In future, airberlin and Iberia are offering selected flights under joint flight numbers. The codeshare agreement comes into effect today and applies to flights starting today. The connection possibilities from and to Madrid will improve for airberlin passengers as a result of the agreement. In addition to the airberlin flights to Madrid, passengers can also book non-stop Iberia flights leaving from Berlin-Tegel, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich as well as Geneva to the Spanish capital effective today. Iberia in turn will benefit from the extensive domestic route network and the good connections to destinations in Scandinavia via the airberlin hub in Berlin. The codeshare also applies to the airberlin routes from Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg and Stuttgart to Barcelona as well as from Düsseldorf to Bilbao and from Cologne/Bonn to Valencia.
Joachim Hunold, CEO airberlin, said: “The codeshare with Iberia is already airberlin‘s fifth co-operation agreement with a member of the airline alliance oneworld® and is therefore a further important step in the alliance. As a result of the additional flights to and from Spain, we now offer our customers a wider choice and reinforce our presence in one of our traditional core markets.”
Rafael Sánchez-Lozano, Iberia CEO, said: “We are very happy to strengthen our ties with airberlin, our soon-to-be partner in oneworld. This agreement will clearly benefit the customers of both airlines, as they will have access to better connections and more travel options, not only between Spain and Germany, but also to other cities in Northern and Central Europe where we both operate. I am convinced that this is just the beginning of a broader co-operation between our two airlines, which will bring our customers more benefits in the near future.”
In a further step, plans are underway to expand the codeshare agreement to the frequent flyer programs of both airlines, airberlin‘s topbonus as well as Iberia’s plus.
About airberlin:
airberlin is Germany’s second largest airline. The company has a work force of 8,900 employees. In 2010 alone, airberlin received over 10 awards for service and quality. The fleet comprises of 170 aircraft with an average age of five years making it one of the most modern fleets in Europe. Thus, airberlin has Europe’s youngest fleet at its disposal. The airline’s state-of-the-art jets are highly fuel efficient, which contributes toward a long-term reduction in pollution emissions from aircraft. As one of the major European airlines, airberlin flies to 163 destinations in 39 countries. In 2010, the airline carried 33.6 million passengers. airberlin has signed up for membership to the global airline alliance oneworld and is expected to become a full member at the start of 2012. Full membership is expected early in 2012. airberlin has been offering flights under codeshare agreements with American Airlines and Finnair since November 2010.
About Iberia:
Iberia is Spain’s largest air transportation group, and following its merger with British Airways in January, 2011, it is now Europe’s third-largest and the world’s sixth largest in terms of sales. In addition, Iberia is market leader on routes between Europe and Latin America, with the largest offer of destinations and frequencies. Every day Iberia, its franchise partner Iberia Regional/Air Nostrum, and British Airways operate nearly 1,750 flights to 204 destinations in 121 countries. Together their fleets total 406 aircraft, and in 2010 they carried some 55 million passengers. For more information, please visit http://grupo.iberia.es.
