airberlin route changes for 2013 – fewer ‘no taxes’ Avios redemptions options

Last month, I wrote a mammoth three part series on redeeming your Avios on airberlin.  Why?  Because you will pay 90% less tax on an airberlin business class seat than a BA one – and a £400+ saving per seat is worth thinking about.

Click for Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 of the article.

airberlin is still a work in progress as an airline.  It continues to tweak its routes and try to find a profitable niche for itself in a country dominated by Lufthansa. 

To that end, it recently announced some changes to the route network:

airberlin has strategically revised its route network for next summer. The timetable modifications have been designed to increase efficiency and mainly refer to the intercontinental routes to the USA …

Against this background, airberlin will also be increasing its non-stop services to New York JFK, Los Angeles and Miami from May 2013 onwards, while at the same time cancelling its seasonal non-stop flights from Düsseldorf to Las Vegas, San Francisco and Vancouver.

The expansion and optimisation of services from Berlin and Düsseldorf to the American Airlines hubs of New York JFK, Los Angeles, Miami and Chicago is an important element in airberlin’s network strategy for summer 2013. Consequently airberlin will be increasing the number of non-stop flights between Düsseldorf and New York JFK from seven to ten flights per week, thereby ensuring greater timetable consistency with the same arrival and departure times throughout the year.

The number of flights from Düsseldorf to Miami is also being increased: from May 2013 a daily service will replace the previous five flights a week to this major US destination. Another new feature at airberlin’s Düsseldorf hub is that the number of non-stop flights to Los Angeles will be increased from three to four per week. The flights are scheduled for Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Since the service from Berlin to Los Angeles will still continue in summer 2013 with three flights a week – on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays – airberlin passengers will be offered a daily flight from Germany to West Coast USA from May 2013 onwards.

The times of the flights between Berlin and Los Angeles, a service that airberlin has been offering since 11th May 2012, have also been optimised for better connections to and from destinations in airberlin’s growth markets of Scandinavia and Russia. The service between Berlin and Miami is also being increased from three to five flights a week.

Going forward, then, I think that these will be the remaining airberlin long-haul routes from the Summer 2013 timetable (based on business class, return prices):

Abu Dhabi from Berlin – 50,000 Avios + £48

Abu Dhabi from Dusseldorf – 80,000 Avios + £49

Cancun from Munich – 120,000 Avios + £85

Cancun from Dusseldorf – 100,000 Avios + £82

Chicago from Berlin (starts 3/13) – 100,000 Avios + £62

Curacao from Dusseldorf – 100,000 Avios + £43

Dominican Republic (3 airports) from Munich, Dusseldorf – 100,000 Avios + £105

Fort Myers, Florida from Dusseldorf – 100,000 Avios + £63

Los Angeles from Berlin (Summer 2013) – 120,000 Avios + £62

Los Angeles from Dusseldorf – 120,000 Avios + £63

Miami from Berlin – 100,000 Avios + £62

Miami from Dusseldorf – 100,000 Avios + £63

Mombasa, Kenya from Munich – 80,000 Avios + £79

New York from Berlin – 80,000 Avios + £62

New York from Dusseldorf – 80,000 Avios + £63

Phuket from Abu Dhabi – 80,000 Avios + £27

Varadero, Cuba from Berlin, Munich, Dusseldorf – 100,000 Avios + £50

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2025)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

American Express Business Platinum

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.