transatlantic into berlin?
Mar 20, 2005 | 12:10 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: ATL, BER
Programs: AA LTGLD, DL PLT, SPG Gold, HH Gold
Posts: 474
transatlantic into berlin?
I am flying AA most of the time, and several times a year to Berlin, Germany. Now that Delta starts its direct flight from JFK I wonder if I should switch... The time saving is considerable (>5 hours). However, I would be willing to hold out if AA followed with a direct flight to Berlin in the years to come... Do you think they (or other major US airlines) will?
Mar 20, 2005 | 1:03 pm
#2
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: San Francisco, CA USA // UA 1K 2 Million Miler, AA EXP 2MM, HH Diamond, SPG Plat // Easily found on SFO-ORDs
Posts: 2,726
LH announced before 9/11 that they were going to begin IAD-TXL service but it never got off the ground, IIRC.
If LH, with significant feed from UA at IAD and from its own flyers at TXL, didn't think (and still doesn't think) it can make that route work, I'm not sure DL's plan will. And, if a single carrier in the market is questionable, I'm not sure expecting a second carrier to follow is a viable expectation.
And, for now, AA only serves FRA in Germany, and then from ORD and DFW. Their second likely city would be MUC, not FRA. And to expect JFK-TXL when they don't even service JFK-FRA (they couldn't make that work!)... again, not a viable expectation.
If LH, with significant feed from UA at IAD and from its own flyers at TXL, didn't think (and still doesn't think) it can make that route work, I'm not sure DL's plan will. And, if a single carrier in the market is questionable, I'm not sure expecting a second carrier to follow is a viable expectation.
And, for now, AA only serves FRA in Germany, and then from ORD and DFW. Their second likely city would be MUC, not FRA. And to expect JFK-TXL when they don't even service JFK-FRA (they couldn't make that work!)... again, not a viable expectation.
Mar 21, 2005 | 6:07 pm
#4
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Portland OR Double Emerald (QF and AA), DL PM/MM, Starwood Plat
Posts: 19,593
DL has had service to TXL off and on since it bought the routes from Panam (over 10 years ago). Usually one-stop via Hamburg or Copenhagen to JFK, so DL has a long history with this route and maybe some cargo connections. It was also a light pax load for DL but the cargo made it a profitable route in past years. BA used to have a German operation (Deutsche BA) which failed so OW is not too keen to go up against LH again -- and Berlin is a hotbed of LCCs but none fly trans-Atlantic yet.