Air Berlin is set to join oneworld, adding one of 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 (MoU) was recently signed between Air Berlin and oneworld, with a formal alliance membership agreement to be signed soon. British Airways will support Air Berlin through its oneworld implementation programme as its alliance sponsor.

As per the company release, Air Berlin is expected to start flying as part of oneworld in early 2012 �weeks before the opening of the Berlin Brandenburg International Airport, which is being built as a major new hub for Europe. As a major player in the European air travel market, Air Berlin served in 2009 a total of 160 destinations in some 40 countries, operating almost 600 daily departures. It carried 28 million passengers, generating revenues of Euro 3.2 billion (USD 4.5 billion). As of July 2010, Air Berlin operates a fleet of 165 aircraft, including Austria�s NIKI, serving 168 destinations.

As soon as the airline becomes a part of oneworld, its customers will gain access to an unrivalled global network. It will add almost 75 gateways to the oneworld map, expand the alliance�s coverage to almost 900 destinations in nearly 150 countries, served by a combined fleet of 2,500 aircraft operating some 9,500 flights a day and carrying 340 million passengers a year.