In airport news, Portland International's (PDX) Concourse E is getting a big expansion; Air Canada opens a new lounge at Vancouver; faster security screening comes to New York LaGuardia; Miami's Centurion Lounge is getting bigger; Nashville takes the wraps off a billion - dollar growth plan; and some U.S. airports lose Germany service
as Airberlin moves up its shutdown.
Not exact matches
*
Airberlin, Alitalia, Air Serbia, Air Seychelles, Etihad Regional, Jet Airways, and NIKI are considered «Etihad Airways Partners» and provide the same frequent flyer privileges
as Etihad Airways, including priority check - in, priority boarding, lounge access, bonus miles, and baggage allowances.
Along with American, Explorer awards are valid on all airlines in the oneworld alliance —
Airberlin, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, LAN, Qantas, Royal Jordanian and S7 —
as well
as more than 20 of their affiliate airlines.
Customers travelling with
airberlin will now be able to book codeshare travel on US Airways flights from Frankfurt to Charlotte and Philadelphia, Zurich to Philadelphia, and from Munich to Philadelphia,
as well
as connecting service to Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York and Phoenix.
Having seen carriers such
as Virgin Atlantic,
airberlin, Vueling and Iberia embrace wearable technology outside of Asia, Spring Airlines was the first carrier to equip its flight attendants with Google Glass to help improve in - flight customer service.
During my recent
airberlin insolvency debacle, I booked an SQ Business Class award ticket
as backup and was able to cancel it for a redeposit of my miles for only $ 30 — now, it will be $ 75 or 240 %!
Having said that, the Singapore Airlines presence and the Amsterdam effect are definitely reasons I believe have played into Cathay Pacific's decision and,
as someone mentioned in the Business Traveller comments section,
airberlin's collapse in Düsseldorf probably hasn't helped matters either (
airberlin is a fellow oneworld partner).
As a reminder,
Airberlin, Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Finnair, Hawaiian Airlines, Qantas,...
Although a round - trip ticket between North America and Germany can cost
as little
as 50,000 miles,
airberlin adds considerable fuel surcharges.
Airberlin's days
as a budget airline appear to be over.
The section I've highlighted at the front are the six rows of seats that
airBerlin designated
as XL seats and,
as I assume Virgin Atlantic hasn't had time to do much with them, this is the only section of Economy Class that you should look to sit.
As a oneworld alliance member,
airberlin also offers easy access to flights all over the world.
Several U.S. airports will lose some service to Germany in the next few weeks
as financially - troubled
Airberlin has decided to halt its operations no later than October 28.
Airberlin is a member of the oneworld alliance so awards on the airline can be booked using American Airlines AAdvantage Miles
as well
as Avios and all the other oneworld currencies.
When booking online, you can see flight options for American Airlines
as well
as partners
airberlin, Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Finnair, Hawaiian Airlines, Qantas and Royal Jordanian.
Airberlin also has partnerships with carriers that are not a part of the oneworld family, such
as Virgin Australia, Niki, Alitalia and Etihad.
As always with the topdeal sales, keep in mind that
airberlin charges very high fees on award tickets, sometimes more than a cash ticket would cost, so not every discounted award ticket is a good deal: Check cash prices on the route before booking the award ticket!
Now, they have also stopped the accrual or redemption of topbonus miles, the rewards program of
airberlin that is owned by Etihad and run
as a separate company!
Airberlin once positioned itself
as a budget airline, but it seems they have reconsidered.
Under the new agreement passengers will be able to book their flights to the United States with
airberlin,
as well
as connecting flights operated by JetBlue, to 31 destinations in the United States.
Signing up and earning miles with Etihad is a good alternative, if you are planning future trips to the Middle East, Africa or Asia — but still gives you very limited choices in Europe, with the bankruptcy of
airberlin and alitalia... An even better solution might be to sign up for ANA Mileage Club,
as you will be able to redeem for flights on StarAlliance airlines, like Lufthansa, Swiss, SAS and LOT, giving you lots of options from Europe!
Since British Airways is part of the OneWorld alliance, Avios can be used to book flights on American Airlines,
airberlin, Finn Air,
as well
as British Airways.
Germany's bankrupt
Airberlin keeps limping along
as it negotiates the sale of its assets to competitors, but that hasn't stopped Lufthansa from targeting a couple of
Airberlin routes.