Air Berlin to ground 14 planes, cut NYC service

Catch them while you can...

http://moose135.smugmug.com/photos/3...36_Hbj8f-M.jpg

http://www.iii.co.uk/news/?type=afxnews ... on=article

Quote:

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FRANKFURT (Thomson Financial) - Air Berlin Plc. said it will permanently ground 14 of its aircraft and drop some of its long-haul destinations to help boost profitability, effective with the start of its winter flight schedule. The company, which last month issued a profit warning on surging fuel prices, will cut flight capacity by 10 percent this winter, with the bulk of reductions in the long-haul segment, at 30 percent, according to a statement. The number of aircraft in use will decline to 120 from 134, with primarily older planes being grounded.

The airline will suspend its Beijing and Shanghai services, just launched on May 1, and will halt flights from Dusseldorf, Germany to New York. There will be fewer long-haul flights to destinations such as Cape Town, Windhoek and Bangkok this winter as well. However, Air Berlin said it will add flights to high-volume destinations such as Miami, Cancun in Mexico and Jamaica's Montego Bay.

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Do they fly to JFK or EWR?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RDU-JFK

Do they fly to JFK or EWR?

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JFK, formerly LTU.

Well, it was nice to see that nice scheme for at least a little while

I remember when they announced service back in 2005 and were only going to be at JFK for 1 month or so. It ended up being a few years.
It was a great chance to get one of the last remaining colorschmes that had character with it.
http://www.nycaviation.com/hosting/ltu.jpg

It seems they're focusing more on the holiday market. NYC, Beijing, and Shanghai get cut while 2x weekly flights Munich-Florida (IIRC, Orlando) resume and a 1x weekly flight from DUS gets added.