Air Berlin focusing on new airport, European growth

Air Berlin CEO Joachim Hunold told
ATWOnline in the German capital that the carrier is focused on European expansion and increasing transfer traffic at Berlin Tegel, especially to destinations in Italy and Spain, as it looks toward the opening of the new Berlin Brandenburg International next year. "We are already optimizing our hub structure at Tegel for the summer of 2010, with the aim of generating even more transfer options and further growth in passenger numbers in Berlin," he said. AB is targeting more than 6,000 weekly connections to/from TXL with 22 aircraft operating in six waves each day.

Another source close to the carrier told this website that it already has secured check-in areas at the new airport that will help it increase the number of Berlin transfer passengers from the current 3%-4% to the low double-digits. Hunold said AB already has proven it can run a low-cost hub operation at Palma, where it operates 322 weekly flights and holds a market share of 31%. He said it has not been contacted by any of the three major alliances regarding membership and is focused on strengthening its European network and leveraging its relationships with TUIfly (ATWOnline, Sept. 9, 2009) and its Austrian partner Niki.