Air Berlin expands its route network
Air Berlin, Germany's second largest airline, is continuing to go for growth in its strategically important markets in 2010. These include not only Italy and Spain, but also the airline's Scandinavian network and the expanding markets of Eastern Europe. Air Berlin's takeover of TUIfly's city routes had already added a large number of new destinations, direct flights and even more connecting flights by the time the winter timetable came into operation.
As the leading German carrier between Italy and Germany, Air Berlin also promotes the cultural exchange between its two most important markets. "Appassionante", the three Italian sopranos, have been signed for the next two years to enhance Air Berlin's image even more over the next two years. The starting signal for their collaboration was heard at the press conference today, 10th March, with they performed the new Air Berlin song.
Air Berlin currently operates non-stop flights between 14 German and 14 Italian airports. Consequently the airline's network from Milan-Malpensa, Naples and Rome-Fiumicino is stronger than ever. Optimised departure times make these services more interesting for holidaymakers and also appeal increasingly to business travellers. New services from Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg or Stuttgart to Bari, Brindisi and Naples make southern Italy even more accessible. From Catania alone there are 18 connections to Germany. A new daily service between Stuttgart and Florence starts on 28th March 2010. In the summer Air Berlin will be adding another direct flight to its schedule - this time to Nuremberg from Venice Marco Polo - making a total of seven services operated to and from Venice, and the airline will also be flying from Berlin-Tegel, Hamburg, Münster/Osnabrück and Stuttgart to Rimini. The flights to Olbia in Sardinia and Catania in Sicily will be operated more frequently this summer. There will also be a new service between Cologne/Bonn and Pisa.
Spain is traditionally one of the most important markets for Air Berlin. The airline has now been the market leader at Majorca's Son Sant Joan airport for eight years in succession. Air Berlin has further improved the structure of this hub to safeguard Majorca's important role for the future. From this summer onwards turnovers are synchronised so that on the one hand the excellent connections between the Balearic island and Germany, Austria and Switzerland are maintained, while also integrating new non-stop flights between Germany and the Spanish mainland. By offering even more attractive departure times, especially ones early and late in the day, and more non-stop flights from major Spanish cities to Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Air Berlin is aiming to increase its business customer segment. The new services include routes from Cologne/Bonn and Stuttgart to Valencia.
Further new additions to Air Berlin's route network include direct flights from Frankfurt, Munich and Stuttgart to Malaga, and from Düsseldorf to Bilbao. New non-stop flights operated by NIKI, our partner airline, now offer the first services to Barcelona and Jerez de la Frontera via Vienna. The Air Berlin flight from Vienna to Barcelona takes off everyday, while the service to Jerez is scheduled for Fridays.
Air Berlin will be optimising its hub structure in time for the summer of 2010 with the aim of also generating even more transfer options and further growth in passenger numbers in Berlin. At that stage Air Berlin will be providing more than 6,000 weekly connections to and from Berlin with 22 aircraft operating in six waves a day.
The airline's dense domestic German route network is also undergoing constant improvements. The takeover of TUIfly's city routes means that Air Berlin passengers from Cologne and Stuttgart, for instance, now have a choice of even more flights and destinations. With the start of its summer timetable, Air Berlin will be offering new non-stop services to Algiers (once a week), Brindisi (twice a week), Rimini (three times a week) and Tel Aviv (three times a week). In addition there will be more frequent flights, e.g. to Catania, Corfu, Tenerife and Salzburg.
Air Berlin's aircraft will be taking off for the North Sea island of Sylt more frequently in the summer. New non-stop flights will now be available from Frankfurt, Nuremberg and Münster/Osnabrück to Westerland. Air Berlin will be offering other non-stop flights to Sylt from Berlin, Düsseldorf, Cologne/Bonn, Munich and Stuttgart. Usedom is another German island that is being added as a new destination to Air Berlin's domestic routes from 1st May 2010. Air Berlin passengers will be able to fly to the island in the Baltic Sea every Saturday from Dortmund, Düsseldorf, Nuremberg and Stuttgart.
From spring onwards Air Berlin will be intensifying its presence in Israel by operating nine non-stop services a week from Germany to Tel Aviv. From March 2010 a third non-stop flight linking the capital cities will be added to the existing two direct connections between Tel Aviv and Berlin. From March 2010 Air Berlin passengers from Cologne and Munich will have a choice of two direct flights a week to Tel Aviv. Two further flights a week from Düsseldorf to Tel Aviv will be included in the schedule from June 2010. There will also be feeder flights from various German cities. Air Berlin is also offering Business Class seats on the flights to Tel Aviv from Berlin, Düsseldorf and Munich.
Starting this summer, Air Berlin will be operating direct flights to Burgas, Dubrovnik, Pristina, Sofia, Split, Varna and Krakow, as well offering non-stop services to Romania and Gdansk. The flights to Gdansk are available four times a week - every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday - from Berlin-Tegel. From Munich there will be one flight a week on Tuesday to Constanta on the Romanian Black Sea coast. Convenient non-direct flights are operated by NIKI, our partner airline, with connections from numerous German and other European airports to Bucharest and to the Serbian city of Belgrade via the hub in Vienna.
Several major services to Scandinavia will be further expanded in time for the summer schedule. The number of flights between Gothenburg and Berlin, for instance, will be increased from one to two a day, a morning and an evening flight. On the routes from Oslo and Helsinki to Berlin-Tegel the flights will be increased from one to two on weekdays. The increased flight frequencies will also enable passengers to reach more destinations as part of the Air Berlin route network, which currently includes more than 150 airports in 39 countries.
A new northern destination that is being added to the summer timetable for 2010 is Visby on the island of Gotland, which will also be served by one flight a week from Berlin.
In the summer Air Berlin passengers can enjoy Air Berlin's tried and tested service on flights to attractive sunshine destinations around the world. In Greece alone there are 17 destinations, including the new additions of Araxos and Kalama, linked into the Air Berlin network via the Nuremberg hub. Another destination in the sun during the summer schedule is Corsica. There will be non-stop flights every Saturday to the French island in the Mediterranean from Berlin-Tegel. Visitors to Turkey can also look forward to even more flights in the summer. From May onwards, an Air Berlin jet will take off once a week for Bodrum. The new non-stop flight complements the existing service from Düsseldorf to the resort on the Turkish Aegean.
The summer timetable comes into effect on 1st May 2010 and ends on 31st October 2010. Flights included in Air Berlin's route network can now be booked online (airberlin.com), by calling the airline's Service Centre (Tel.: 01805 - 737 800) any time and through travel agents.