airberlin, which will become part of the oneworld alliance in 2012 and will begin codesharing with American Airlines in November, said it will begin new nonstop service from New York to Berlin next summer. The move is part of airberlin's continuing expansion strategy. The JFK-Berlin service means that in the summer of 2011, airberlin, Germany’s second-largest carrier, will offer 11 nonstop flights a week to Berlin and Dusseldorf, its other main German hub.

The New York service will operate out of JFK four days a week and will start May 2. The flights are on sale now; airberlin is available in all GDSs. airberlin is also launching a new route from Miami to Berlin. These flights will start Nov. 1 and run through April 28 on Mondays and Thursdays. The codesharing means that airberlin will be able to offer codeshare flights to 15 additional U.S. destinations and two in the Bahamas. airberlin's topbonus members will be able to earn miles on airberlin codeshare flights operated by American and American’s AAdvantage members will be able to earn miles on codeshare flights operated by airberlin.

airberlin currently offers nonstop flights from its six North American gateways -- New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Fort Myers, Miami and Vancouver -- to Germany. The alliances mean that American can offer its passengers a more robust route network in Europe, where airberlin is the fifth-largest passenger airline on the continent.

A Pan Am flight attendant started Air Berlin in 1978. Joachim Hunold, its CEO, took over the carrier after the fall of the Berlin Wall. It began as a charter carrier serving popular warm weather destinations such as Majorca, where it remains a dominant carrier. It first grew organically and then grew by acquisition, acquiring the German charter carrier LTU, the Swiss carrier Belair and others. It then began targeting individual leisure travels. Today it also caters to business travelers, operating a single-class cabin on short-haul routes and offering two classes of service on long-haul routes. Its focus on providing a high level of service has earned it several awards. It’s been named the World’s Best Low-Cost Airline in the World Airline Awards run by Skytrax. It is a low-cost carrier that offers a full range of services, including its loyalty program, topbonus, for its premium passengers, lounges and priority check-in, and, for all passengers, free alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks and meals or snacks on every departure.

airberlin will move into the new Berlin Brandenburg International Airport in June 2012. It holds major market shares in its home city of Berlin as well as in Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Stuttgart and Palma de Majorca. It also serves major oneworld hubs such as Helsinki, Los Angeles, Miami, Moscow, JFK and Bangkok. It has a fleet of 165 aircraft.

It has a distinctive personality. Like other carriers, it tries to increase its revenues with ancillary services, such as selling gourmet a la carte dishes. In a unique twist on ancillary service fees, it is also partnering with musical artists, establishing Follow Me entertainment, which will promote artists, their music and even sell concert tickets. It’s an effort to use music to load the airberlin brand with emotion, Hunold said at a press conference in New York. For more information, visit www.airberlin.com.