5 million passengers have travelled with the airline this year

Occupancy rate of 60-65% on Air Berlin´s inter-island flights

Son Sant Joan. All Air Berlin´s aircraft operate from the same area of the airport

The company operates two flights a week between Menorca and Mallorca, with onward connections to 18 different European airports from Palma

C.M.W..Maó

According to Air Berlin´s Sales Director for Spain and Portugal, Pablo Caspers, the airline is achieving an average occupancy rate of between 60% and 65% on its inter-island flights during the low season. At a presentation in Palma at the weekend, Caspers reported that since the company had introduced 27.5 euro tickets for its Menorca-Mallorca flights around 1,000 had been sold, 20% of the total number of seats available. He admitted that the promotion had increased the airline´s sales in the low season sixfold. Air Berlin feels that the results are not bad, though the inter-island potential is very limited when it comes to increasing the number of flights. He added that this situation only applies in winter as "there is no problem in summer, the flights are always full".

The airline´s operations in Palma are increasing, especially during the winter months, and the workforce at the Mallorcan airport has grown from 250 to 750. During the year a total of 5 million passengers have travelled with the company, an increase of 1 million on 2005.

The airline, described by Casper as "reasonable cost, not low cost", now has a fleet of 100 aircraft and has ordered 85 more to be delivered between 2007 and 2014.

During the winter months the company operates two flights a week between Palma and Menorca, with links from the Mallorcan capital to 18 European airports. Catching connecting flights has been made easier as all the company´s aircraft operate from the same area of the airport, lessening the distance between arrival and departure gates.