Airberlin (Airberlin.com) Airbus A330-223 D-ALPJ (msn 911) YVR (Tony Storck), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.
Airberlin (airberlin.com) (Berlin-Tegel) and Deutsche Polarflug are organizing the first round trip from Berlin-Tegel to the Arctic and the North Pole on May 5, 2012. The twelve-hour trip is the only one of its kind worldwide. The aircraft follows a route from Berlin over Norway and beyond. Initially the passengers will have a bird’s eye view of what is probably one of the most spectacular landscapes on earth: unspoilt nature with snow-covered mountains, ice floes and fjords near Spitzbergen. The trip then continues across the Arctic Ocean and straight towards the North Pole. Here the Airbus A330 circles the earth twice by crossing all degrees of longitude in just a few minutes. The plane then flies along Greenland’s craggy eastern coast and on to Iceland and Scotland before the expedition returns to Berlin.
According to the airline, Airberlin’s long-haul Airbus A330 will repeatedly descend from its cruising altitude to give passengers a good view of the Arctic landscapes, with unique photographic subjects. Experts on the Arctic region will explain theses spectacular natural highlights from the cockpit. During the flight the cabin crew will be serving menus inspired by the Nordic influence and created especially for this expeditionary flight.
Flight number AB 1111 will take off at 0800 (8 a.m.) on May 5, 2012 to return at around 2000 (8 p.m.). This is therefore the last opportunity to fly directly to the eternal ice from Berlin-Tegel, shortly before the new Berlin Brandenburg Willy Brandt airport is opened June 3, 2012.
Tickets are available online at polarflug.de or by calling +49 (0) 201 / 47 01 77. Fares start at 444 euros and include taxes, charges and topbonus miles.
On the financial side, Airberlin reported its second quarter operating loss widened to 32.2 million euros ($46 million), up from 28.2 million euros in the same period in 2010.
Copyright Photo: Tony Storck.