airberlin with extended flight offer and comfort initiative

In addition, airberlin is launching a comfort initiative CEO Joachim Hunold said today at the International Tourism Bourse (ITB) in Berlin: "The needs of our customers will take us to new comfort, especially on long haul flights, and improved Service Invoicing." This includes the new Sky Interior in Boeing aircrafts, a new interior design which airberlin is the first airline worldwide to offer both in the B737-800 and B737-700; new seats in Airbus 330-200, which implies more space for passengers, as well as other benefits for Gold and Silver card customers, such as parking close to gates and exclusive waiting areas in many airports. Also, airberlin continues to set standards in environmental protection. This year, airberlin will lower the average specific fuel consumption to the peak value of 3.5 litre/100 passenger kilometre.

airberlin prepares itself intensively for next year's planned membership in the airline alliance oneworld. This includes bilateral cooperation agreements to earn and redeem top bonus points on all qualifying flights in the oneworld network and improved access to airport lounges of the oneworld partner, as well as bilateral agreements with partner airlines to schedule flights with common flight number. This codeshare agreement was already reached with American Airlines, Finnair and S7; regarding British Airways and Iberia, airberlin is currently making progress with the negotiations.

New routes

On airberlin routes to the USA, travellers fly to the central hubs of the code share partner American Airlines, such as Miami, Los Angeles and New York. From there departures to multiple business destinations inside the United States, such as, for example, Atlanta, Boston Washington, Dallas, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Seattle or San Diego, as well as tourist destinations such as Orlando, Tampa and to the Bahamas are possible. The partnership with Finnair will in future, as well as making it possible to connect through Helsinki to New Delhi, also facilitate connections to Singapore. Likewise, new connections within Russia are now possible through the partnership with S7, the Russian airline.

In its own network of routes, airberlin is expanding the offer through the Berlin hub to Dusseldorf and Palma de Mallorca. Starting in May 2011, there will be new flights from Berlin to New York and Linz.

Starting this summer, airberlin will be expanding the choice of flights from Dusseldorf to include the Italian destinations Florence and Cagliari, Rijeka in Croatia, and from mid-April 2011, airberlin will fly non-stop to the Channel Island Guernsey and to Innsbruck. Starting in summer, there will be three flights instead of the current two daily flights from Dusseldorf to Barcelona. Extra flights are also available to Fort Myers, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Vancouver.

In Italy, airberlin will also continue to increase its commitment. The number of flights from Berlin to Rome will be increased to 14 departures per week and also included in the Berlin hub structure, in order to produce further transfer options. Starting in mid-April, Verona will be reachable for the first time almost daily from Berlin-Tegel and Dusseldorf. Further brand new connections include the routes from Dusseldorf to Bari as well as from Cologne/Bonn, Nuremberg, Munich and Zurich to nearby Brindisi. Another novelty in summer are the connections from Berlin and Münster/Osnabrück to Olbia. The Sardinian city is now reachable with nonstop connections from many other big German cities.

The Spanish hub in Palma de Mallorca with its 17 destination connections has been completed through new frequencies to Vienna and the connection to Friedrichshafen.

In Northern Europe, airberlin has included two new summer connections in its program. The airline flies from Hamburg to Reykjavik on Thursdays and Sundays. In addition, Berlin-Tegel will be connected to the Danish island of Bornholm on Saturdays. The flight offer from Switzerland will be enhanced as well. Travellers from the triangle around Basel will reach, from May 2011, the Mediterranean island of Malta and, from June, the holiday destination of Enfidha in Tunisia. Since early March, airberlin offers again a comprehensive flight program to Egypt and Tunisia.

The flight offer to Russia will be extended as well. The flight frequency between Berlin and Saint Petersburg will be doubled by May 2011, as well as the frequency between Dusseldorf and Moscow. In addition, airberlin connects Stuttgart with the two Russian metropolises with non-stop flights.

More Comfort: Sky Interior in B737-700/800

With the delivery of the world's first Boeing B737-700 with the new Sky Interior cabin design, airberlin is the only airline that offers the new cabin design, both in the Boeing 737-700 and in the Boeing 737-800. airberlin had already received one B737-800 on February 15th. All newly delivered Boeing Next Generation of airberlin will be equipped with this optimized interior in the future. The introduction of the new Sky Interior is part of many comfort initiatives we are introducing throughout the airberlin fleet. This shows that we are placing even greater focus on the needs of business travellers and are making airberlin flights even more attractive. The Boeing Sky Interior is also a taste of things to come for airberlin passengers as the design is based on the interior of the Boeing Dreamliner." said Joachim Hunold, airberlin's CEO.

More Comfort: New seats in A330-200

airberlin will further improve the comfort on its long haul flights starting in November 2011 and will equip its complete Airbus A330-200 fleet with new seats for Business and Economy Class. The Inflight Entertainment System will be revamped in both classes as well. The new seats as well as the on-board entertainment program will be integrated gradually in the cabins of the long haul fleet.

The new Business Class configuration is fully automatic and has an inclination angle of 170 degrees. This allows the seat to be transformed into a comfortable reclining seat 181 cm long. In the Economy Class new lightweight seats are being used which helps to further ease the environment, since about 575 kg less weight per flight is carried. The lighter weight will also reduce airberlin's fuel consumption by 800 tons per year, and fewer emissions will be produced. The use of smaller backrests ensures more legroom.

More Comfort: new "RAVE" Inflight Entertainment System

As part of the cabin upgrade, airberlin has also opted for a new Inflight Entertainment System. "RAVE" is the name of the audio-video on demand system from IMS, the American manufacturer, which, in the future, will be in charge of the excellent entertainment for the long haul fleet. The new system is one of the best state-of-the-art Inflight Entertainment solutions currently available on the market. "RAVE" is a simple "Plug & Play Monitor" built into the backrest of the seat. Each passenger has available an individual entertainment system that can be operated according to his/her wishes. In Business Class, the monitor is attached to a swing arm.

More Comfort: New benefits for top bonus Silver and Gold customers

airberlin now offers more benefits to frequent flyers. Top bonus Silver and Gold card holders can now use the exclusive waiting areas directly at the gate in Berlin-Tegel in Terminal C and shortly in Dusseldorf in Terminal B. Gold Card holders now receive a reservation guarantee up to 48 hours before departure. In addition, at some airports, parking in a parking area in the immediate vicinity and use of a dedicated Hotline for Gold Card holders is possible. The award-winning Top bonus frequent flyer program is the second largest in Germany. Last year alone, the number of affiliates rose by 20 per cent to 2.4 million.

Reinforced environmental commitment and 10 years of winglets

airberlin's environmental commitment consolidates it even more. In 2011 an increase in efficiency is also a top priority and the plan is to improve efficiency in 2011 by 1.5 per cent. In figures, this means reducing the environmental burden by 70,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide, or just under 500 flights from Dusseldorf to New York with an Airbus A330-200. airberlin intends to reduce the average specific fuel consumption to a peak value of 3.5 litres/100 passenger kilometres. "Because we have one of the youngest and most modern fleets in the world, we fly more fuel-efficiently. Less fuel also means fewer emissions. In aviation, economy and ecology are not mutually exclusive. We are therefore committed to continue working to improve our environmental compatibility", said Hunold. Blended Winglet Technology, which this year celebrates ten years of use within airberlin, serves as a perfect example of the fact that the airline not only enjoys decades of experience in the field of eco-efficient flying, but that it also occupies a frontrunner position.

airberlin will be exhibiting under the tagline "The No. 1 choice for worldwide flying" until Sunday in hall 9 at the ITB.