Air Berlin - a "combo" airline?

[pee]

As you could read in today's news: "Air Berlin made its debut in the potentially lucrative Scandinavian market early last month with the launch of a six times weekly connection between Düsseldorf and Helsinki. By way of connections at Düsseldorf, the airline also introduced through ticketing from London Stansted, Vienna and Zürich to the Finnish capital. Now, in a substantial expansion, the airline has announced five weekly return flights from Berlin Tegel to Helsinki".

Have you noticed? A low-cost carrier is offering connecting flights (via Düsseldorf, but let's notice that some interconnecting flights are already being offered by them via TXL as well, e.g. HEL-FCO or HEL-PMI). To my knowledge, it's something brand new in that area. Some people here in Finland have been somewhat confused. At the same time (so-called) low-cost Sterling is offering flights for prices very close to those of Finnair but with very limited services only, SAS drastically reduces catering (with their subsidiary Blue1 just abolishing free meals all of sudden), you cannot rebook your tickets on many occasions with 'legacy' carriers... Some traditional airlines stick to the "Sunday-rule", others having thrown it away with not much publicity, everything mixed-up. Well, and then, on the other side, you have Air Berlin. Not the cheapest but pretty reasonably priced, you got snacks and drinks for free, you can easily change your bookings, and now - you can buy interconnecting flights. Are there to stay any clear divisions and "classes" of airlines to identify them in the future or will some kind of convergence, mishmash just take place inevitably?

[FlightSimCrew]

To my knowledge, it's something brand new in that area.

Not at all, Virgin Express used to offer connections in the past to and even Ryanair offers a connection product : you only have to deboard, pick up the bags and check-in again, quite a hazzle but if you really want to flycheap it could be an alternative.

[an-148]

that's not new for AirBerlin:
the majority of their spanish destinations are offered via connecting flights in their major hub in Palma de Mallorca

[earthman]

To my knowledge, it's something brand new in that area.

Not at all, Virgin Express used to offer connections in the past to and even Ryanair offers a connection product : you only have to deboard, pick up the bags and check-in again, quite a hazzle but if you really want to flycheap it could be an alternative.

That is NOT a connection product. I'm sure that if the first flight is late, and you miss the second because of that, you lose the whole ticket.

[iechist]

How ould people define LoCost?

• Charges for food?

• Flies to secondary airports?

• Is competitive with airlines like Easyjet and Ryanair on pricing?

• Doesn't offer connections?

• Doesn't have a frequent flyer programme?

• Flies a single aircraft type?

An airline like Aer Lingus maintains that it is LoCost nowadays, although, it would fail on three of the above criteria (Connections, Airport Choice and Frequent Flyer Programme) and only flies two types of aircraft, one for short haul, one for long-haul.

A lot of airlines - FlyBE, Aer Arann - describe themselves as Lo Cost and certainly don't offer prices that would suggets that they are.

[Humberside]

Southwest Airlines offer connections, and they are most certainly low cost. Indeed it is commonplace among US low cost airlines