airberlin starting 25MAR12 is starting Daily Dusseldorf – Abu Dhabi service, on board Airbus A330-200 aircraft. This complements existing Daily flight operated by ETIHAD (EY is increasing service from 4 weekly to Daily from 25MAR12.
Schedule:
AB7460/EY1998 DUS2120 – 0600+1AUH 332 D
AB7461/EY1997 AUH0845 – 1350DUS 332 D
viaairberlin to Start Dusseldorf – Abu Dhabi Service in S12 | Airline Route.
Air Berlin (which styles itself ‘airberlin’) will officially become a full member of the oneworld alliance on Tuesday, March 20, adding Europe’s sixth-largest carrier to the alliance.
Austrian airline Niki (which styles itself ‘NIKI’), also a member of the Air Berlin group, will join oneworld at the same time as an affiliate member.
Air Berlin has received formal approval to join oneworld after successfully completing a thorough review of its readiness conducted by the oneworld central management team and British Airways, which is sponsoring its entry into the alliance.
From March 20, Air Berlin will offer oneworld’s full range of services and will substantially expand the alliance’s network in Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, and throughout South and Central Europe.
Air Berlin will add almost 70 destinations to the alliance’s map, extending oneworld’s global coverage to some 840 destinations in 150 countries. Oneworld serve these destinations with more than 9,000 departures a day, operated by a combined fleet of some 2,500 aircraft carrying nearly 300 million passengers a year. Oneworld airlines’ annual revenues total almost US$100 billion.
The Air Berlin news comes at a good time for oneworld, whose largest member, American Airlines, is under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and yesterday announced it expects to lay off 13,000 employees.
Additionally, Budapest-based oneworld member Malév Hungarian Airlines has newly been put in receivership by the Hungarian government, which also placed the airline under extraordinary protection from its creditors. Some airline-industry observers believe Malév is unlikely to survive.
Prospective Indian member Kingfisher Airlines, due to join oneworld in February, is also in serious financial trouble and has grounded many of its aircraft. In 2010 another sizable oneworld member, Mexicana Airlines, ceased operating.
Recently, oneworld member LAN Airlines (along with all its subsidiary carriers) and Brazil’s TAM Airlines (the country’s largest carrier) obtained approval from the Chilean and Brazilian governments to merge to form the LATAM group. LAN is currently in oneworld and TAM is in the Star Alliance, but the regulatory terms of the deal require the merged carriers to keep membership in only one alliance.
Oneworld members are keeping their collective fingers that the merged carriers will choose to remain in oneworld – and the signs to date are that this is their preferred course of action.
The German carrier will become part of oneworld three months before it moves into the new Berlin Brandenburg Airport (IATA code BER), which will open on June 3 and is designed eventually to offer capacity for 27 million passengers a year. Air Berlin and its alliance partners will be co-located at Europe’s newest hub, sharing lounges and many other facilities, tso they can offer the alliance’s customers smooth connections.
“Air Berlin makes an ideal oneworld partner. It has an excellent reputation for customer service – right in line with oneworld’s focus on quality,” says Bruce Ashby, CEO of oneworld. “Oneworld already features five of Europe’s best airlines.”
Continues Ashby: “Adding the continent’s sixth biggest carrier and the second-largest airline based in the continent’s biggest economy will greatly enhance our coverage throughout this region and, with the other airlines joining us this year, position oneworld more strongly still as the alliance of choice, particularly for global business travellers.”
“Becoming a member of oneworld is one of the most significant departures so far for Air Berlin,” remarks Air Berlin CEO Hartmut Mehdorn. “It will strengthen our competitive position considerably, enabling us to offer our customers a truly global network together with our partners – who include some of the best and biggest airlines in the world – while enabling us also to tap into all the financial benefits that come from being part of a global alliance, through additional passenger feed and participation in various efficiency programmes.”
Adds Mehdorn: “We are very pleased and proud to be lining up to join what is clearly the world’s top-quality airline grouping on 20 March.”
When Air Berlin joins oneworld, members of its topbonus frequent-flyer program will be able to earn and redeem mileage awards on all oneworld partners – American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, LAN Airlines, Malév Hungarian Airlines, Qantas, Royal Jordanian, S7 Airlines and almost 20 affiliated airlines.
Also from March 20, the 120 million members of the established oneworld airlines’ frequent-flyer programs will be able to earn and redeem awards and tier status points and receive all other oneworld benefits on Air Berlin and Niki.
Air Berlin’s network – serving more than 160 destinations in 40 countries – will be covered by oneworld’s full range of alliance fares and sales products from April 1.
All of oneworld’s active member airlines serve Germany, flying to a total of seven gateways in the country. Air Berlin will add another 18 destinations in its home country.
The carrier says its alliance-implementation programme has represented one of the most extensive projects in Air Berlin’s history, with working groups covering some 20 streams of activity.
Projects are nearing completion to bring its various internal processes and procedures into line with the alliance’s requirements, and extensive employee training and communications programmes are now underway at Air Berlin and the alliance’s existing members, to ensure they are ready to provide oneworld’s customer services and benefits across the expanded alliance from March to.
Since accepting an invitation to join the alliance in July 2010, Air Berlin has begun code-sharing with seven established oneworld partners – American Airlines, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia, Malév Hungarian Airlines, S7 and Royal Jordanian.
Since its launch in 1978, Air Berlin has grown into Germany’s second largest airline – and the sixth-biggest in Europe in terms of passengers boarded – after taking over Deutsche BA and LTU and gaining a 49.9 per cent stake in Austria’s Niki and a 49 per cent holding in Switzerland’s Belair.
It serves 162 destinations in 40 countries, carrying more than 35 million passengers in 2011. Its fleet comprises 170 aircraft with an average age of five years. The group employs 9,200 staff.
Air Berlin has developed from its origins in the short-haul leisure market to cater also for business travellers, with its Euro Shuttle service providing high-frequency connections between many of the continent’s key destinations. Air Berlin now also flies long-haul.
The carrier offers the full-range of services associated with a full-service network carrier, including its frequent -flyer program topbonus and, for premium passengers, lounges, priority check-in. All passengers are offered free alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks and meals or snacks on every flight.
On its short-haul services, Air Berlin offers a single-class cabin. On its long-haul routes the carrier offers two-classes, including a premium business cabin, and provides individual in-flight entertainment screens for each passenger.
Air Berlin’s hubs are Berlin Tegel (moving to Brandenburg in June), Dusseldorf, Palma de Majorca and Vienna. Among its international destinations, Air Berlin serves oneworld hubs Helsinki, Los Angeles, Madrid, Miami, Moscow Domodedovo and New York JFK.
viaAir Berlin to Be Inducted into Oneworld Alliance in March.
A pesar de la crisis internacional y las adversidades climáticas, Centroamérica cerrará 2011 con un sector turístico en expansión y más conectado con el resto del mundo, gracias a los servicios estrenados en estos meses por aerolíneas como Iberia, KLM y Air Berlin, a lo que se suma la dinámica compañía regional TACA.
El pasado fin de semana comenzó a volar entre Düsseldorf y el aeropuerto de Liberia, en la provincia de Guanacaste, Costa Rica, la segunda aerolínea alemana, Air Berlin. El servicio tiene una frecuencia cada quince días y es operado en un Airbus A330-200 para 303 pasajeros.
A Costa Rica llegan actualmente otras aerolíneas europeas. Iberia vuela diariamente desde España y Condor vuela desde Frankfurt los lunes y jueves.
Recientemente, Iberia anunció su quinta frecuencia en la ruta entre Madrid y Panamá, adicionando 25.000 asientos más al año. La frecuencia añadida será los lunes, por lo que a partir de enero de 2012 se podrá volar los lunes, miércoles, viernes, sábados y domingos. La aerolínea española vuela también a El Salvador y Guatemala.
Por su parte, KLM ha incrementado las frecuencias entre Holanda y Panamá desde este mes de noviembre, pasando de 5 a 7 vuelos semanales.
Dentro de Centroamérica, la compañía con reciente fusión Avianca- TACA vuela a todos los destinos de la región con un amplio abanico de frecuencias.
De enero a septiembre de 2011, la compañía transportó 15.244.635 pasajeros en rutas nacionales e internacionales, con una ocupación del 77% y un crecimiento interanual de 19,1%.
En 2012, además de seguir impulsando la apertura de nuevas rutas aéreas desde Europa y otros mercados, los países de la región (Belice, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua y Panamá) retoman el lema “Centroamérica, tan pequeña, tan grande”, enfocados en la sostenibilidad del producto turístico y en planes para recibir unos 10 millones de turistas internacionales, con ingresos por más de ocho mil millones de dólares.
viaCrece conectividad de Centroamérica con vuelos de Iberia, KLM y Air Berlin | Caribbean News Digital.
A partir del éxito conseguido durante este invierno con el vuelo semanal que enlaza a la ciudad alemana de Düsseldorf con la isla caribeña de Curaçao, la compañía aérea Air Berlin informó que ha decidido mantenerlo durante la temporada de verano.
Se ratifica así como el único operador con un enlace directo desde Alemania hacia ese destino turístico caribeño, y explica además en un comunicado de prensa que también desde Palma de Mallorca y Barcelona se puede acceder a este vuelo semanal, enlazando vía Düsseldorf.
“Los horarios de esta ruta son idóneos para tránsitos y pasajeros que llegan con otros medios de transporte a Alemania, desde países como Holanda o España, por lo que partimos de la base que también durante el verano muchos veraneantes de Alemania y Europa se decidirán por un vuelo con airberlin”, declaró Paul Gregorowitsch, Chief Commercial Officer de esa compañía.
Puntualiza la nota que los billetes a Curaçao ya se pueden reservar por Internet (airberlin.com), las 24 horas en el Central de Reservas de airberlin (Tel. 902 33 33 55, 0,09 €/min.) así como en las agencias de viajes. Los precios de la aerolínea siempre incluyen impuestos, recargos y millas topbonus.
viaAir Berlin mantendrá en el verano conexión entre Düsseldorf y Curaçao | Caribbean News Digital.
La compagnie aérienne allemande Air Berlin a inauguré sa nouvelle liaison entre Berlin et Abou Dhabi, remplaçant celle vers Dubaï suite à l’entrée dans son capital d’Etihad Airways.
Depuis le 15 janvier 2012, un Airbus A330-200 pouvant emporter 24 passagers en classe Affaires et 279 en Economie relie quatre fois par semaine les aéroports de Berlin – Tegel et d’Abou Dhabi, avec des départs les mardi, jeudi, vendredi et dimanche à 21h35 (arrivée le lendemain à 6h35) et des retours les lundi, mercredi, vendredi et samedi à 8h20 (arrivée 12h00).
Cette nouvelle route lance officiellement l’accord de partage de codes entre Air Berlin et Etihad Airways. A elles deux, elles offrent 29 vols par semaine entre les Emirats Arabes Unis et quatre villes d’Allemagne, chiffre qui montera à 42 dès la mi-avril. L’accord couvre pour l’instant 36 des 171 destinations desservies par Air Berlin, et 24 des 72 d’Etihad, tandis que la combinaison de leurs programmes de fidélité couvre l’intégralité de leurs réseaux combinés, soit 239 aéroports.
Selon l’accord révélé le 19 décembre 2011 Etihad Airways possède 29,21% de son capital, contre 2,99% jusqu’à présent, devenant du coup le plus gros actionnaire de la compagnie allemande. La compagnie des Emirats Arabes Unis va en outre lui ouvrir une ligne de crédit sur cinq ans d’environ 255 millions d’euros, afin d’éponger une partie de sa dette. L’accord n’est pas seulement financier: Air Berlin parle de coopération stratégique, les synergies développées devant lui rapporter jusqu’à 40 millions d’euros en 2012.
Air Berlin doit rejoindre l’alliance Oneworld l’année prochaine, et partage ses codes avec ses membres American Airlines, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia, Malev, Royal Jordanian et S7, ainsi qu’avec Bangkok Airways, Meridiana fly, Pegasus Airlines et Hainan Airlines.
Etihad Airways n’est membre d’aucune alliance, et a des accords de partage de codes avec une trentaine de transporteurs dont TGVair, Brussels Airlines, Royal Air Maroc, Alitalia ou Air Seychelles.
viaAir Berlin atterrit chez Etihad Airways | Air Journal.
La compañía aérea Air Berlin anunció ayer que a partir de mayo ampliará su oferta de vuelos directos desde Alicante con cuatro enlace diarios a Palma de Mallorca y uno con Hamburgo, Munich y Zurich -éste último operará los lunes, miércoles, viernes y domingos-, según explicó Álvaro Middelman, responsable en España de la línea alemana.
La compañía aérea ha decidido mantener su programación inicial de vuelos para 2008, a pesar del descenso registrado entre enero y abril, un 4%, en lo que respecta a los billetes vendidos para el próximo verano. Air Berlin transportó entre enero y febrero de 2008 a casi 3,7 millones de pasajeros, lo que supone un incremento del 14,4% respecto al mismo período del año anterior.
A juicio de Middelman, el sector turístico es menos vulnerable que otros en situaciones de desaceleración económica, por lo que ha mostrado su confianza en el que el turista europeo mantenga su opción de viajar y de disfrutar de vacaciones durante la temporada estival.
Air Berlin conecta el aeropuerto de El Altet con diecisiete ciudades alemanas, tres austriacas y Amsterdam, Basilea, Copenhague y Faro (Portugal). Air Berlin es una de las compañías con más operaciones en Alicante donde cuenta con oficina. No obstante, la compañía basa la comercialización de sus billetes en Internet y en el teléfono 902 320 737.
SocialVibe