Silver Status AB: can I reach out to SkyTeam or others to trade it with theirs?
 

A couple of questions, I am a Silver Member of AirBerlin and I would like to switch to another one, since there are rumors that they will be selling their business.

1) What is the best Loyalty Program to reach out to in Europe?
2) What are the best practice to negotiate? Can I get a silver/gold status if I commit to cancel AirBerlin?

Thanks

Airberlin silver is not that much of a status to begin with, so dont expect to get much.
Furthermore, you should epxect to only match to a non-oneworld alliance FFP.
Finally, status matches are rare..
search for Turkish Airlines/Copa Airlines etc... they have offered matches in recent years.

Statusmatcher.com
 

Try statusmatcher.com. A guide to chances of status matching as it reports acceptances and denies. Advance warning, quick look at the Air Berlin section does not inspire a lot of hope.

Airlines have made it significantly more difficult to gain status within their programmes especially for non-premium cabin flyers. The leading Euro-carriers in particular seem to not like status matching in addition to this. Equally the lower the existing status the harder it is to status match. Airlines want the money.

When I switched from Marco Polo Club (as MPC Diamond/OWE) I did a lot of research with others in the same situation. Looking at routes and cabins I expected or planned to fly, then looked at the most logical alternatives.

There are good arguments for avoiding being member of a programme of an airline that is not your primary choice of carrier.

Good Luck!