EANS-News: Air Berlin to join oneworld alliance

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Strategic management decisions/Air Berlin and oneworld

Berlin (euro adhoc) - Air Berlin is to join oneworld®, adding
Europe´s fifth largest airline and Germany´s second biggest carrier
to the world´s leading quality airline alliance.

Air Berlin group member Austria´s NIKI will become an affiliate
member of the alliance.

A memorandum of understanding between Air Berlin and oneworld was
completed in the airline´s Berlin home city last night, with a formal
alliance membership agreement to be signed soon.

Air Berlin is expected to start flying as part of oneworld in early
2012 - just weeks before the opening of the new Berlin Brandenburg
International Airport, which is being built as a major new hub for
Europe.

As a major player in the European air travel market, Air Berlin
served in 2009 a total of 160 destinations in some 40 countries,
operating almost 600 daily departures. It carried 28 million
passengers, generating revenues of EUR3.2 billion (US$4.5 billion).
As of July 2010, Air Berlin operates a fleet of 165 aircraft,
including Austria´s NIKI, serving 168 destinations.

When it becomes part of oneworld, its customers will gain access to
an unrivalled global network. It will add almost 75 gateways to the
oneworld map, expand the alliance´s coverage to almost 900
destinations in nearly 150 countries, served by a combined fleet of
2,500 aircraft operating some 9,500 flights a day and carrying 340
million passengers a year.

Members of Air Berlin´s topbonus frequent flyer programme will be
able to earn and redeem rewards on any of oneworld´s 13 other
top-class carriers, with top tier members able to use any of the
group´s 550 plus airport lounges, and its network will be covered by
oneworld´s full range of alliance fares. Frequent flyer cardholders
of oneworld´s established airlines will be able to earn and redeem
rewards when flying Air Berlin.

As a starting point in its oneworld implementation, Air Berlin will
develop one-on-one co-operative agreements with key established
members of the alliance American Airlines and Finnair, to take effect
this coming winter season. (See separate news releases.) Bilateral
agreements with British Airways and Iberia are planned to follow.

British Airways will support Air Berlin through its oneworld
implementation programme as its alliance sponsor.

The addition of Air Berlin as a member elect is the latest
significant step in what is turning into a breakthrough year for
oneworld as it builds further on its position as the world´s premier
airline alliance, expanding its unrivalled route network still
further and enabling it to offer even more services and benefits to
customers.

All but one of the alliance´s existing carriers (with Mexicana the
exception) already serve Air Berlin´s German homeland - the most
populous country and the biggest economy in the European Union. They
will also be looking to expand their own services to its key hubs
Berlin and Dusseldorf as the new alliance recruit prepares to join
the group.

Air Berlin Chief Executive Joachim Hunold said: "Joining a global
alliance is the logical next step in Air Berlin´s development. We
are very pleased and proud to be lining up to join what is clearly
the world´s top quality airline grouping. Becoming part of oneworld
would be one of the most significant departures so far for our
airline, enabling us to offer our customers a truly global network
served by partners who include some of the best and biggest airlines
in the world. We look forward to completing all joining requirements
as soon as possible."

Willie Walsh, Chief Executive of British Airways, oneworld´s sponsor
of Air Berlin, said: "Air Berlin will make an ideal oneworld partner.
It has an excellent reputation for customer service - right in line
with oneworld´s focus on quality above quantity in terms of
membership. Its network is one of the best in Central Europe,
expanding the alliance´s coverage of this region markedly. British
Airways is delighted to be supporting Air Berlin´s addition to
oneworld by acting as its sponsor into the alliance - and we look
forward to establishing our bilateral co-operation."

American Airlines´ Chairman and Chief Executive, and oneworld
Governing Board Chairman, Gerard Arpey added: "oneworld already
features four of Europe´s best airlines. Adding the continent´s
fifth biggest carrier will greatly enhance our coverage throughout
this region. With all the other significant steps we are taking in
this breakthrough year for our alliance, this represents a great leap
forward in our journey to establish oneworld firmly as the world´s
premier airline alliance with members unmatched in brand and service
quality."

Already in oneworld´s "breakthrough year": •Russia´s leading domestic
carrier S7 Airlines is on track to join in the coming months.
•India´s leading carrier Kingfisher Airlines became a oneworld member
elect in June. •Japan Airlines has been expanding its co-operation
with its oneworld partners since reaffirming its membership of the
alliance in February, filing days later with American Airlines for
anti-trust immunity for a joint business across the Pacific and more
than doubling its code-sharing with British Airways. •American
Airlines, British Airways, Iberia, Finnair and Royal Jordanian this
month received long-awaited final approval for their application for
anti-trust immunity across the Atlantic and the proposed
transatlantic joint business between American, BA and Iberia.
•British Airways and Iberia are on track to complete their merger by
the end of the year. •LAN Airlines celebrated its 10th anniversary as
a oneworld member on 1 June. Since joining, it has added to the
grouping its affiliates in Argentina, Ecuador and Peru. With Mexico
and Central America´s leading airline Mexicana joining oneworld in
November 2009, this extended oneworld´s position still further as the
leading Latin American alliance. •oneworld added the World Airline
Awards´ World´s Best Alliance title to the World Travel Awards´
World's Leading Airline Alliance trophies it has won for the past
seven years, as the only winner of that award since it was introduced
in 2003.

About Air Berlin

Since its launch in 1979, Air Berlin has grown into Germany´s second
largest airline - and the fifth biggest in Europe in terms of
passengers boarded - after taking over Deutsche BA and LTU and
gaining a 49.9 per cent stake in Austria´s NIKI and a 49 per cent
holding in Switzerland´s Belair.

It has developed from its origins in the shorthaul leisure market to
cater also for business travellers with its Euro Shuttle service
providing high frequency connections between many of the continent´s
key destinations and now also flies longhaul.

It is one of Europe´s most frequent winners in the various airline
industry award schemes.

On its shorthaul services, it offers a single-class cabin. On its
longhaul routes, it offers two-classes, with a premium business cabin
and individual in-flight entertainment screens for each passenger.

While it has been named the World´s Best Low-Cost Airline seven years
running in the World Airline Awards run by the Skytrax airline
quality organisation, it now offers the full-range of services
associated with a full-service network carrier, including its
frequent flyer programme topbonus, and, for premium passengers,
lounges, priority check-in and, for all passengers, free alcoholic
and non-alcoholic drinks and meals or snacks on every departure.

It will move in June 2012 into the new Berlin Brandenburg
International airport, which will have capacity eventually for 45
million passengers a year.

Air Berlin holds major market shares in its home city and also at
Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Stuttgart and Palma de Majorca. Among its
international destinations, it serves oneworld hubs Helsinki, Los
Angeles, Madrid, Miami, Moscow Domodedovo, New York JFK and Bangkok.

Its current fleet (including NIKI) comprises 165 aircraft, with an
average age of five years, including 13 Airbus A330s, 75
A321s/A320s/A319s, 63 Boeing 737s, four Embraer E190s and 10
Bombardier Q400s. It employs 8,500 staff.

During its latest financial year, to end December 2009, it generated
revenues totalling EUR3.2 billion (US$4.5 billion), achieving an
operating profit of EUR28.5 million (US$36 million).

About oneworld

oneworld brings together some of the best and biggest names in the
airline business - American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay
Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, LAN, Malév Hungarian
Airlines, Mexicana, Qantas and Royal Jordanian, and around 20
affiliates including American Eagle, Dragonair, LAN Argentina, LAN
Ecuador and LAN Peru. Russia´s S7 Airlines will join the alliance in
2010 with India´s Kingfisher Airlines also a member elect and Air
Berlin now lining up to join. Between them, these airlines: •Serve
almost 900 airports in nearly 150 countries, with some 9,500 daily
departures. •Offer more than 550 airport lounges for premium
customers. •Carry 340 million passengers a year. •Operate a combined
fleet of almost 2,500 aircraft. •Generate around US$90 billion annual
revenues in total.

oneworld enables its members to offer their customers more services
and benefits than any airline can provide on its own. These include
a broader route network, opportunities to earn and redeem frequent
flyer miles and points across the combined oneworld network and more
airport lounges. oneworld also offers more alliance fares than any of
its competitors.

oneworld was named the World´s Best Alliance two weeks ago in the
2010 World Airline Awards and has been voted the World's Leading
Airline Alliance for the past seven years in the World Travel Awards.
It is the only winner of this award since it was introduced in 2003.

Webcast

A webcast of today´s press briefing announcing these developments is
available for viewing on-demand, featuring: •Air Berlin Chief
Executive Joachim Hunold •British Airways Chief Executive Willie
Walsh •American Airlines President Tom Horton •Finnair Chief
Executive Mika Vehviläinen •oneworld Managing Partner John McCulloch

To view the webcast in German, go to airberlin.com/pk_oneworld

To view the webcast in English, go to
airberlin.com/pressconference_oneworld

Pictures and logos

High resolution pictures and logos are available for downloading
on-line: •Air Berlin, go to
http://www.airberlin.com/site/presse_service.php?LANG=eng •oneworld
and its member airlines, go to http://www.oneworld.com/ow/news-and-in
formation/corporate-image-gallery

end of announcement euro adhoc
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ots Originaltext: Air Berlin PLC & Co Luftverkehrs KG
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Further inquiry note:

Hans-Christoph Noack

Director Corporate Communications Air Berlin

Tel.: + 49 30 3434 1500

Fax: + 49 30 3434 1509

Mail: abpresse@airberlin.com

Branche: Air Transport
ISIN: GB00B128C026
WKN: AB1000
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