Air Berlin
IATA AB	ICAO BER	Callsign AIR BERLIN
Founded		1978
Hubs		Berlin-Tegel International Airport Nuremberg Airport Düsseldorf International Airport Son Sant Joan Airport
Focus cities		Munich International Airport Hamburg Airport Hanover/Langenhagen International Airport
Frequent flyer program		Top Bonus
Fleet size		123(incl. LTU jets) + 155 orders
Destinations		80
Headquarters
Key people		Joachim Hunold, Elke Schütt and Karl Lotz
Website: [1]

Air Berlin (FSE: AB1) is Germany's second largest airline after Lufthansa.^[2] It is based in Berlin, Germany, and operates extensive semi-low-cost services to holiday destinations on the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands and North Africa, as well as to major cities in Europe from 16 German airports. Its main base is Berlin-Tegel International Airport, with hubs at Düsseldorf International Airport, Nuremberg Airport, London Stansted Airport and Son Sant Joan Airport, Palma de Mallorca^[1].

Air Berlin is publicly traded (ticker symbol is AB1, ISIN is GB00B128C026)^[2]. The airline is owned by Freefloat (61.86%), Ringerike Luftfahrtbeteiligungs (9.44%) and a range of individuals. It has 3,871 employees (at March 2007)^[1]. The airline carried over 19.7 million passengers in 2006.^[3]

History

Air Berlin, Inc., was formed in Oregon, USA, by a former Pan Am captain in 1978.^[4] Although the airline was operated out of Germany, a US registration was required, because between the end of World War II and October 1990 only aircraft from the Allied powers were allowed to land in West Berlin. The airline first took off in 1979 with charter flights to Palma de Mallorca using a Boeing 707 aircraft; by the end of 1981 the fleet had been changed to the Boeing 737.

After German reunification in 1990, German investors acquired a majority stake in the company and Joachim Hunold, a former LTU manager, became the CEO. The airline was registered under German law and renamed Air Berlin GmbH & Co. Luftverkehrs KG.^[4] The airline joined IATA (the International Air Transport Association) and started scheduled flights to European business capitals, such as London, Zurich, Vienna and Barcelona in 1997. In January 2004, Air Berlin announced cooperation with former Formula One driver Niki Lauda's newly founded airline Niki and took a 24% stake in Niki.. In 2006, Air Berlin successfully completed an initial public offering on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Originally scheduled for 5 May 2006, it was postponed until 11 May 2006; the company cited recent rises in fuel costs and other market pressures leading to limited of investor demand and reduced the initial share-price range from €15.0-17.5 to €11.5-14.5 and the stock opened at €12.0. 42.5 million shares were sold in the IPO. Of this, 19.6 million were new shares increasing capital in the company, and the remainder to replayed loans made by the original shareholders and invested in the company earlier in 2006. After the IPO, the company claimed to have over €400 million Euros in cash to fund further expansion, including aircraft purchases.^[6].

Later in 2006 Air Berlin announced that it had acquired 100% of the shares in dba, subject to regulatory approval.^[7]. In August 2006, dba was acquired. The two airlines continue to operate under their separate identities, but while dba will continue to operate as an independent company under the umbrella of Air Berlin, it will be marketed as Air Berlin "powered by dba"^[1].

In March 2007, Air Berlin took over German charter airline LTU International, creating the fourth largest airline group in Europe in terms of traffic. Between them the airlines carried 22.1 million passengers in 2006. The take over was driven by the prospect of branching into long-haul operations and the chance to establish a stronger presence at Düsseldorf International Airport. LTU will retain its name for the foreseeable future, while its routes will be integrated into Air Berlin's European network.^[8]

At the same time, Air Berlin acquired a 49% shareholding in Swiss airline Belair owned by tour operator Hotelplan, to enable an increase in its activities in the Swiss market.^[8]

In 2007, a new livery was brought in first shown on Airbus A319.^[9]

On 20 September 2007, Air Berlin announced that it would acquire its competitor Condor Airlines in a deal that would give Thomas Cook a 30% stake in Air Berlin.^[10]

Services

Air Berlin does not operate with a pure low-cost carrier model: most notably, instead of just point-to-point service, Air Berlin offers guaranteed connections via its hubs. The airline also offers services including inflight meals and drinks,^[11] newspapers on board,^[12] assigned seating^[13] and a frequent flyer program.^[14]

Destinations

Main article: Air Berlin destinations

Fleet

The Air Berlin fleet (including LTU) consists of the following aircraft (at March 2007):^[15]

Air Berlin Fleet incl. LTU

Aircraft	Number	Seats
Airbus A320-200	27	144/180
Airbus A321-200	4	204
Airbus A319-100	7	144
Airbus A 330-200	9	323
Airbus A 330-300	3	361
Boeing 737-700	7	144
Boeing 737-800	40	186
Boeing 737-500	1	118
Boeing 737-300	9	136
Boeing 787-800	25 (Ordered) 10 (Options)
Fokker 100	14	100
Total	123

In November 2004 Air Berlin and its Austrian partner Niki announced the joint purchase of 110 Airbus A320s. A firm order for 70 aircraft was placed, 60 for delivery to Air Berlin and 10 for FlyNiki. The deal included an option to purchase an additional 40 aircraft.^[3]

On November 28, 2006, Boeing announced that Air Berlin intended to purchase 60 Boeing Next-Generation 737-800 and also identified an order placed earlier in 2006 for 15 Boeing 737-700 aircraft. The combined value of the 75 airplanes would be $5.1 billion at list prices. Apparently, Air Berlin also has 10 unfilled 737-700s from a dba order announced in 2005. Air Berlin expects to take delivery of a total of 85 737s, starting in November 2007.^[4] All 85 737s will be equipped with blended winglets, which significantly improve fuel efficiency.

On July 7, 2007, Air Berlin announced an order for 25 Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners with options and purchase rights for more. ^[16]

The average Air Berlin fleet age was 6.8 years old as of February 2007.^[17]

Newspaper reports in the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung / FAZ" on the 18th of June 2007 indicated a purchase of 25 Airbus A330 and 25 Airbus A350 aircraft.

External links

• Air Berlin
• Air Berlin Fleet
• Photos of Air Berlin aircraft
• Air Berlin: Investor Relations

References

Lists of Aircraft | Aircraft manufacturers | Aircraft engines | Aircraft engine manufacturers | Airlines | Air forces | Aircraft weapons | Missiles | Timeline of aviation

•  • [ e] Airlines of Germany

Air Berlin Avanti Air Augsburg Airways Blue Wings Cirrus Airlines Condor Airlines Contact Air European Air Express Eurowings FAI Air Service FLN Frisia Luftverkehr Germania Germanwings Hahn Air Hamburg International LTU International Luftfahrtgesellschaft Walter Lufthansa Lufthansa Cargo Lufthansa CityLine Lufthansa Regional Ostfriesische Lufttransport Sylt Air TUIfly WDL Aviation Windrose Air XL Airways Germany

•  • [ e] European Low Fares Airline Association (ELFAA)
easyJet Flybe Myair Norwegian Air Shuttle Ryanair SkyEurope Sterling Airlines Sverigeflyg transavia.com Wizz Air