Category Archives: Airberlin

Etihad Airways to recruit 50 pilots from Airberlin, enters a new relationship with KLM

Etihad Airways (Abu Dhabi) has announced it will recruit around 50 pilots from partner Airberlin (Berlin) which has been downsizing. The carrier issued this statement:

The move comes as Airberlin, Germany’s second largest carrier, continues to work through its Turbine business turnaround program, and as Etihad Airways prepares for significant international expansion.

The recruitment transfers began in April when the first batch of six Boeing 737-rated First Officers arrived in Abu Dhabi to start type conversion training on to the Boeing 777 at Etihad Airways’ Flight Training Centre.

Upon successful completion, the six pilots will undertake line training on the airline’s global network, before being fully licensed as type-rated Boeing 777 First Officers.

Further pilot transfers will take place in the coming months, comprising Airbus A320 Captains, Airbus A320 First Officers, Airbus A330 First Officers and Boeing 777 non-rated First Officers.

Etihad Airways’ current fleet of 77 Boeing and Airbus aircraft will grow significantly this decade with more than 90 firm order aircraft scheduled for delivery.

Over the next 12 months the carrier will take delivery of four Boeing 777-300 ERs, five Airbus A320s, one Airbus A321, one Airbus A330-200 and one Airbus A330-200 freighter aircraft. Late next year, Etihad Airways will also introduce its first Airbus A380 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.

Etihad Airways currently employs over 1,400 pilots, and plans to recruit 1,000 more by 2020.

In other news, Etihad has announced it has entered the second phase of its strategic partnership with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (Amsterdam) following the launch of new Amsterdam service. The airline issued this statement:

The daily service, operated by a two cabin Airbus A330-200 and configured to carry 262 passengers with 22 in Pearl Business Class and 240 in Coral Economy Class, was launched on May 15 and carries KLM’s KL code.

The launch of the new flights coincides with the addition of 12 new KLM destinations out of Schiphol Airport which now carry Etihad Airways EY code. KLM has also added its KL code to a further six Etihad Airways destinations from its Abu Dhabi hub.

The 12 additional destinations that Etihad Airways customers can now access through codeshare operations with KLM are Stockholm, Aberdeen, Barcelona, Bergen, Birmingham, Copenhagen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Gothenburg, Helsinki, Leeds/Bradford and Madrid.

These cities join the first phase of cities served by KLM, which carry the EY code, Billund, Cardiff, Newcastle, Oslo, and Stavanger.

KLM now has its KL code on six Etihad Airways’ flights to Abu Dhabi, Brisbane, Khartoum, Male, Muscat and Seychelles.

These join the initial group of cities served by Etihad Airways – Colombo, Islamabad, Lahore, Melbourne, and Sydney – which also carry the KL code.

In addition to flight operations Etihad Airways has this year wet-leased a Boeing 747-400 freighter from KLM. This aircraft, with a payload capacity of 124 tons, links the two cargo hubs of Abu Dhabi and Amsterdam, and increases our capacity to Frankfurt, Hong Kong and Dhaka.

From KLM’s partner, Air France, Etihad Airways has also wet-leased an Airbus A340-300 for use on the Paris-Abu Dhabi route from now until the end of the year.

Amsterdam joins a group of 17 leading European cities that Etihad Airways flies to including Brussels, Dublin, Frankfurt, Geneva, London and Paris.

Copyright Photo: Arnd Wolf. Etihad Airways’ Airbus A330-243 A6-EYE (msn 688) (Manchester City Football Club) arrives at Munich.

Video: Etihad Airways.

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Airberlin returns to profitability, produces a $8.7 million net profit for 2012

Airberlin (airberlin.com) (Berlin) has announced its financial results for 2012. The company has returned to profitability and issued this statement:

Net result of EUR 6.8 million ($8.7 million), 33.3 million guests
Group revenue of EUR 4.31 billion, capacity utilization and yield increased
Strategic partnership with Etihad Airways provides joint revenue of EUR 100 million, new code share routes expected to provide further growth
First “Turbine” measures started – EUR 400 million until the end of 2014
180 positions already cut between January and the end of March 2013
As of summer 2013, the Berlin and Dusseldorf hubs will be strengthened with increased flight frequencies and new destinations
Revenue growth with fewer routes and increased frequencies: routes will be reduced from 523 in summer 2012 to 438 in summer 2013.
Fleet reduction by twelve aircraft to 143 aircraft by the end of 2013
The goal for 2013 is operational profitability, break-even at the EBIT level

Over the first months of the year, Airberlin, Germany’s second-largest airline, implemented numerous measures of the “Turbine” turnaround program. At the press conference on the 2012 results, airberlin’s CEO Wolfgang Prock-Schauer stated: “With Turbine, we are setting up airberlin in line with the market. We are becoming leaner, faster and are, at the same time, continuously improving our service and flight offers. In the first months of 2013, we have initiated a number of measures. It goes without saying that such programs have a start-up phase and start-up costs. We will reach ‘cruising altitude’ by the end of 2014.”

This two-year program will enable Germany’s second-largest airline to further expand its presence in core markets and to make structural changes aimed at making the company sustainably fit for the future. For that purpose, airberlin will further promote its integrated business model through which the company caters to tourist travelers and business clients. Up to the end of 2014, the Turbine program includes initiatives of approximately EUR 400 million, so as to achieve a sustainably competitive profit situation.

Turbine program with multiple measures started

The turnaround program comprises in particular the areas network and fleet, sales & distribution, products and services as well as operations. The first Turbine measures have already been implemented in this year’s summer flight schedule. The optimized offer strengthens airberlin’s presence in Europe and further expands the long-haul connections to North America. Airberlin is carrying out the network optimization by using the principle of increasing frequencies on economically profitable routes. The target is a robust network that is less susceptible to seasonal fluctuations and provides for more productive aircraft and personnel. As a result the airline is strengthening its long-haul hubs Berlin and Dusseldorf with additional long-haul frequencies and improved flight connections. These will increase in Berlin from ca. 7,600 to ca. 11,000, and in Dusseldorf from ca. 3,000 to ca. 4,050. At both airports, the number of weekly flight frequencies will grow by a total of 61 additional connections as compared to the previous year. At the same time airberlin has reduced economically unprofitable routes, with the number of routes decreasing from 523 to 438 on an annual comparison. With the optimized flight schedule, the fleet will be reduced from 155 aircraft at the end of 2012, to 143 aircraft at the end of 2013.

Network and station optimization will result in increased crew productivity. In the future, comprehensive aircraft maintenance (Base Maintenance) will only be carried out in Munich.

In connection with the restructuring cost reductions in personnel are necessary. Between January and the end of March 2013, 180 jobs will have been eliminated.

Airberlin is expanding its service in line with passenger requirements. From mid-year onwards, a modular catering concept will be introduced on the short and medium-haul flights. This will provide passengers with services commensurate with the duration of the flight. An example is the new Business Class seats introduced on long-haul flights.

Net profit for 2012

Airberlin concluded the 2012 business year with a return to profitability. The operating profit before interest and taxes (EBIT) of EUR 70.2 million was a significant improvement over the previous year results. The company’s net income of EUR 6.8 million marks a return to profitability and follows a loss of reported EUR 271.8 (restated: -420.4 million) in the 2011 business year.

In the past year, airberlin increased its group revenue to EUR 4.31 billion (2011: EUR 4.23 billion). While the number of passengers decreased by 5.5 per cent to 33.3 million (previous year: 35.3 million), capacity utilisation increased by 1.6 percentage points to 79.80 per cent (previous year: 78.21 per cent). This was achieved by a further fleet reduction of 15 aircraft to 155 aircraft and improvements of the flight schedule. Yield (revenue per passenger) improved by 7.7 percent to EUR 120.05 (previous year: EUR 111.43).

The spin-off of the frequent-flyer program “topbonus”, the implementation of the efficiency program “Shape & Size” and the increasing synergy effects resulting from the strategic partnership with Etihad Airways have contributed to the positive development of the operating result. In this context, Shape & Size has contributed EUR 250 million.

“The profit of the past financial year and the successful placement of the convertible bond enabled us to further stabilize the financial basis of the company. The favorable conditions, the swift placement and over-subscription of the bond demonstrate the market’s confidence in our company,” stated Airberlin’s Chief Financial Officer, Ulf Hüttmeyer. The goal for 2013 is a break-even at the EBIT level and therefore operational profitability.

The strategic partnership with Etihad Airways, which started at the beginning of 2012, has already shown positive effects within less than 12 months. By the end of 2012, codeshare routes enabled the two airlines to generate together a revenue increase of EUR 100 million. airberlin and Etihad Airways have already concluded almost 100 agreements with companies and sales partners and through synergies have further increased revenue and reduced operating costs. By further expanding codeshare routes with other Etihad Airways partners, airberlin will be able in the future to offer more destinations and increase revenue generated by codesharing. Furthermore, the strategic partnership is increasingly reducing costs for both airlines. For example, in the areas of procurement, maintenance, training and product harmonization, the two airlines are increasingly making use of their synergy potentials and expect these to reach their full potential in the coming years.

Global network established

Wolfgang Prock-Schauer assesses the advantages of the strategic partnership with Etihad Airways: “Our cooperation with Etihad Airways exceeds all our expectations.” This cooperation enabled airberlin to set up a global route network in the course of the past year. Within one year, Etihad Airways and airberlin have increased the number of codeshare routes to 90 connections and are flying to a combined 239 destinations in 77 countries. In 2012 alone, more than 320,000 passengers used the common flight network.

Airberlin’s membership in the global airline alliance, oneworld_^®, which started in March 2012, is also positive. The number of passengers traveling on these codeshare routes increased to 310,000 passengers.

Airberlin CEO Wolfgang Prock-Schauer added: “Our optimized route network together with the global network of our partners will enable us to be sustainably successful in the future. For that purpose, we need a functional hub in Berlin and the new airport BER that adheres to the operating times as foreseen in the official planning.”

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Airberlin downsizes its tourist hub at Nuremberg

Airberlin (airberlin.com) (Berlin) is working to trim its unprofitable routes. The carrier has announced it is downsizing its mainly tourist hub at Nuremberg for the coming winter schedule. The carrier will retain some holiday routes to southern destinations.

Read the full report (in German) by Bayerischer Rundfunk: CLICK HERE

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Airberlin Group takes delivery of the first Airbus A320 with Sharklets

Airberlin Group (Berlin) on March 26 took delivery of its first Airbus A320 with the new Sharklets wing tip device. The pictured A320-214 OE-LER (msn 5522) will be operated by Niki (Vienna).

The group issued this statement:

OE-LER, welcome to our fleet! The Airberlin Group became one of the first airlines in the world to receive its very first Airbus A320 equipped with fuel-saving Sharklets at the Airbus factory in Hamburg on March 26, 2013. The development sees the company further strengthen its position as Europe’s most eco-efficient network carrier.

The aircraft with the Airbus manufacturer’s serial number msn 5522 will fly under the registration OE-LER for the airline Niki, which belongs to the Airberlin Group. Following test flights and extensive technical checks, the transfer of title of the aircraft to the Airberlin Group took place on March 25 before the March 26 ferry flight from Hamburg to Vienna, the home of Niki.

Commenting on the delivery, Ulf Hüttmeyer, Chief Financial Officer airberlin, said: “The new Airbus is the first of a total of 14 Airbus A320/A321 aircraft with the fuel-saving wingtips to be delivered to the Airberlin Group. The Sharklets represent an important aspect of our ‘Eco-Efficient Flying’ program and will contribute towards making the Airberlin and Niki fleet even more efficient and environmentally compatible in future. The delivery of the first Airbus with Sharklets to Niki is part of a sales and lease back transaction between our company and the Chinese leasing company ICBC Financial Leasing with which we have already been working together successfully and reliably for several years in the area of aircraft financing.”

As part of the sales and lease back cooperation arrangement with ICBC Financial Leasing, the Airberlin Group is to add another Airbus A320 with Sharklets to its fleet in June of this year.

The two-and-a-half meter large upward wingtip extensions reduce air vortices at the wings and hence the lift-induced drag. The eye-catching Sharklets developed by Airbus thereby significantly improve the wing aerodynamics and are capable of saving around 1,200 tonnes of CO2 emissions with fuel savings of up to 3.5% per aircraft each year. This represents 55 flights from Berlin to Palma de Mallorca per aircraft every year. Sharklets work according to a functional principle by which the improved lift effect also enables the Airbus equipped with Sharklets to ascend more quickly. This in turn reduces noise on the ground.

Airberlin:

Niki:

Airberlin returns to profitability with a net profit of $8.8 million in 2012

Airberlin (airberlin.com) (Berlin) is enjoying a financial turnaround. The company recorded a record net profit of $8.8 million in 2012. The company issued this statement:

Net result of EUR 6.8 million, 33.3 million guests
Group revenue of EUR 4.31 billion, capacity utilization and yield increased
Strategic partnership with Etihad Airways provides joint revenue of EUR 100 million, new code share routes expected to provide further growth
First “Turbine” measures started – EUR 400 million until the end of 2014
180 positions already cut between January and the end of March 2013
As of summer 2013, the Berlin and Dusseldorf hubs will be strengthened with increased flight frequencies and new destinations
Revenue growth with fewer routes and increased frequencies: routes will be reduced from 523 in summer 2012 to 438 in summer 2013.
Fleet reduction by twelve aircraft to 143 aircraft by the end of 2013
The goal for 2013 is operational profitability, break-even at the EBIT level

Over the first months of the year, airberlin, Germany’s second-largest airline, implemented numerous measures of the “Turbine” turnaround program. At today’s press conference on the 2012 results, airberlin’s CEO Wolfgang Prock-Schauer stated: “With Turbine, we are setting up airberlin in line with the market. We are becoming leaner, faster and are, at the same time, continuously improving our service and flight offers. In the first months of 2013, we have initiated a number of measures. It goes without saying that such programs have a start-up phase and start-up costs. We will reach ‘cruising altitude’ by the end of 2014.”

Turbine program with multiple measures started

The turnaround program comprises in particular the areas network and fleet, sales & distribution, products and services as well as operations. The first Turbine measures have already been implemented in this year’s summer flight schedule. The optimized offer strengthens airberlin’s presence in Europe and further expands the long-haul connections to North America. airberlin is carrying out the network optimization by using the principle of increasing frequencies on economically profitable routes. The target is a robust network that is less susceptible to seasonal fluctuations and provides for more productive aircraft and personnel. As a result the airline is strengthening its long-haul hubs Berlin and Dusseldorf with additional long-haul frequencies and improved flight connections. These will increase in Berlin from ca. 7,600 to ca. 11,000, and in Dusseldorf from ca. 3,000 to ca. 4,050. At both airports, the number of weekly flight frequencies will grow by a total of 61 additional connections as compared to the previous year. At the same time airberlin has reduced economically unprofitable routes, with the number of routes decreasing from 523 to 438 on an annual comparison. With the optimized flight schedule, the fleet will be reduced from 155 aircraft at the end of 2012, to 143 aircraft at the end of 2013.

Network and station optimization will result in increased crew productivity. In the future, comprehensive aircraft maintenance (Base Maintenance) will only be carried out in Munich.

In connection with the restructuring cost reductions in personnel are necessary. Between January and the end of March 2013, 180 jobs will have been eliminated.

In the past year, Airberlin increased its group revenue to EUR 4.31 billion (2011: EUR 4.23 billion). While the number of passengers decreased by 5.5 per cent to 33.3 million (previous year: 35.3 million), capacity utilisation increased by 1.6 percentage points to 79.80 per cent (previous year: 78.21 per cent). This was achieved by a further fleet reduction of 15 aircraft to 155 aircraft and improvements of the flight schedule. Yield (revenue per passenger) improved by 7.7 percent to EUR 120.05 (previous year: EUR 111.43).

“The profit of the past financial year and the successful placement of the convertible bond enabled us to further stabilize the financial basis of the company. The favorable conditions, the swift placement and over-subscription of the bond demonstrate the market’s confidence in our company,” stated airberlin’s Chief Financial Officer, Ulf Hüttmeyer. The goal for 2013 is a break-even at the EBIT level and therefore operational profitability.

Global network established

Wolfgang Prock-Schauer assesses the advantages of the strategic partnership with Etihad Airways: “Our cooperation with Etihad Airways exceeds all our expectations.” This cooperation enabled Airberlin to set up a global route network in the course of the past year. Within one year, Etihad Airways and Airberlin have increased the number of codeshare routes to 90 connections and are flying to a combined 239 destinations in 77 countries. In 2012 alone, more than 320,000 passengers used the common flight network.

Copyright Photo: Andi Hiltl. The Niki name is being kept alive at the Austrian subsidiary of Airberlin while assuming the brand colors of the parent. Niki-The Spirit of Niki (flyniki.com) Airbus A320-214 OE-LEX (msn 2867) arrives at Zurich.

Airberlin:

Niki:

Airberlin returns to profitability with a net profit of $8.97 million in 2012

Airberlin (Berlin) has returned to the black with a reported $8.97 million net profit in 2012.

Read the full report from the airline: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Mark Durbin. Airbus A330-223 D-ALPI (msn 828) in the delayed Berlin Brandenburg Airport scheme taxies at San Francisco.

Airberlin:

Airberlin to cut 900 positions in order to become profitable again

Airberlin (airberlin.com) (Berlin) plans to eliminate almost 10 percent of its workforce of 9,300 (900 jobs) as part of a cost-cutting campaign designed to eliminate is continuing yearly losses.

Airberlin hopes to achieve $535 million in annual savings by the end of 2014. The airline has not posted an annual profit since 2007.

The company issued the following statement today about its “Lean and Smart” “Turbine” turnaround program:

Today Airberlin began to implement its “Turbine” turnaround program. This is a comprehensive scheme to ensure that Germany’s second largest airline focuses on its key markets on the basis of a stringent business model. The two-year program extends across all divisions. The airline will be expediting the optimization of its network, fleet and timetables already under way, improve its offering, sales and customer orientation and slim down its administration and working processes as well. “Turbine” has defined initiatives of around 400 million euros by the end of 2014 to achieve a lastingly competitive result.

Efficient operations, greater cost-efficiency and an attractive, intelligent offering are designed to make airberlin profitable and achieve a sustainable future. That is why the company will continually improve its integrated business model for serving leisure and business customers. The entire change process instituted by “Turbine” will develop the company on the basis of “Lean & Smart” criteria. In this context “Lean” signifies the simplest and most cost-efficient organization possible in conjunction with streamlined processes. “Smart” shifts the focus onto core markets and partnerships as well as towards integrated, intelligent and innovative customer orientation offering “that little bit extra”.

Meetings with staff representatives to discuss the turnaround programme and the planned personnel measures have already begun. airberlin’s management will be implementing “Turbine” in conjunction with employees and on the basis of a constructive dialogue with the employee representatives and will be giving these discussions top priority over the next few months.

The program covers all areas of operation and relationships with business partners as well. It also involves cutting about 900 jobs in which the possibility of redundancies cannot be excluded.

The elements that make up “Turbine” include network and fleet optimisations that have already been initiated, concentrating on profitable routes and increasing flight frequencies in key markets. These measures are specifically designed to strengthen Airberlin’s position in its core market, for example, the D/A/CH region (Germany, Austria and Switzerland). There will be even more flights to Palma de Mallorca. The hubs in Berlin and Dusseldorf with their long-haul services are to be expanded. The airports in Vienna, Hamburg, Munich, Zurich and Stuttgart will retain their function as principal stations within the Airberlin route network. Reducing the fleet to 142 aircraft in the current year, with six earmarked as operational reserves, and optimising the network go hand in hand with further fleet harmonization, stationing concentration and simpler rotation.

Airberlin already has a product with high customer acceptance and will be further enhancing this strong position with intelligent and customised services along its entire travel chain to delight its guests. The offering will continue to feature an excellent price-performance ratio, the “Airline with heart” brand image and trend-setting innovations. Airberlin is planning to concentrate its customer contacts in a single Customer Care section, to offer more technical opportunities for self service and to provide much-enhanced business class facilities on long-haul flights.

Copyright Photo: Javier Rodriguez. The diverse fleet will be reduced to 142 aircraft from 158. Airbus A321-211 D-ABCH (msn 4728) arrives at Palma de Mallorca which will seek further expansion in the AB system.

Airberlin:

Airberlin issues a statement concerning the new delayed opening of the new Berlin Bradenburg Airport (BER)

Airberlin (airberlin.com) (Berlin) has issued the following statement concerning the new delay for the opening of the new Berlin airport:

“Airberlin is disappointed about the latest postponement of the opening date for the new airport Berlin-Brandenburg BER. This will have an adverse effect on all passengers and on airlines. Airberlin has already insisted many times on receiving a reliable opening date which can therefore be planned around. A renewed postponement means that the unsatisfactory situation for all passengers will continue.

Because of the latest postponement, Airberlin expects the airport company to do everything possible in Tegel to achieve an even better standard. Airberlin itself incurs considerable expense in passenger control for the rising numbers at the old airport and will continue to do everything to keep the effects on our passengers to a minimum. The additional service staff will also be available to Airberlin passengers in Tegel in the future, and ensure that the process runs as smoothly as possible.

Airberlin continues to place great emphasis on BER. As the market leader in the German capital, airberlin intends to expand its position, grow continuously and further build up the hub with international long-haul flights.”

In other news, Airberlin has appointed a new CEO. As of January 7, 2013, Wolfgang Prock-Schauer, 56, will take over the post of Chief Executive Officer of Air Berlin PLC from Hartmut Mehdorn, who has been in the position on a transitional basis since September 1, 2011. At the same time Prock-Schauer will become an Executive Director on the Board of Directors of Air Berlin PLC. Hartmut Mehdorn will remain a member of the Board.

Copyright Photo: Gunter Mayer. Boeing 737-86J D-ABMJ (msn 36872) was the 2012 “Flying home for Christmas” Santa Claus logojet. The airliner is pictured resting overnight at Nuremberg.

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Airberlin to start Berlin-Warsaw service on March 23 as it expands to the east

Airberlin (airberlin.com) (Berlin) will offer three flights a day on the Berlin – Warsaw route starting on March 23, 2013. The company will also expand to three flights a day on the Berlin – Krakow route also on the same day as the airline focuses on eastern Europe. Airberlin issued the following statement:

Airberlin is expanding its route network competencies in Poland and from March 23, 2013 will operate up to three flights a day from Berlin to Warsaw. The Polish capital is already the third destination in Poland for Germany‘s second largest airline. In addition Airberlin will increase the number of flights from Berlin to Krakow, also from March 23, 2013, thereby operating a total of up to 48 flights a week from Berlin to its European neighbor.

Hartmut Mehdorn, CEO Airberlin, said: “We have strategically revised our network for the summer of 2013. The adjustments and new introductions on the flight schedule are in line with our drive for increased efficiency. In the future we will concentrate even more on our core business areas, that is, our touristic flight programme and our scheduled services. The main priority here is to strengthen the visibility of the airline in strategic core markets such as Central and Eastern Europe.”

On the financial side, in the third quarter, Airberlin was able to increase its net income to EUR 66.6 million (2011: EUR 30.2 million), an increase of more than 120 percent over the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The operating result improved by 4.5 percent to EUR 101.2 million (EUR 96.8 million). Revenue increased by 1.4 percent over the previous year, to EUR 1,395.1 million (EUR 1,375.5 million), despite a targeted capacity reduction of 5.4 percent. Capacity utilization increased slightly by 0.4 percentage points to 84.54 percent (84.14 percent). Yield (revenue per passenger) improved by 3.1 percent to EUR 115.84 (EUR 112.39). EBITDAR (Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and leasing expenses) increased by 3.8 percent to EUR 279.5 million (EUR 269.3 million). Total equity at the end of the quarter amounted to EUR 186.3 million, which corresponds to an equity ratio of eight percent.

Airberlin recorded a continuing reduction of direct operating costs – excluding fuel costs – as a result of the “Shape & Size” program, which yielded a contribution of EUR 70 million in the third quarter. Over this period, fuel costs increased by EUR 35 million.

For the fleet, AB will cut its operational fleet from 158 aircraft to 135 per ATW.

Copyright Photo: Paul Denton. The Boeing 737-800 fleet will continue to grow. Boeing 737-86J D-ABKT (msn 36881) arrives at Antalya, Turkey.

Airberlin:

Airberlin to drop Las Vegas, San Francisco and Vancouver while increasing service to American Airlines hubs

Airberlin (Berlin) is realigning its route map to increase its growing relationship with American Airlines (Dallas/Fort Worth) while dropping non-AA hub destinations like Las Vegas, San Francisco and Vancouver. The German carrier is also increasing its already large presence at Palma de Mallorca in Spain. The airline issued the following statement:

Airberlin has strategically revised its route network for next summer. The timetable modifications have been designed to increase efficiency and mainly refer to the intercontinental routes to the USA as well as the airline’s hubs in Palma de Mallorca and Vienna. The important consideration was not to reduce but to transfer capacities, thereby enhancing the airline’s profile in strategic core markets. In future Airberlin will also be focusing even more on the synergies emerging from its association with its strategic partner Etihad Airways (Abu Dhabi) and the oneworld_^®carriers, to derive even greater benefit from the potential stemming from the existing alliances and partnership.

The United States are a strategic growth market for airberlin. This will continue to be the case in the future. By restructuring its network in North America, Airberlin has set the course for further growth in this market from summer 2013 onwards. The new nonstop service between Berlin and the American Airlines hub of Chicago (O’Hare) from March 2013 underpins the strategy of the second largest German airline as regards developing the existing synergies from that association.

Against this background, Airberlin will also be increasing its nonstop services to New York (JFK), Los Angeles and Miami from May 2013 onwards, while at the same time cancelling its seasonal nonstop flights from Düsseldorf to Las Vegas, San Francisco and Vancouver.

The restructuring of the North American network is therefore aimed at selectively weeding out low-frequency routes while simultaneously strengthening the strategically important, high-turnover routes and making the best use of a strong network of partners. Consequently both San Francisco and Las Vegas will continue to be available for booking as codeshare flights with American Airlines, since this airline operates a far more frequent service to these destinations than Airberlin – and throughout the year.

The expansion and optimization of services from Berlin and Düsseldorf to the American Airlines hubs of New York (JFK), Los Angeles, Miami and Chicago (O’Hare) is an important element in Airberlin’s network strategy for summer 2013. Consequently Airberlin will be increasing the number of nonstop flights between Düsseldorf and New York (JFK) from seven to ten flights per week, thereby ensuring greater timetable consistency with the same arrival and departure times throughout the year.

The number of flights from Düsseldorf to Miami is also being increased: from May 2013 a daily service will replace the previous five flights a week to this major US destination. Another new feature at Airberlin’s Düsseldorf hub is that the number of nonstop flights to Los Angeles will be increased from three to four per week. The flights are scheduled for Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Since the service from Berlin to Los Angeles will still continue in summer 2013 with three flights a week – on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays – Airberlin passengers will be offered a daily flight from Germany to West Coast USA from May 2013 onwards.

The times of the flights between Berlin and Los Angeles, a service that Airberlin has been offering since May 11, 2012, have also been optimized for better connections to and from destinations in Airberlin’s growth markets of Scandinavia and Russia. The service between Berlin and Miami is also being increased from three to five flights a week.

With 7.8 million passengers a year, the Airberlin group has been the carrier with the highest passenger volume at Majorca’s Son Sant Joan airport for nine consecutive years. With the start of its summer timetable, Airberlin will be transferring capacities to achieve a 12 percent increase in its services from Germany, Austria and Switzerland to Majorca, thereby further extending its market leadership on the Balearic Island. This means that in summer 2013 alone, Airberlin will be operating 402 flights a week to this Mediterranean destination. The move represents a 14 per cent increase on the previous summer (summer 2012: 352 nonstop flights a week from Germany). The summer will also see new additional flights to Palma de Mallorca from Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich.

Along with transferring its capacities, airberlin will be reducing the total number of destina-tions on the Spanish mainland available via a connecting flight from Majorca from 16 to 13. From summer 2013 passengers will therefore no longer be able to fly airberlin to Barcelona, Madrid and Santiago de Compostela via Majorca. Instead, airberlin plans to offer the route from Majorca to Madrid in cooperation with its oneworld partners starting in summer 2013. A new interline agreement with Vueling and Air Europa, which is also to come into effect in summer 2013, will allow passengers to carry on booking a connecting flight from Majorca to Barcelona via the airberlin website. Furthermore, airberlin will continue to operate its non-stop services from Berlin, Düsseldorf and Vienna to Barcelona. Both Barcelona and Madrid can also be reached from several German airports via non-stop flights operated by our codeshare partner Iberia.

While remaining at a total of 23 planes, the Niki (Vienna) fleet will be standardized to operate only Airbus aircraft. This total concentration on Airbus will increase the number of seats available on existing routes. The route network from Vienna will be expanded on the one hand by extending the range of services to new tourist destinations in Greece, such as Kalamata, Karpathos, Kavala, Lesbos and Volos, and on the other hand by increasing the frequency of flights to existing destinations in Egypt, Spain or Turkey.

In addition Airberlin is promoting its Eastern European services from its hub in the German capital. As a result, the services from Vienna to Sofia, Bucharest and Belgrade will no longer be offered as nonstop flights from Vienna as of summer 2013, but increasingly transferred to Berlin.

In summer 2013 passengers will have a choice of nine destinations in Eastern Europe (Warsaw, Krakow, Gdansk, Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Budapest, Sofia, Bucharest) from Berlin. The airline will also be offering nonstop flights to Riga, the Latvian capital, in conjunction with its codeshare partner airBaltic (Riga).

On the financial side, the company issued this statement for its third quarter:

Airberlin, Germany’s second-largest airline company, significantly improved its net income for the traditionally strong third quarter, in comparison with the previous year. At the same time, it was able to offset strongly increasing external cost through the successful efficiency-improvement program “Shape & Size”, which will lead to an improvement of EUR 230 million in operations this year.

In the third quarter, airberlin was able to increase its net income to EUR 66.6 million (2011: EUR 30.2 million), an increase of more than 120 percent over the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The operating result improved by 4.5 percent to EUR 101.2 million (EUR 96.8 million). Revenue increased by 1.4 percent over the previous year, to EUR 1,395.1 million (EUR 1,375.5 million), despite a targeted capacity reduction of 5.4 percent. Capacity utilization increased slightly by 0.4 percentage points to 84.54 percent (84.14 percent). Yield (revenue per passenger) improved by 3.1 percent to EUR 115.84 (EUR 112.39). EBITDAR (Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and leasing expenses) increased by 3.8 percent to EUR 279.5 million (EUR 269.3 million). Total equity at the end of the quarter amounted to EUR 186.3 million, which corresponds to an equity ratio of eight percent.

Top Copyright Photo: Javier Rodriguez. Airbus A330-223 D-ABXB (msn 322), deployed on long-range and heavy routes, climbs away from the Palma de Mallorca base.

Airberlin:

Niki:

Bottom Copyright Photo: Eurospot. The seven Embraer ERJ 190s will now be phased out at Niki. ERJ 190-100LR OE-IHA (msn 19000285) completes its final approach into Palma de Mallorca.