Air Berlin no longer a low cost airline

Posted by airobserver on July 28, 2010 · 3 Comments 

There is no doubt that Air Berlin was not a pure player among European low cost airline. Its business model was more a hybrid one, somewhere between that of a regular airline and of a low cost, closer to EasyJet’s than Ryanair’s. However, with its new partnership with Oneworld, Air Berlin is no longer a low cost airline. Air Berlin has always maintained its hybrid brand image of an upper low cost airline. This explains why the second largest airline in Germany has successfully managed to attract different kind of travellers (tourists, business…). Created in the early 80’s, Air Berlin carried 28M passengers in 2009, which makes it the third largest low cost airline in Europe after EasyJet and Ryanair.
Year after year, Air Berlin’s business model has become closer to that of a regular airline. Air Berlin focused more and more on the quality of its service rather than on offering lower fares to its passengers. Air Berlin has also developed long haul routes and is now one of Europe’s few low-cost airlines to offer a frequent flyer program. Finally, Air Berlin has chosen what it wants to be, a regular airline. Indeed,  Air Berlin announced that the airline is to join the Oneworld alliance by 2012.

Air Berlin will therefore join American Airlines, British Airways, Iberia  Canadian Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Qantas, Finnair, Malev as one of the smaller airlines. Air Berlin will maintain its presence in the European low cost market through its participation in NIKI Airlines that has recently increased from 24 to 49.9%

Though some articles announced Air Berlin as the first low cost carrier within the Oneworld alliance, I think Air Berlin is no longer a low cost carrier, and that this alliance definitely casts it as a regular airline.

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