airberlin Inaugurates new Berlin - Abu Dhabi Link

German carrier airberlin inaugurated its new link between Berlin and Abu Dhabi on January 15, 2012 as the first phase of its new co-operation with Etihad Airways came into force. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) national carrier increased its stake in the German airline to 29.21 per cent last year becoming the biggest individual shareholder in the carrier in the process. The new route is operated four times weekly using a two-class Airbus A330 with seating for 303 passengers.

As part of the new ‘strategic partnership’ between the two carriers airberlin has relocated its Middle East operations from Dubai International to Abu Dhabi International from this month and will open new opportunities for both entities moving forward through an international codeshare arrangement. Under the terms of the agreement Etihad is also providing a five-year $255 million financial offering which will enable airberlin to purchase new aircraft and promote future network growth in regional and intercontinental markets.

“This strategic partnership with Etihad Airways not only opens up unique opportunities for the future for airberlin, it also brings a number of benefits for our passengers in terms of access to new routes, including our new all-year-round direct connection to Abu Dhabi,” explained Hartmut Mehdorn, Chief Executive Officer, airberlin ahead of the inaugural flight.

“Abu Dhabi, so we are in a position to offer excellent connections, for example to Asia and Australia. Passengers coming from Abu Dhabi will have access to the numerous connecting flights operated by airberlin, both to destinations in Germany and also to Austria, Scandinavia and Switzerland. This makes the flight attractive for business travellers and holidaymakers alike,” he added.

Together Etihad Airways and airberlin have a combined network of 239 destinations across 77 countries and the transfer of airberlin’s existing operations from Dubai to Abu Dhabi will help link these together. The German carrier launched flights between Berlin Tegel and Dubai International in November 2010 and had offered four flights per week on the route. However, this route has now been suspended and replaced with the new Berlin – Abu Dhabi link.

The two airlines expect to unlock a range of efficiencies through their synergies and will also implement an extensive codeshare agreement with Etihad codesharing to 36 of airberlin’s 171 destinations and its European partner codesharing on 24 of its own 82 passenger destinations. This is just the first stage of this arrangement and it will be expanded to include further routes in the future including the activities of airberlin’s partner carriers including NIKI in Austria and Belair in Switzerland.