More airberlin weirdness – Etihad taking over Dusseldorf, airberlin launching Hong Kong
Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission. See here for all partner links.
It seems there are no end to the odd stories coming out airberlin at the moment. The reason we cover them on Head for Points is that airberlin, as a oneworld alliance member, allows you to use Avios for its flights. And airberlin long haul flights in business class are pretty good and have only £50 of tax!
We have recently covered the sale of non-core short-haul routes to a new Tui-backed joint venture. There are also rumours of Lufthansa buying the airberlin long-haul routes and their feeder flights.
This is the latest news:
Etihad is taking over Dusseldorf to Abu Dhabi from 26th March
This is a massive win for anyone who booked this route using Avios points as you will be transferred onto Etihad. It is unlikely that too many people would have done this, however, as it is almost twice as expensive as the airberlin Berlin to Abu Dhabi route.
This is because Berlin to Abu Dhabi is just under 3,000 miles. This makes it 75,000 Avios + £50 tax return in business class. Dusseldorf to Abu Dhabi is just over 3,000 miles. This makes it 120,000 Avios + £50 tax return in business class.
airberlin is gearing up to launch Hong Kong in October
Whilst not yet available for booking, the aviation press is full of stories of a new airberlin Berlin to Hong Kong route.
This makes some sense. airberlin currently flies to a few tourist-heavy destinations such as Cancun and Fort Myers. Using those aircraft for a route with more business traffic would be logical.
It also doesn’t make much sense. airberlin currently sells flights to Hong Kong via a connection in Abu Dhabi to Etihad, its controlling shareholder. This new route would take traffic away from Etihad.
It this does happen, you would be able to travel to Hong Kong in business class using Avios for virtually no taxes.
Here is the clever bit. Due to local law, there are no fuel surcharges on one-way British Airways flights from Hong Kong to London. There ARE fuel surcharges if you fly London to Hong Kong to London, because that flight is ticketed in the UK and so falls outside the Hong Kong law.
Assuming the airberlin flights comes off, the following would be very attractive:
London to Berlin, BA
Berlin to Hong Kong, airberlin
Hong Kong to London, BA
Taxes for this itinerary should be under £100 compared to £500 for a pure British Airways Club World redemption. And you can’t argue with that. The downside is that it wouldn’t be possible to use a BA Amex 2-4-1 and there are no ‘off peak’ dates on partner lines such as airberlin.
How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2024)
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
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
25,000 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.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review
The Platinum Card from American Express
40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a 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, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.
Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa
Huge 30,000 points bonus until 12th May 2024 Read our full review
You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.
British Airways Accelerating Business American Express
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
40,000 points sign-up bonus 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.
Comments (25)