tfar

I am wondering what non-stop flights there are from Berlin to the US.

I know there is the Continental to Newark. I take that all the time. But somehow I had the impression that they were ceasing that next year. Not sure though.

So I started looking for alternatives.

Not daily but four times a week there is a non-stop with Air Berlin to JFK.

And there also seems to be a Delta flight to New York.

But is that it? Nothing to Chicago, LA or Houston? How lame?

So am I missing something here? I hope so.

If not, does anyone know whether this situation is likely to change when BBI opens next year June? There should be at least an LH flight to New York.

Till

Markie

Delta flies too I think.

Berlin is very underserved for a capital city. However, BD cuts backs show that there is limited demand. I have always assumed that this is because it does not have any very large industrial employers.

DaniD

LH has their hubs in FRA and MUC, additionally there is ZRH for LX as part of the LH group. I doubt there will be any significant change in long-haul connections after the new airport BBi will be open next year.

There might be more focus of LH after Air Berlin will have joined OneWorld, but this just guessing.

Xyzzy

Continental is nt ceasing operations to Berlin or anywhere else in Germany. They are in the process of merging with United and will be using the United name starting at some point in the future.

Pit Whitehall

Who cares about Berlin, Frankfurt is the big hub in Germany.

copy: "Nothing to Chicago, LA or Houston? How lame?"

No american airline offers direct flights to Berlin from Chicago, LA or Houston? How lame!

I had a somehow the same problem for Phoenix flights in the past. Only good connection I got that time was flight to London and than nonstop to Phoenix by British Airways. They cancelled that connection after two years, due to not enough passengers. But I loved it. I always had a row of seats for myself.

By the way, why don´t you charter a lear-jet?

Aviatrix

Is that still on the cards after recent developments?

Talk in Germany seems to be that Air Berlin are on the point of going under.

tfar

Thanks for the interesting answers.

It must be the lack of big employers. But still, Berlin is a city with three million people, the capital of an economically, culturally and politically very important country and partner of the USA. BTW, afaik, Chicago and Berlin are twin cities. That alone should be a good reason to have a direct flight.

Changing planes is simply a hassle, in my eyes. When I go to a city like Austin, I can understand it. But from one important metropolis to another there should be non-stop flights, as far as that is possible in terms of range.

I can see the economic and organizational reasons behind it but it's just plain infuriating to have so little connectivity in such a big city. It would be nice if they made BBI the hub for some big airline.

I was thinking Continental might stop its service EWR/TXL because I was looking for a flight next February and didn't see one. But maybe it was just that date. Perhaps they are not daily.

I hope they keep up that route. It is very convenient.

So what else is known about the Air Berlin oneworld deal? Gonna happen? I really enjoyed Air Berlin the few times I took their flights. Excellent service, on time, clean planes, pretty and friendly FAs, good prices. The only hiccup is their 6kg (8kg with laptop), single piece cabin luggage rule. But they do check one free piece up to 20kg. At least there is no fight for overhead space this way.

Till

DaniD

At least they are in severe trouble and the new management will have to work hard.

Haven't heard any recent statements related to joining OneWorld though.

oliver2002

Berlin has 3.4 million, the metro area 4 million people. Sadly the part of the economy that keeps the country moving is somewhere else.

Since when are Chicago and Berlin sister cities? http://www.chicagosistercities.com/our.php

BBI (or BER as its going to be called in IATA) cannot be 'made' into a hub as Germany abandoned central planning in 1990

AB is becoming part of OW, the current management changes shouldn't hold up that part,

Aviatrix

The reason Berlin is not a major hub is, largely, down to... HISTORY.

I guess that a lot of people here are too young to have lived through the Cold War years (and only know Berlin as the vibrant city that it is now).

Berlin has only been the capital of reunited Germany for about 20 years. Before that it was a divided city, with East Berlin being the capital of East Germany (a country that was almost inaccessible to us Westerners) while West Berlin was a Western World island surrounded by Eastern World land.

Until 1990 the only airlines that were allowed to fly to West Berlin were those of the Western Allied powers - the USA, the UK and France. Services between West Germany and West Berlin were operated almost exclusively by PanAm and BA (Air France withdrew from the internal market in 1969). Few if any Western airlines operated flights to East Berlin's airport, SXF.

By the time Germany became one country again FRA was well-established as an international hub, and there were really no incentives for airlines to move their hubs to Berlin - with all that would have entailed (relocating staff, re-routing feeder services etc etc). Post-reunification TXL has become a regional airport just like any other German regional airport, with direct services to major European destinations but very few long-haul flights.

I haven't seen many (if any) posts on here complaining about the lack of long-haul flights from places like HAJ and HAM... I think one just has to accept that, for historical reasons, Berlin is and probably always will be a regional airport (personally I doubt that the new Berlin Airport will make much difference, at least not in the short term)

Track

After German reunification TWA, Air Canada and Singapore Airlines started flying to Berlin. Lufthansa even had flights from Berlin to Tokyo and Washington. People assumed, like the OP, that the capital of reunified Germany would generate lots of traffic, but all these flights were gradually dropped, and after 2001 they all disappeared. For a while there were not even direct or non-stop flights from Berlin to New York, but then Continental and Delta started theirs up.

tfar

Thanks for the historical apercu to all!

Oliver, I got the sister cities mixed up because I have personal connections to Hamburg and Paris (studied there), as well as Berlin (my future home base). So I switched in Berlin for Hamburg. Thanks for pointing it out.

I hope AB, CO and DL keep their directs to NY. Otherwise I have to get used to flying through FRA which I really don't enjoy so much. TXL is an incredibly convenient airport.

Track, it was this very assumption and the impression I had from 15 years ago, that there should be more flights given the status. But flight routes are rather calculated for passenger volume than for status, as we can clearly see.

Till

DaniD

Feel free to connect in LHR

oliver2002

Just for reference we had the same topic chewed over here:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/miles...lh-do-ber.html

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/germa...al-debate.html

This comes up every other year with lots of pro and con opinions. I'm born in and very closely connected with Berlin thru family ties and would love to work and live there. Sadly Berlin has no offerings that I would instantly decide to take up.

TXL is nice, THF was even better. SXF or now rather BBI/BER are not really part of Berlin per se and its a new dimension coming to Berlin. Just like with the new HBf everyone will forget about the finer points once its up and running. LH has said *A will offer a number of longhaul directs beyond CO. We shall see.

tfar

Yeah, right! Got any other brilliant ideas?

Oliver, thanks a bunch for the threads. I will read those carefully. It's an interesting topic.

I will be relocating most likely from Austin to Berlin next summer, so I am looking for convenient ways to travel back to the US for pleasure and business.

I agree, Berlin is a fantastic place. They must just manage to get more big companies to move their headquarters there. But I guess most of the German companies are already nicely installed where they are. Still, on the some international companies it should work. OK, Sony was a crapshot, but I'd say to just try it again.

Till