<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by LHR Tim:
I also thought some authorities, such as LHR-TXL were granted to LH once the Berlin Wall came down?</font>
PA's intra-German services, a remnant of WWII, included FRA-TXL, MUC-TXL and some other routes. LH was not permitted to fly these sectors during the Berlin Wall period. The authority went from PA to LH in 1990 or 1991. LH did not need to pay PA for the transfer, but did anyway to acquire gates, infrastructure, etc. in a hurry.
As told in the Pan Am history "Skygods," the last PA flight into Berlin before the transfer was granted permission by ATC to do a "rundflug," or night tour of the city... and performed some heart-quickening low-level passes before landing. The PA-LH handover was then accomplished literally overnight.