Anyone who has flown in or out of Berlin’s primary airport, Tegel, would recall a comically outdated experience, in desperate need of an upgrade. Its unusual circular shape means the boarding gates are just metres from the taxi rank. When it is not busy…
As part of the bankruptcy process for airberlin, the topbonus program is being liquidated. Those with miles in the program are potentially eligible for compensation, though the final amount per mile hasn't been determined. I have a handful of airberlin…
This shouldn't come as much of a surprise, but is probably worth specifically pointing out nonetheless. We know that airberlin will be ceasing all operations by October 28, 2017 (they've already discontinued their longhaul routes), at which point Lufthansa…
Airberlin will be shutting down by October 28, though they operated their last longhaul flight on October 15, as their A330s are being repossessed. So airberlin's last longhaul flights landed in Dusseldorf on Monday morning (yesterday), October 16. Well,…
Airberlin filed for insolvency in mid-August, and has slowly been shutting down ever since. A couple of weeks ago we learned that airberlin will be ceasing all longhaul routes as of October 15, 2017. Then a bit over a week ago it looked like airberlin…
A few days ago we learned that airberlin will be ceasing all longhaul routes as of October 15, 2017. We knew the day would come eventually, though the timing here seems impacted by them having to return their fleet of A330s to their lessors. The A330s…
Man oh man, this airberlin saga keeps getting more interesting. Airberlin used to have a fleet of 17 Airbus A330 aircraft, all of which were leased. With airberlin going out of business, those planes are being returned to the leasing companies. The good…
This doesn't come as a surprise, though finally we have an official statement on this. In light of airberlin’s insolvency filing in mid-August, the airline is slowly starting to cancel their routes. They have a temporary loan from the German government,…
On August 15, 2017, airberlin filed for insolvency, and then a bit over a week later, airberlin's spun off loyalty program, topbonus, filed for insolvency. Even though topbonus is technically a separate company, they more or less closed up shop, as it…
Airberlin's days are very much numbered. The airline filed for insolvency over a month ago, and has a temporary loan from the German government as airberlin's creditors go through the process of selling off their assets. We know what companies are interested…
Germany's second largest airline, airberlin, filed for insolvency a month ago, on August 15, 2017. As we've known all along, the German government provided a loan of 150 million EUR so the airline could continue to operate while interested parties submitted…
Sometimes airline unions call for official strikes, and sometimes we see "unofficial" strikes, where enough people will call in sick to disrupt operations. Airberlin is on its last leg, as the airline has filed for insolvency, is canceling routes, etc.…
In light of airberlin's insolvency filing several weeks ago, the airline is slowly starting to cancel their routes. They have a temporary loan from the German government, but will run out of money soon enough, so are now having to cut their routes. A…
Airberlin is likely operating its last few weeks as an independent airline, before various assets are sold off to the highest bidder. This comes after airberlin filed for insolvency a couple of weeks ago, and then airberlin's spun off topbonus frequent…
Exactly two weeks ago airberlin filed for insolvency, after Etihad withdrew their financial support. The airline had been struggling for years, but just couldn't turn around fast enough. The German government has given airberlin an emergency loan of…
With airberlin having filed for insolvency and eventually likely being sold off into parts, it's not surprising that some people are already looking for new jobs. Several days ago I wrote about how airberlin's VP of e-commerce and online sales set up…
I'm not meaning to provide 24/7 airberlin coverage, but I've really just never seen anything like this, so... The situation at airberlin has gotten so bad that the 60+ person e-commerce team at the airline has set up a (clearly not company sanctioned)…
Airberlin is screwed. Airberlin's spun off topbonus program is screwed. And things are getting much worse by the minute. We've seen a lot of airline bankruptcies, restructuring, etc., though I've never seen an airline and loyalty program fall apart in…
A week ago airberlin filed for insolvency, after Etihad withdrew their financial support. In the US when companies file for bankruptcy protection it's often "business as usual" for some amount of time, though the law works differently in Germany. When…
A few days ago airberlin filed for insolvency, after Etihad withdrew financial support for the airline. The German government is giving the airline an emergency loan that's expected to allow them to continue operations for the next few months, though…
Bloomberg is reporting that airberlin today filed for insolvency in a Berlin court, after Etihad has withdrawn its financial support. The details of this are still very much developing, so I imagine we'll find out more details soon. For now the German…
