Air Berlin
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E-mail sent out today
Dear Mr X
We promise – airberlin and NIKI are back at cruising altitude.
Following extensive reports regarding airberlin and NIKI in recent days, we would like to update you on our current status. The airberlin management team has recognised the issues with its conversion to a network carrier and taken countermeasures to stabilise its flight operations:
1. On 1st June, the airberlin schedule was realigned, especially at Tegel.
2. Luftfahrtgesellschaft Walter, who operate European routes for airberlin with their fleet of Q400 aircraft, was responsible for many of the delays and cancellations during April and May. We have insisted on a change of management and improved staffing levels by hiring 50 new employees.
3. Since January 2017, airberlin has appointed around 700 flight attendants in order to strengthen its cabin staff.
4. airberlin has launched a volunteer programme. Around 150 administrative staff are currently supporting their operational colleagues.
5. airberlin continues to ensure that the ground handling service provider, AeroGround, improves its performance. Visible progress has already been made since it commenced operations on 26th March, particularly with regards to staff shortages.
Both the punctuality and reliability of airberlin flight operations have already seen significant improvement and are now back to the level that we have been reliably providing for 38 years.
All bookings are secure. You can therefore confidently book your next flight with airberlin and NIKI.
Due to the current high volume of calls received by our customer services, however, we hope you will understand that it may take a little longer to process your enquiry over the coming weeks. airberlin has doubled the size of its team and is intensively working to clear the backlog.
Are you wondering how this poor performance could arise?
With the change-over to the summer schedule at the end of March, airberlin underwent the most far-reaching restructure in its history. airberlin will emerge from this as a strong network airline with 75 aircraft, two long-haul hubs in Berlin and Dusseldorf and a focus on German and European city airports. As stated above, unfortunately airberlin's restructuring process is not proceeding as smoothly as we would have hoped and as you would rightly expect.
Holiday destinations have been transferred from airberlin to its subsidiary, NIKI. The breakdown of talks between TUI and Etihad regarding the formation of a new joint venture has changed nothing. This merely concerns a change to the corporate structure and therefore has no impact on the flight operations of the airberlin group. The NIKI winter schedule has already been released and NIKI will continue to offer a reliable service to warm weather destinations.
Finally, we would like to emphasise that nothing has changed for you as a topbonus member with regard to collecting and redeeming miles, as well as your status benefits with airberlin and NIKI. We look forward to welcoming you back onboard soon!
We promise – airberlin and NIKI are back at cruising altitude.
Following extensive reports regarding airberlin and NIKI in recent days, we would like to update you on our current status. The airberlin management team has recognised the issues with its conversion to a network carrier and taken countermeasures to stabilise its flight operations:
1. On 1st June, the airberlin schedule was realigned, especially at Tegel.
2. Luftfahrtgesellschaft Walter, who operate European routes for airberlin with their fleet of Q400 aircraft, was responsible for many of the delays and cancellations during April and May. We have insisted on a change of management and improved staffing levels by hiring 50 new employees.
3. Since January 2017, airberlin has appointed around 700 flight attendants in order to strengthen its cabin staff.
4. airberlin has launched a volunteer programme. Around 150 administrative staff are currently supporting their operational colleagues.
5. airberlin continues to ensure that the ground handling service provider, AeroGround, improves its performance. Visible progress has already been made since it commenced operations on 26th March, particularly with regards to staff shortages.
Both the punctuality and reliability of airberlin flight operations have already seen significant improvement and are now back to the level that we have been reliably providing for 38 years.
All bookings are secure. You can therefore confidently book your next flight with airberlin and NIKI.
Due to the current high volume of calls received by our customer services, however, we hope you will understand that it may take a little longer to process your enquiry over the coming weeks. airberlin has doubled the size of its team and is intensively working to clear the backlog.
Are you wondering how this poor performance could arise?
With the change-over to the summer schedule at the end of March, airberlin underwent the most far-reaching restructure in its history. airberlin will emerge from this as a strong network airline with 75 aircraft, two long-haul hubs in Berlin and Dusseldorf and a focus on German and European city airports. As stated above, unfortunately airberlin's restructuring process is not proceeding as smoothly as we would have hoped and as you would rightly expect.
Holiday destinations have been transferred from airberlin to its subsidiary, NIKI. The breakdown of talks between TUI and Etihad regarding the formation of a new joint venture has changed nothing. This merely concerns a change to the corporate structure and therefore has no impact on the flight operations of the airberlin group. The NIKI winter schedule has already been released and NIKI will continue to offer a reliable service to warm weather destinations.
Finally, we would like to emphasise that nothing has changed for you as a topbonus member with regard to collecting and redeeming miles, as well as your status benefits with airberlin and NIKI. We look forward to welcoming you back onboard soon!
Air Berlin will not apply to the NRW and Berlin regional Govts for guarantees of their debt after all
https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/n...ment-guarantee
Not sure I quite believe the line being given out by Air Berlin, but I doubt the complete story behind this will ever be publicised
https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/n...ment-guarantee
Not sure I quite believe the line being given out by Air Berlin, but I doubt the complete story behind this will ever be publicised
I think if they'd gone to the state governments in NRW and Brandenburg and been refused that would have been the end as creditors would have panicked.
If they have, as they suggest renegotiated leases etc., they have bought some time, but I reckon the smart money is on LH taking over some or all of AB at some stage, but if they do, the EU competition authorities really need to step in to force LH to sell of other assets, slots and the like to ensure a "German Aeroflot" isn't being created.
If they have, as they suggest renegotiated leases etc., they have bought some time, but I reckon the smart money is on LH taking over some or all of AB at some stage, but if they do, the EU competition authorities really need to step in to force LH to sell of other assets, slots and the like to ensure a "German Aeroflot" isn't being created.
Brother and family in LA. Were due to fly from ARN to DUS and on to LAX with Air Berlin. ARN-DUS cancelled as a route so they got direct from ARN to LAX on SAS.
They are still due to come back on Air Berlin from LAX via DUS to ARN but I can't see how as the flights to ARN are gone. They haven't been offered a change as of yet
They are due to fly home on July 6th. Anyone in the know care to speculate on how likely Air Berlin are to be still operating by then?
They are still due to come back on Air Berlin from LAX via DUS to ARN but I can't see how as the flights to ARN are gone. They haven't been offered a change as of yet
They are due to fly home on July 6th. Anyone in the know care to speculate on how likely Air Berlin are to be still operating by then?
European airlines that go bust tend to do it at the beginning of the autumn, after the holiday peak - it ensures that the maximum amount of cash is held within the company for distribution to creditors. Of course this assumes that an airline is making an operating profit during July/August
Look as though Lufthansa are luke warm at best as regards taking over AB.
Link below in German
Lufthansa-Chef zu Air Berlin: "Übernahme sehe ich aktuell nicht" | tagesschau.de
Link below in German
Lufthansa-Chef zu Air Berlin: "Übernahme sehe ich aktuell nicht" | tagesschau.de
Tango - an uncontrolled bankruptcy would possibly lead to a gap in the market on a number of routes which Easyjet and Ryanair would likely be only too happy to fill quickly.
It is in Lufthansa's interest to increase the ability to fly more short haul out of Austrian and German airports (hire staff and acquire aircraft), let Eurowings take routes over from leased Air Berlin aircraft, and then slowly let Air Berlin die quietly in a corner. You end up with Air Berlin suffering death by a thousand cuts, Lufthansa group has taken over much of the potentially profitable bits of business of Air Berlin without the debt, and because there was no takeover it becomes harder for competition authorities to make any claims of monopoly. Problem is Eurowings / Lufthansa needs more time to achieve this aim - hence why the large number of short term leases are in place. Right now mummy Lufthansa is one of the main life support systems for Air Berlin and there is very little Air Berlin can do to wean themselves off this dependency as the equivalent of drug rehab implies bankruptcy.
Me ? A cynic ? How could you think such a thing !
It is in Lufthansa's interest to increase the ability to fly more short haul out of Austrian and German airports (hire staff and acquire aircraft), let Eurowings take routes over from leased Air Berlin aircraft, and then slowly let Air Berlin die quietly in a corner. You end up with Air Berlin suffering death by a thousand cuts, Lufthansa group has taken over much of the potentially profitable bits of business of Air Berlin without the debt, and because there was no takeover it becomes harder for competition authorities to make any claims of monopoly. Problem is Eurowings / Lufthansa needs more time to achieve this aim - hence why the large number of short term leases are in place. Right now mummy Lufthansa is one of the main life support systems for Air Berlin and there is very little Air Berlin can do to wean themselves off this dependency as the equivalent of drug rehab implies bankruptcy.
Me ? A cynic ? How could you think such a thing !
Last edited by davidjohnson6; 26th Jun 2017 at 00:58.
Air Berlin seems to have given up on any hope of a workable hub in Berlin (*cough* Brandenburg *cough*) for pax transferring between flights
Long haul routes are to be transferred to Dusseldorf
Long haul routes are to be transferred to Dusseldorf
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JFK and AUH should remain, ORD and MIA might be cancelled soon from TXL. LAX and SFO will definately cancelled.
A few planes will end up at DUS, but not all. Some might end up at Eurowings operating out of Munich next summer as Condor will cease their leisure long-haul routes out of MUC and EW plans to enter. Also SN and EW will tighten their coperation so LH will have a strong domestic market position.
A few planes will end up at DUS, but not all. Some might end up at Eurowings operating out of Munich next summer as Condor will cease their leisure long-haul routes out of MUC and EW plans to enter. Also SN and EW will tighten their coperation so LH will have a strong domestic market position.
If it's all going to work as you describe it begs the question, despite how open the German industry appears on the face of it just how much meddling is there behind the scenes at federal and state government level?
I'm thinking that AB transfers longhaul aircraft to Eurowings at MUC, and as Condor exits long haul at MUC, EW enters seamlessly. is the German government's goal to kill of competition in the scheduled sector. Appears a bit too choreographed for my liking.
I'm thinking that AB transfers longhaul aircraft to Eurowings at MUC, and as Condor exits long haul at MUC, EW enters seamlessly. is the German government's goal to kill of competition in the scheduled sector. Appears a bit too choreographed for my liking.
There will eventually come a point that the money runs out. The middle eastern backers appear to have burned through billions. TUI and Lufthansa have both taken a step back from their previously suggested plans. Surely a controlled winding up at the end of the summer season with bits being taken over at fire sale prices must be an increasingly likely scenario. If the same happens at Alitalia then it will be interesting times.
Brother and family in LA. Were due to fly from ARN to DUS and on to LAX with Air Berlin. ARN-DUS cancelled as a route so they got direct from ARN to LAX on SAS.
They are still due to come back on Air Berlin from LAX via DUS to ARN but I can't see how as the flights to ARN are gone. They haven't been offered a change as of yet
They are due to fly home on July 6th. Anyone in the know care to speculate on how likely Air Berlin are to be still operating by then?
They are still due to come back on Air Berlin from LAX via DUS to ARN but I can't see how as the flights to ARN are gone. They haven't been offered a change as of yet
They are due to fly home on July 6th. Anyone in the know care to speculate on how likely Air Berlin are to be still operating by then?
I wouldn't book anything urgent or long haul with them.
The german pilot boards are full of very troubling stuff about delays and cancellations. Handling in Berlin remains a major problem area. The lack of reliability makes booking them pretty unattractive for a lot of people. The only bit that seems to have a clear future is the wet lease operation for Eurowings, with its own AoC. What happens to the rest is anyone's guess.
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Well, just of late Eurowings/Germanwings have had their fair share of delays too. Since May this year all my flights bar one have been delayed 30 minutes or more. And waiting in the lounge looking at the departure screens I could see it wasn't just my flights that were affected.
Avoid transatlantic with these charlatans. It's almost certainly over for them based on this experience.
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Air Dusseldorf
New long-haul flights out of DUS announced for summer 2018
DUS-YYZ 4 weekly
DUS-ORD 5 weekly
From Berlin just JFK (daily) and AUH (double daily) will remain.
airberlin press ? airberlin continues growth and introduces flights to Canada
DUS-YYZ 4 weekly
DUS-ORD 5 weekly
airberlin provides connections between Dusseldorf and New York (JFK) twice a day. airberlin operates daily flights from Dusseldorf to each of the following destinations: Boston, Los Angeles, Orlando, Miami and San Francisco. airberlin has increased the number of flights to Orlando with two additional flights compared to last year. airberlin is the only to fly from Europe direct to Fort Myers, which it does three times a week. During the summer of 2018, airberlin will also fly to Cancun, Mexico and to Varadero, Cuba twice a week. Furthermore, there will be flights from Dusseldorf to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic three times a week.
airberlin press ? airberlin continues growth and introduces flights to Canada
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AB files for insolvencyand LH might take over
https://flights.airberlin.com/de-DE/airberlin#EN
https://newsroom.lufthansagroup.com/...17/q3/512.html
If happens LH Group will be massive in Germany, Switzerland and Austria.
https://flights.airberlin.com/de-DE/airberlin#EN
https://newsroom.lufthansagroup.com/...17/q3/512.html
If happens LH Group will be massive in Germany, Switzerland and Austria.