airberlin non-stop Berlin-Abu Dhabi flight celebrates one year anniversary

There are more flights thanks to the increase from four flights per week to one flight per day since March 2012, more connecting flights thanks to the harmonisation and expansion of the hubs of both partner airlines and even more codeshare routes.

The number of codeshare routes, for example, has risen from an initial 28 at the start of the codeshare agreement in January 2012 to the current figure of 87 routes worldwide.

Paul Gregorowitsch, CCO airberlin, said: "The cooperation between airberlin and Etihad Airways is an important milestone in airberlin's history. Together with Etihad Airways, we offer our guests an unparalleled route network which currently includes 239 destinations in 77 countries. Guests can select from 42 joint weekly non-stop flights between Germany and the UAE. The development of our hub in Berlin will see the Berlin-Abu Dhabi flight connect Abu Dhabi to 47 destinations in 18 countries with almost 600 weekly connections offered via Berlin in summer 2013."

"The partnership has also opened up new possibilities for both companies in terms of market development and the realisation of synergies in numerous areas of cooperation.

The most recent example is the optimised airberlin Business Class product with full-flat seats and an individual Inflight Entertainment System, which for the first time enables a "seamless travel experience" in conjunction with Etihad Airways. We are convinced that the route from Berlin to Abu Dhabi also stands to benefit from the constant optimisation of product quality and will therefore become even more attractive in future for business and holiday travellers," added Gregorowitsch.

airberlin and Etihad Airways have been strategic partners since 19th December 2012. In the first year of the partnership, the airlines were able to carry over 300,000 flight guests via the jointly used route networks and together generated over 100 million euros in additional revenue. The connection to Abu Dhabi is proving to be a great advantage opening up a highly sought-after gateway to the Arab countries and to Asia and Australia with convenient one-stop connections for airberlin guests. Thus airberlin is the only airline to offer the flights to Sydney with just one stop departing from Berlin. airberlin, on the other hand, provides the gateway to Europe for Etihad guests.

The development of each partners' hub continues to significantly grow the number of transfer options for guests of both airberlin and Etihad Airways. For instance, from February 2013 airberlin passengers will be able to connect to Singapore and Brisbane on a daily basis as Etihad Airways increases its services to a daily frequency. And from summer 2013, new connections via Berlin will be established between Abu Dhabi and four European capitals (Bucharest, Madrid, Sofia and Warsaw) as airberlin further expands its Berlin hub.

airberlin is one of Europe's leading airlines and flies to 170 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 and membership in 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.