airberlin joins Etihad Airways' appeal to protect competition and consumer choice

airberlin filed notice to join Etihad Airways in its appeal against last week’s decision of the Administrative Court of Braunschweig to revoke the approval for 29 of its codeshare flights with airberlin.

Stefan Pichler, Chief Executive Officer of airberlin said: "We are appealing against this decision because it does not serve the best interests of the travelling public. Indeed, the main beneficiary of the decision is Lufthansa.

“airberlin is Lufthansa’s sole competitor in the German domestic market. We keep the competition honest, strong and effective as otherwise Lufthansa would have a monopoly which would be disastrous for German consumers.

“This is why we have today joined Etihad Airways’ legal appeal lodged in the Lower Saxony Higher Administrative Court in Lüneburg, and we stand shoulder to shoulder with our partner in this battle for consumer rights and greater choice for travellers into and through Germany.”

airberlin confirmed it will honour all booked itineraries and that no passengers would suffer as a result of the dispute.

“We will remain a reliable partner for all of our customers, the travel trade as well as the corporates in Germany, continuing to offer an attractive global network together with our partners and leading edge products and services,” Mr Pichler said.