5/21/2008

Cirrus Airlines moves company headquarters to Munich

Müller: "Hallmark of quality for the airport as one of the most important hubs in Europe"

The German airline company Cirrus Airlines has moved into its new offices at Munich Airport, so that in future 150 employees of Cirrus Airlines’ central administration will be working in Bavaria. The reason given by Cirrus Airlines for the move from Saarbrücken was the enormous business potential offered by the Munich hub and the strong base of Cirrus’ partner Lufthansa at Munich Airport. Bavaria’s Minister of Economic Affairs, Emilia Müller, called the move a "hallmark of the airport’s quality as one of the most important hubs in Europe. The advantages of Bavaria as a market and arrival point for companies from all over the world together with its ultramodern, efficient airport are an irresistible combination for many airlines. We are proud that such an efficient company has chosen Munich as its head office." Müller continued to say that the undiminished upward trend in passenger figures and newly established airlines was a "vital indicator of the important role the third runway plays as a forward-pointing factor for the airport." The offices of the sister airlines Cirrus Airlines and Augsburg Airways are connected at Munich Airport.

Commercial reasons were the deciding factors inducing Cirrus Airlines to move its premises. Martin Gauss, Chairman of the Management Board, commented: "We want to ensure healthy growth. To achieve that we had to take our headquarters to where the business is. Munich is a very attractive and rapidly expanding airport as well as an important hub of our partner Lufthansa. We will benefit from this."

Worldwide, 1600 employees work for the Cirrus Group; the company has a fleet of 75 aircraft in use. Members of the Cirrus Group include Cirrus Airlines (a partner of Lufthansa), DC Aviation, Aircraft Asset Management, Cirrus Technik, Cirrus Flight Training as well as Augsburg Airways (a partner of Lufthansa Regional). The Cirrus Group is 51% owned by ATON, which was founded by Dr. Lutz Helmig, and 49% by Cirrus founder Gerd Brandecker. Precisely ten years ago, on 16 March 1998, Cirrus Airlines moved away from its executive flying business and became a commercial airline: this date marks the opening of the route linking Hamburg and Saarbrücken with two daily flights.

In 2007, Munich Airport continued its upward trend with a record result of close on 34 million airline travelers. In terms of passenger volume, it is the second largest airport in Germany after Frankfurt and has even overtaken Frankfurt in the number of domestic passengers. In a European comparison, Munich ranks in seventh place among the airports with the most passengers.

Source: Invest in Bavaria