airberlin has become became part of oneworld, adding the second biggest airline in Germany and the sixth biggest in the continent overall to the world’s premier global airline alliance.

Austria’s NIKI, also a member of the airberlin group, joined oneworld as an affiliate member at the same time - as the clocks struck midnight in Berlin this morning.

Both airlines are from today offering oneworld’s services and benefits - and substantially expanding the alliance’s network in Germany, Austria and throughout central and south Europe.

Joining oneworld will strengthen airberlin’s competitiveness, enabling it to offer customers an unrivalled alliance global network served by partners including some of the best and biggest airlines in the world.

Customers benefits

For oneworld, airberlin’s addition makes Germany a home market for the alliance - stepping up competition for some 200 million passengers a year flying to, from and within Europe’s biggest economy.

Currently Germany is one of only a handful of countries worldwide served by all oneworld’s active member airlines.

airberlin’s addition more than triples the number of cities served by the alliance there to 25, while NIKI doubles its coverage of Austria to six airports.

Worldwide as one of Europe’s major airlines, airberlin serves a total of 162 destinations in 40 countries.

Almost 70 of those airports, along with the countries of Iceland and Iraq, are new to the oneworld network, extending oneworld’s global coverage to some 800 destinations in 150 countries, served by more than 8,750 departures a day carrying nearly a million passengers a day on a combined fleet of almost 2,500 aircraft, generating annual revenues of almost US$100 billion.

airberlin and NIKI’s networks will be covered by oneworld’s marketing leading alliance fares and sales products from 1 April 2012.

That includes participation in businessflyer, the alliance’s offering for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in most countries where it is offered - Belgium, France, Italy and the Netherlands.

airberlin already offers a similar product of its own in Germany, Switzerland and Austria, in its business points programme.

oneworld is considered the World’s Leading Airline Alliance by the World Travel Awards.