Air Berlin actually got its start in the
U.S. Now it's coming back.
Air Berlin received
final German government approval in August for its takeover of
Dusseldorf-based LTU, and in September it announced that LTU's U.S.
flights will be rebranded as Air Berlin by November.
That rebranding
also is coming with lower fares and seamless connections in
Dusseldorf to other German cities and other European destinations,
said Air Berlin spokeswoman Angelika Schwaff.
Air Berlin is
Europe's third- largest low-cost carrier as measured by passengers
carried, and the destinations it serves from its Dusseldorf hub
include Berlin; Munich; Barcelona, Spain; Copenhagen, Denmark;
Helsinki, Finland; London (Stansted); Milan, Italy (Bergamo);
Paris; Rome; Vienna; and Zurich.
Air Berlin is
upgrading business-class service from Dusseldorf to New York, Los
Angeles, Miami and Fort Myers, Fla. (as well as to Beijing and
Shanghai) with lie-flat seats and other enhancements. Installation
begins this month and should be completed on all aircraft by next
spring, Schwaff said.
LTU operates
charters and scheduled flights and sells some of its
scheduled-service seats on U.S. flights to tour operators. But
Schwaff said the majority of the seats on U.S. flights are
individual bookings. "The future, we think, is more on single-seat
[sales] and direct sales to the customer," she said.
Air Berlin and LTU
are available in the GDSs. LTU pays agents 15 euros (about $21 at
current exchange rates) per leg for U.S.-Europe flights, Schwaff
said.
While Air Berlin is
a low-fare and low-cost airline, it is not no-frills. It claims to
attract a high percentage of business travelers, thanks in part to
its free newspapers, snacks and beverages; a flexible-fare option;
and frequent-flyer perks such as a higher weight allowance for
baggage, free advance-seat reservations and free or reduced-rate
access to seats with extra leg room.
Air Berlin said it
decided to rebrand LTU's U.S. and China flights because those
markets have a strong business travel component and because outside
of Germany, hardly anyone knows what LTU stands for.
Air Berlin, it
said, is self-explanatory.
LTU is keeping its
brand, however, for leisure-oriented, long-haul service to
destinations such as South Africa, Thailand and the Dominican
Republic.
Air Berlin's LTU
acquisition comes on the heels of its August 2006 acquisition of
Munich-based low-cost carrier DBA, and before its just-finalized
deal to acquire charter carrier Condor from Thomas Cook and
Lufthansa. The latter is a two-stage deal that will give it control
in 2009 and complete ownership in 2010. One of the benefits will be
Condor's landing slots at Frankfurt.
Air Berlin also has
placed firm orders for 25 of Boeing's new 787 aircraft, which it
will begin receiving in 2013 and plans to use for fleet replacement
and expansion of intercontinental services.
All of this comes
for a carrier that began service in April 1979 as a U.S.-owned
carrier set up in Oregon with one aircraft by former Pan Am pilot
Kim Lundgren.
That's because
after World War II, only planes operated by the victorious powers
were allowed to land in West Berlin. Although incorporated in the
U.S., Air Berlin's first service was from Berlin to Palma de
Mallorca, where Air Berlin continues to have a dominant presence;
Lundgren later added cheap flights to Florida.
When the occupation
statute was revoked in 1990, the Allies lost their special rights
in the German capital, and Lundgren had to look for German majority
shareholders. He partnered with Joachim Hunold, a former manager at
LTU, to launch the German company and find more German investors.
Hunold is Air Berlin's CEO today.
To
contact reporter Andrew Compart, send e-mail to [email protected].