The day finally arrived: airberlin took off for the first time from Berlin to Chicago, thus becoming the first airline with a nonstop connection from the German capital to the city on Lake Michigan. After Fort Myers, Los Angeles, Miami and New York, Chicago is now the fifth US destination to which airberlin flies nonstop from Germany. airberlin is now operating up also to three flights a day from Berlin to Warsaw.
Wolfgang Prock-Schauer, CEO airberlin, made the following statement on the occasion of the inaugural flight event: “The addition of the new connection between Berlin and Chicago is in line with our network strategy for 2013. With this nonstop service we are not only strengthening our Berlin hub, but at the same time continuing to build up our presence in the USA which is a strategically important growth market for airberlin. The Midwest is a major economic and industrial centre, and Chicago is the trade and logistics centre of the United States of America. At the same time, this new connection enables us to further maximise the synergies available with our oneworld® partner American Airlines. Starting today, we will extend the existing American Airlines codeshare agreement in the U.S. by 41 connecting destinations from Chicago.”
Hartmut Mehdorn, Chief Executive Officer of Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg GmbH: “airberlin’s new long-haul service to Chicago further boosts the appeal of Berlin-Brandenburg as an aviation location. Passengers can now fly from Tegel Airport to four cities in the United States: Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami and New York. I am very pleased that airberlin is continuing to expand its hub in Berlin.”
airberlin operates the service on its new route to Chicago on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays with an Airbus A330-200. Starting 1st May, Germany’s second largest airline will also fly every Wednesday and Sunday, thus increasing the number of weekly flights from three to five. With the optimal departure times in Berlin, airberlin currently offers feeder flights from eight German cities as well as twelve further European destinations including Helsinki, Krakow, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Stockholm, Vienna and Zurich. The connecting flights to Chicago via Berlin are particularly attractive for travellers from Warsaw, the new European destination in the airberlin route network. In the U.S. airberlin offers its flight guest, due to the expanded codeshare agreement with the oneworld® partner American Airlines, also numerous connections from all airberlin destinations in North America in almost every region in the United States. Travellers from Berlin can easily reach major American cities such as Minneapolis, New Orleans and Seattle with only one stop via Chicago.
All flights can be booked online at airberlin.com, through the airline’s 24-hour Service Center at 030 / 3434 3434 (local rates apply) or at a travel agency.
airberlin is one of Europe’s leading airlines and flies to 150 destinations in 40 countries. The second largest airline in Germany carried more than 33 million passengers in 2012. airberlin offers a global route network through its strategic partnership with Etihad Airways, which has a 29.21% share in airberlin, and through membership of the oneworld® airline alliance. The airline with the award-winning service operates codeshare flights worldwide with 14 airlines. The fleet has an average age of five years and is among the most modern and eco-efficient in Europe.
Source: press release of airberlin
Photo © airberlin