American Ends Codeshare with Air Berlin Bottom Line

As many of you know, American Airlines is a member of the Oneworld Alliance. They have a strong working relationship with British Airways, Iberia, and Finnair across the pond. One other European member of the alliance is Air Berlin. American currently has a good relationship with Air Berlin. Air Berlin is part-owned by Etihad, although that investment has not been as fruitful as they expected. The airline recently sold off part of its fleet to Lufthansa to cost costs. Well, it seems like Air Berlin is about to enter into more trouble.

American Ends Codeshare with Air Berlin from March 26

According to a report by ATW, American is going to end its codeshare relationship with Air Berlin. This will leave Air Berlin without a specific US partner. Air Berlin has been increasing its US frequencies in recent months. They planned to increase flights to Miami, New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Air Berlin also is looking to launch flights to Orlando from Dusseldorf.

Air Berlin has been struggling financially, and Etihad’s investment has not paid off. With the sell-off of their non-hub operations, the airline has centered around Dusseldorf and Berlin. Without the ability to feed into codeshares with American Airlines, both in Europe and in the US, the airline will find it more difficult to fill seats. However, the two airlines will continue their interline agreements. This means the airlines’ passengers will still be able to book flights on each other. Passengers should still be able to earn miles on either frequent flyer program.

Landing Thoughts

It makes me sad to see American end a codeshare agreement, especially with such a quirky airline such as Air Berlin. I had a chance to review their business class product. It was a fantastic experience, given that there were no fuel surcharges. One of the reasons I can think of this action is Air Berlin’s relationship with Etihad. Given the sparring between the Gulf Carriers and the Big Three, this can be a reason. I am a bit skeptical, however, because American is not strongly vocal against the Big Three. Compared to Delta, they barely say a thing. American has also strengthened its codeshare with Etihad with the increase of flights to Dallas. Hopefully, we will see American add a new codeshare partner in Europe, to compensate for the loss Air Berlin.

What do you think? Should American terminate their codeshare? If they do, who should be their new codeshare partner? Let us know!