Airberlin completes transfer to Abu Dhabi with inaugural flight

Germany's second largest airline’s inaugural flight arrived to Abu Dhabi International Airport at 6:35 am local time, where it was saluted with traditional water cannons and greeted by James E. Bennett, CEO of ADAC, James Hogan, President and CEO of Etihad Airways and Hartmut Mehdorn, CEO airberlin.

airberlin will operate four weekly non-stop flights between Berlin and Abu Dhabi, with travelers now enjoying access to a total of 29 flights a week between Abu Dhabi and four German hubs, with a plan to increase to 42 flights from mid-April.

Bennett said: “ADAC is delighted to be welcoming a new member in its family, airberlin, adding at the same time a new destination on Abu Dhabi International Airport’s expanding network.     airberlin is our first new airline in 2012 and this new route demonstrates the confidence of leading airlines in the potential of Abu Dhabi as an international tourism and trade hub.  We wish them every success and look forward to seeing even more services from Abu Dhabi.”

The new Berlin-Abu Dhabi route was launched following Etihad Airways’ strategic agreement with airberlin, increasing their stake to 29.21 per cent and seeing Etihad Airways becoming the biggest single shareholder in the European airline.

Etihad CEO Hogan said: “This is a great day for airberlin, Etihad Airways and Abu Dhabi International Airport.  Today’s inaugural from the German capital into Abu Dhabi expands our joint network reach, gives Etihad Airways access to 35 million new passengers, and provides a real opportunity for global growth for both airberlin and Etihad Airways.  The cooperation with airberlin will dramatically improve global connectivity for our guests in the GCC, Middle East, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria,” added Hogan.

airberlin will start operating flights on the Berlin-Abu Dhabi route every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday, using A330-200 aircraft with a seating capacity of 303 seats.  airberlin flights from Abu Dhabi to the German capital will be on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.