Air Berlin

   

Air Berlin BAe 146 on a gate at Dortmund airport
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Air Berlin BAe 146 on a gate at Dortmund airport

Air Berlin began in July 1978 as an American company flying services out of Berlin. Only airlines belonging to the World War II Allies were allowed to fly from Berlin until German reunification in October 1990.

Initial charter flights began in 1979 with a Boeing 707 to Palma de Mallorca. Even today, the so called City Shuttle to Germany's favorite holiday island is one of Air Berlin's busiest routes. Air Berlin is also the biggest airline on Mallorca.

After German reunification in 1990 the airline was registered under German law and holiday charter flights, which had been restricted to Berlin only, were now flown from other German airports, including Mönchengladbach, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Bremen, Münster, Nürnberg and Hamburg.

Air Berlin Boeing 737-800 at Düsseldorf International Airport, with Thomas Cook Airlines Boeing 757 behind it
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Air Berlin Boeing 737-800 at Düsseldorf International Airport, with Thomas Cook Airlines Boeing 757 behind it

By the end of 1981 the fleet had been changed to the Boeing 737. In 2003, the whole fleet consisted of this aircraft type, with some model -400, mostly model -800, and 3 leased BAe 146 aircraft. Air Berlin also became Germany's second largest airline after Lufthansa.

In January 2004, Air Berlin announced cooperation with former F1 driver Niki Lauda's newly founded airline Fly Niki. The two airlines considered their cooperation a "low fares alliance". Air Berlin now holds 24 percent on Lauda's enterprise.

IATA Code

Air Berlin uses the IATA designator code AB.

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