airberlin topbonus - BER

Booked in June to go through BER. Hope it's ready!

It was recently postponed to fall 2013.

Are you sure? Send me info on where I can read about it. I tried to google it but it is still saying March 2013.

Nothing is sure. Especially in Berlin. Dont take March 13 as granted!

Called Air Berlin. Really nice guy on the phone. He said not to worry. Our first flight that is suppose to land at BER, would de sent to the same airport that our next transatlantic flight would then leave from if the airport isn't done. He said they are getting lots of calls about it. I guess they already had a trial run when they were suppose to open before and didn't open but had all kinds of planes scheduled to land there.

I recently relocated to Berlin (one week ago today!) and was disappointed to find that I came into Tegel.

I am really looking forward to the new airport, but will probably be gone before it opens! :(

The opening of the new airport has now been indefinitely postponed. http://www.thelocal.de/national/20120815-44379.html

Berlin Newspaper Tagesspiegel reports about a possible new date in spring 2014 - Berlin/Brandenburg politicians still see a date "late in 2013". But indeed March 17 2013 seems to be definitely cancelled.

What a shame!

I wonder when the airlines will reroute/quit selling tickets to BER? We have tickets for June 2013....,.

I wonder when the airlines will reroute/quit selling tickets to BER? We have tickets for June 2013....,.

They just will operate from TXL. A bit cramped but close to the centre of the city. No need to cancel flights.

I wonder when the airlines will reroute/quit selling tickets to BER?BER = LON
When you have a Ticket to BER you can land on TXL or SXF.

That's why I'm worried. I have a flight from IST on TK to BER, then BER to LAX. Hope TK lands at the same airport!

Read that ther will bean announcement September 14 with an updated opening date.

Hate autocorrect. Hate even more that I didn't check it before I posted it! I am scheduled to leave BER on AB. 2.5 hours between flights. No big deal except if TK goes into one airport and AB leaves out of another.

That's why I'm worried. I have a flight from IST on TK to BER, then BER to LAX. Hope TK lands at the same airport!

Read that ther will bean announcement September 14 with an updated opening date.

TK only flies to TXL, so you should be fine. Hopefully those aren't seperate tickets with a short connection.

Hopefully those aren't seperate tickets with a short connection. There is no way to book one AB (Oneworld) and TK (Star-alliance?) Ticket.

There is no way to book one AB (Oneworld) and TK (Star-alliance?) Ticket.

Not that I know of, but it is possible. I wouldn't want to book two seperate tickets with only a 2.5 hr connection.

Trying to use all the miles going business class. AA was the one who suggested paying for TK airlines (they charged and emailed the tickets) from IST to BER, then AB business miles from BER to LAX.

There is no way to book one AB (Oneworld) and TK (Star-alliance?) Ticket.

Not true. Every Travelagent can do that in seconds.

Exception maybe award travel.

Otherwise you may consider the ticktetsave insurance.

Otherwise you may consider the ticktetsave insurance.

What is that? Some way to protect yourself on booking two seperate tickets?

ARD Tagesthemen just reported a new date of October 2013 - probably start of winter schedule (this is my opinion).

Otherwise you may consider the ticktetsave insurance.

What is that? Some way to protect yourself on booking two seperate tickets?

Yes.

Announcement was in the news in Germany over a week ago that Brandenburg will be delayed until OCober of 2013. Both AB and TK not only haven't changed the tickets but are still selling to BER prior to the new date.

Two days ago, TK switched to the TXL airport instead of BER, today we got notice that AB switched to TXL as well. Same flight time, same flight numbers. Yeah!

The opening of BER (Berlin/Brandenburg International) airport is AGAIN postponed without an exact new opening date. It will probably be either in 2014 or 2015, they say...

To be honest: If you leave a house unoccupied for such a duration you can almost surely take it down, because it starts to rot. This one even started rotting before it was finished. Take it down and start from scratch...

Just my two cents...

Yeah, the incompetence of various policitians, agencies and companies involved is just mindboggling.

I like the idea of tearing the building down, but as far as I am concerned there´s no need to rebuild it.:p

Here are reports about BER in German newpapers SZ, FAZ, and Spiegel

http://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/umstrittenes-grossprojekt-berliner-flughafen-wowereit-hat-schaden-ueber-die-stadt-gebracht-1.1566403

http://www.faz.net/aktuell/wirtschaft/wirtschaftspolitik/hauptstadtflughafen-der-problem-ber-12016571.html

http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/ber-eroeffnung-soll-erst-2014-sein-gruene-erhoehen-druck-auf-wowereit-a-876045.html

Unbelievable that they are unable to finish is project and the amount of failures is mind-boggling, indeed.

This is very unlike German. Who is stopping BER to open? Can not imagine if it is the bureaucracy of Berlin. Must be some conspiracy here.

no conspiracy, just plain old sloppiness and nobody stepping up and assuming responsibility - very typical for Berlin state politics. The airport is state-owned, and all supervisory committee staff is - politicians.
The airport was built with blatant disregard to the fire safety provisions specified in the building permit (OK, such things happened in the past with public infrastructure projects), and authorities refused to approve this, grant an exception and let it open anyway (this is new - but to be expected after the '96 DUS fire with two terminals destroyed and 17 killed, which led to toughened regulations. Overseeing authority just would not budge). They have to re-do the whole fire prevention concept, which is not easy with everything already built and in place.

Here's some coverage in English: http://www.thelocal.de/national/20130107-47175.html

I don't care much - I like TXL. OK, it's overcrowded and getting pretty seedy as nothing is invested in it at all any more, but it's still so much closer to the city center. Actually, I still lament the closure of THF - out of the plane and into the subway in ten, at my destination in twenty minutes...

Saw this article linked to on the BA forum:

Berliner Morgenpost article (http://www.morgenpost.de/flughafen-berlin-brandenburg/article112659441/Flughafen-Experte-BER-geht-nicht-vor-2017-in-Betrieb.html) (in German)


My German isn't good, but there is a scary number in it:

2017 :eek:


(not an official date, just an expert's speculation)

Saw this article linked to on the BA forum:

Berliner Morgenpost article (http://www.morgenpost.de/flughafen-berlin-brandenburg/article112659441/Flughafen-Experte-BER-geht-nicht-vor-2017-in-Betrieb.html) (in German)


My German isn't good, but there is a scary number in it:

2017 :eek:


(not an official date, just an expert's speculation)

This gents statements seem politically motivated. And he is basically claiming that BER cannot handle the expected passenger numbers and therefore should be torn down, replanned and rebuilt