Hamburg Airport closes financial year 2014 with profit

Hamburg Airport finished the 2014 financial year positively. The airport achieved a good result amounting to 40.2 million euros. The figure for 2013 was 37.3 million euros. Turnover for the year was 271.3 million euros (2013: 254.5 million euros).  A total of 14.76 million passengers used Hamburg Airport in 2014. This represents 9.3 percent growth and a new passenger record for the airport.

"Hamburg Airport successfully met the challenges of the year 2014. The airlines have recognised the strength of the Hamburg market and intensified their activity in the city. This is reflected in a strong result," said Michael Eggenschwiler, Chairman of the Executive Board at Hamburg Airport, at the Annual Financial Results Press Conference. "Hamburg Airport has an established position in the route networks of many airlines. We saw a total of 44 maiden flights in 2014, more than in any year to date. The Hamburg timetable is thus characterised by variety and by an ever-growing list of destinations to choose from for all north German passengers."

The brighter mood of the German economy had a positive impact on the aviation industry. Lower unemployment led to growing consumer confidence and therefore to increased propensity to travel. With investments of 51.8 million euros (+30.2 percent), the airport is also clearly focussed on its own future. The largest projects were the P1 multi-storey car park and the replacement for the Air Cargo Center. 

14.76 million passengers - a new record

Compared to the previous year, Hamburg Airport recorded 9.3 percent passenger growth, resulting in a total of 14.76 million passengers for the year. The number of aircraft movements grew by 7 percent over the previous year to a total of 153,876. Thanks to the efficient utilisation of aircraft in the form of a high load factor, the number of aircraft movements was at the same level as it was in 1997, when approx. 8.7 million passengers passed through Hamburg Airport. The number of passengers per flight was around 107, compared to 71 passengers per flight in 1997. Michael Eggenschwiler, CEO of Hamburg Airport, points to the success in the airport's chosen path in terms of the development of the noise situation. "Larger and more modern aircraft, with better load factors, have a positive effect on noise pollution in the surrounding area. Compared to 1997, the result for last year was 35 percent less noise with 70 percent more passengers and the same number of aircraft movements. These are quite impressive numbers."

On average, 40,400 passengers passed through Hamburg Airport each day in 2014, with a daily average of 422 aircraft movements (211 take-offs and 211 landings). Flown air freight rose by 2.3 percent to around 28,948 tonnes, whilst air freight shipped by road declined by 34 percent to 24,770 tonnes. The reason for this was the relocation of the Lufthansa site to Norderstedt.

Route network: Growth is being driven by easyJet, Germanwings and Germania
EasyJet is continuing its expansion in Hamburg. The airline will be adding new destinations for the 2015 summer timetable: Heraklion, Thessaloniki, Pisa, Paris-Orly, Alicante and Bologna. This will bring easyJet's network to a total of 28 destinations from the summer, with two A319s and an A320 stationed in Hamburg. Furthermore, frequencies to Athens, Geneva, Milan, Nice, Split and Palma de Mallorca are being increased.

Germanwings, too, is bringing a lot more variety to the Hamburg route network. New destinations are Bari und Izmir. The airline is also increasing its capacity by deploying larger aircraft on many existing routes, such as Budapest, Stockholm and Madrid. In total, Germanwings flies to 50 destinations from Hamburg.

Germania is also amongst the drivers of growth at Hamburg Airport. The airline has added Maschhad in Iran, Tel Aviv, and Paphos on Cyprus to its network. Santorini (Greece) and Beirut will soon follow.

Spanish airline Iberia has also returned to Hamburg, with four weekly flights bringing passengers from northern Germany to Madrid. Intersky has taken over the service to Memmingen, flying the route daily from Monday to Friday. Belgian carrier VLM will also offer new destinations from Hamburg starting in April: Rotterdam and Antwerp, with a connecting service to Southampton. Air Lituanica is new at Hamburg Airport. The Lithuanian airline is flying from Hamburg to Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, three days a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays.

Outlook for 2015: continued growth and more variety

Michael Eggenschwiler, CEO of Hamburg Airport, views 2015 with optimism.

"The new financial year will bring a great deal of positives. For the passenger, there are many new routes, meaning more choice. And our neighbours can continue to depend on the airport's reliability and transparency. Hamburg Airport has already had a good start to the year 2015, with 6.3 percent passenger growth over the first two months of the year. In total, the airport is expecting more than 15 million passengers in 2015."

Note for the press:

A statement from Michael Eggenschwiler, CEO of Hamburg Airport, on the 2014 Financial Result, is also available as a video podcast at: www.hamburg-airport.de in the press section.