Air Berlin is to join oneworldŽ, adding Europe's fifth largest airline and Germany's second biggest carrier to the world's leading quality airline alliance.

Air Berlin group member Austria's NIKI will become an affiliate member of the alliance.

A memorandum of understanding between Air Berlin and oneworld was completed in the airline's Berlin home city last night, with a formal alliance membership agreement to be signed soon.

Air Berlin is expected to start flying as part of oneworld in early 2012 - just weeks before the opening of the new Berlin Brandenburg International Airport, which is being built as a major new hub for Europe.

All but one of the alliance's existing carriers (with Mexicana the exception) already serve Air Berlin's German homeland - the most populous country and the biggest economy in the European Union. They will also be looking to expand their own services to its key hubs Berlin and Dusseldorf as the new alliance recruit prepares to join the group.

About Air Berlin

Since its launch in 1979, Air Berlin has grown into Germany's second largest airline - and the fifth biggest in Europe in terms of passengers boarded - after taking over Deutsche BA and LTU and gaining a 49.9 per cent stake in Austria's NIKI and a 49 per cent holding in Switzerland's Belair.

It has developed from its origins in the shorthaul leisure market to cater also for business travellers with its Euro Shuttle service providing high frequency connections between many of the continent's key destinations and now also flies longhaul.

It is one of Europe's most frequent winners in the various airline industry award schemes.

On its shorthaul services, it offers a single-class cabin. On its longhaul routes, it offers two-classes, with a premium business cabin and individual in-flight entertainment screens for each passenger.

While it has been named the World's Best Low-Cost Airline seven years running in the World Airline Awards run by the Skytrax airline quality organisation, it now offers the full-range of services associated with a full-service network carrier, including its frequent flyer programme topbonus, and, for premium passengers, lounges, priority check-in and, for all passengers, free alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks and meals or snacks on every departure.

It will move in June 2012 into the new Berlin Brandenburg International airport, which will have capacity eventually for 45 million passengers a year.

Air Berlin holds major market shares in its home city and also at Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Stuttgart and Palma de Majorca. Among its international destinations, it serves oneworld hubs Helsinki, Los Angeles, Madrid, Miami, Moscow Domodedovo, New York JFK and Bangkok.

Its current fleet (including NIKI) comprises 165 aircraft, with an average age of five years, including 13 Airbus A330s, 75 A321s/A320s/A319s, 63 Boeing 737s, four Embraer E190s and 10 Bombardier Q400s. It employs 8,500 staff.

Webcast

A webcast of today's press briefing announcing these developments is available for viewing on-demand, featuring:

•Air Berlin Chief Executive Joachim Hunold
•British Airways Chief Executive Willie Walsh
•American Airlines President Tom Horton
•Finnair Chief Executive Mika Vehviläinen
•oneworld Managing Partner John McCulloch
To view the webcast in English, go to airberlin.com/pressconference_oneworld

To view the webcast in German, go to airberlin.com/pk_oneworld