Banjul, The Gambia; this airline ceased operations on December 30, 2014.

Business developments

As Germania operated as a privately held company, it did not release annual financial statements, resulting in limited access to detailed fiscal information. The table below outlines principal business indicators for the Germania group:

	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Revenue (€m)	144.80	179.96	171.41	177.78	206.88	203.79	271.05	396.47	424.25	369.10	453.67
Net income (€m)	6.769	6.157	6.896	0.283	0.361	0.505	−10.852	−26.848	−6.796	−7.742	6.084
Staff count	709	714	644	622	553	513	605	880	901	954	1,108
Passenger volume (millions)			2.5	2.3	2.4					align=center |2.6	align=center |3.0
'Scheduled seat capacity (millions)'*					align=center |0.22	align=center |0.75	align=center |1.31	align=center |2.83	align=center |3.19	align=center |3.95	4.57
'Fleet size (group) at year-end'	align=center |27	align=center |16	align=center |15	align=center |17	align=center |13	align=center |15	align=center |19	align=center |23	align=center |22	align=center |22	align=center |29	35

*Due to limited published figures, scheduled seat capacity is used as an indicator of operational trends.

Route network

Germania maintained a combination of year-round and predominantly seasonal leisure and urban services originating from several German airports. The airline also operated scheduled flights to destinations in Armenia, Turkey, Kosovo, Israel, and Lebanon, catering primarily to ethnic minority populations residing in Germany and Austria.

Codeshare partnerships

• Sky Express

Fleet at closure

At the time of cessation, Germania’s operating fleet—excluding its subsidiaries Germania Flug and Bulgarian Eagle—consisted of:

Aircraft type	Number in service	Orders pending	Seating capacity	Remarks
Airbus A319-100	19	—	144 seats
			150 seats
Airbus A320neo

Former fleet

Germania formerly operated the following aircraft:

Aircraft	Entry into Service	Withdrawal from Service
Boeing 737-300	1987	2011
Fokker 100	2003	2008
Boeing 727-100	1984	1987
Fokker F27 Friendship	1978	1981
Sud Aviation Caravelle	1978	1986