Air Berlin (1991) (Berlin Tegel) is planning to complete its Boeing (BOE, Washington National) fleet phase out by the end of next year by which time it will have transitioned into an homogenous Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) operation.
According to Germany's aero.de aviation portal, the German leisure specialist is left with eight B737-700s and twenty-eight B737-800s. Air Berlin is replacing lost capacity with the arrival of fourteen A320-200s from fellow Etihad Airways (EY, Abu Dhabi International) equity partner, Alitalia (AZA, Rome Fiumicino).
There are some concerns, however, about Air Berlin's lingering contract with TUI fly (Germany) (X3, Hannover). In 2009, Air Berlin signed a ten-year lease agreement in which TUIfly would wet-lease a fleet of five B737-700s and nine B737-800s to Air Berlin through to 2019. Despite Air Berlin's plans to phase out the type, TUIfly has reportedly insisted that the lucrative contract run to its full completion.
