LAXintl From United States of America, joined May 2000, 22220 posts, RR: 51 Posted (6 months 2 days 6 hours ago) and read 7459 times:
Loss making Air Berlin has sold 70% stake in its Topbonus frequent flyer program to Etihad for €184.4 million.
With the deal Topbonus would be spun off as a separate company with focus on selling points to credit card companies, hotels and retailers and extend outside the air-travel industry.
Per Etihad they intend to make Topbonus into a "global loyalty management platform".
Topbonus currently has 3.1mil members and will be merged with EYs own 1.8mil member program.
As part of the deal AB will get also get 150 million euros in debt financing arranged by Etihad and provided by HSBC and Commerzbank.
Lastly Air Berlin CEO say with the sale, the carrier would now record a profit for 2012 erasing previously estimated €145 million loss for the year.
rutankrd From United Kingdom, joined Sep 2003, 2035 posts, RR: 5 Reply 1, posted (6 months 2 days 5 hours ago) and read 7362 times:
Right so what do they bring to Oneworld now ?
Frequent flyer programme - Sold
Good feed and connections with other OW carriers in German markets or elsewhere within Europe- Not really.
Beyond Europe little bit with AA but not much else and anyway most of their long haul remains primarily leisure oriented, as does much of the European network.
Now even heavier indebted to Etihad so we know who will be pulling strings
Ever closer relationships and deeper codeshare arrangements with AF/KL than with any OW carrier.
LAXintl From United States of America, joined May 2000, 22220 posts, RR: 51 Reply 2, posted (6 months 2 days 4 hours ago) and read 7176 times:
Etihad must really see something in Air Berlin as they keep getting deeper and deeper financially tangled.
So far from what I can figure:
2011 - initial 3% stake in AB = €?
December 2011 - boost stake in AB to 29% = €72.9m
June 2012 - Provides AB loan = €162.9m
December 2012 - Buy 70% of Topbonus = €184.4m
December 2012 - Provide financing = €150m
An for AB, yes they tie their existence and future ever closer to the wishes of Etihad.
From the desert to the sea, to all of Southern California
rojo From Spain, joined Sep 2000, 2397 posts, RR: 10 Reply 4, posted (6 months 2 days 4 hours ago) and read 7100 times:
Another airline making the huge mistake of selling its FF Program (the only valuable asset most airlines have)... but it is AB, they just can't figure out how to make money. Selling Top Bonus just to record a profit in 2012 will not help them to become profitable in the years to come. What will they do once they ran out of assets? Germany does not have Chapter 11...
Quoting mah4546 (Reply 3): . AA considered doing it a few years ago
And they realized what a huge mistake it would have been and did not proceed with the sale.
aloges From Germany, joined Jan 2006, 8392 posts, RR: 47 Reply 5, posted (6 months 2 days 4 hours ago) and read 7087 times:
Quoting LAXintl (Thread starter): Per Etihad they intend to make Topbonus into a "global loyalty management platform".
They could start by giving it a less ridiculous name... and look for it anywhere but in Germany, where the biggest loyalty programme is called "Payback". I kid you not.
Walk together, talk together all ye peoples of the earth. Then, and only then, shall ye have peace.
twa@fra From Germany, joined Nov 2000, 131 posts, RR: 0 Reply 7, posted (6 months 1 day 19 hours ago) and read 6471 times:
I would say the benefit of AB in OneWorld is not any HUB, but to have a local client base and choice for OW members in German to fly OW e.g. within Germany or certain Europe routes which before they couldn’t.
For example somebody based in DUS and is flying a few times a year to HAM/TXL/MUC and some intercontinental flights. If he want to give his business to one Alliance, there had been only Star in the past, but now OW become an option.
PanHAM From Germany, joined May 2005, 7839 posts, RR: 27 Reply 9, posted (6 months 1 day 18 hours ago) and read 6288 times:
Quoting CYatUK (Reply 6): Could the lack of a large hub be blamed for this? i.e. could/will the situation change once BER opens?
Not really. BER draws a lot of low yield traffic but rather little high yield. The location is remote.
DUS is a far better located hub with a much larger catchment area. But, whatever AB does, LH will spit into their spoup and going into bed with Etihad makes them even more an enemy to LH.
LAXintl From United States of America, joined May 2000, 22220 posts, RR: 51 Reply 12, posted (6 months 1 day 9 hours ago) and read 4429 times:
I think it will be interesting that if Air Berlin stays in OW, its FF'er program, database and commercial information will be primarily owned by an outsider, and one that is fierce competitor with new OW member QR.
I cant imagine QR would be too enthused to do business with AB if much of the info and earnings go back into its Gulf rival pockets.
But personally, I see EY having different ideas for AB that eventually don't include OW.
From the desert to the sea, to all of Southern California
Mozart From Luxembourg, joined Aug 2003, 2034 posts, RR: 14 Reply 14, posted (6 months 5 hours ago) and read 3090 times:
Somewhere above it says that topbonus will be "merged into Etihad's own FFP". So Air Berlin will no longer have its "own" FFP? Use Etihad instead? So if I have Gold status on Etihad that will then also be my status on AB, and by extension also with other OW carriers? Too good to be true...
ushermittwoch From Germany, joined Jan 2004, 2890 posts, RR: 18 Reply 17, posted (5 months 4 weeks 1 day 18 hours ago) and read 2738 times:
Quoting Mozart (Reply 14): Somewhere above it says that topbonus will be "merged into Etihad's own FFP". So Air Berlin will no longer have its "own" FFP? Use Etihad instead? So if I have Gold status on Etihad that will then also be my status on AB, and by extension also with other OW carriers? Too good to be true...
Sounds more like a definitive and soon exit from OW.
This does kind annoy me though, since I just burned a lot of AB miles on intra-European flights, had I known that I could get on some EY flights soon, I would have held out. Oh well, that's life.
And since Air Seychelles will also be onboard, it looks like they might actually all join SkyTeam soon, since Air Seychelles has traditionally had very strong ties to Air France.
LAXintl From United States of America, joined May 2000, 22220 posts, RR: 51 Reply 18, posted (5 months 2 weeks 1 day 5 hours ago) and read 1765 times:
Some board shakeups.
Niki Lauda is leaving the board of directors. He says he wants to devote more time to his Mercedes formula one team.
To replace him a former BMI executive will be brought onboard.
brilondon From Canada, joined Aug 2005, 3271 posts, RR: 1 Reply 19, posted (5 months 2 weeks 1 day 5 hours ago) and read 1738 times:
Quoting r2rho (Reply 11): A "fake" financial profit as they will still have operating losses. But it will look nice on the annual report.
Nothing fake about it. You sell an asset and realize the money as income. Just like if you held $10,000 dollars in stock and sold it, for $12,000. You would not say it was fake. You would report it as a $10,000 increase in income and $2,000 in capital gains, increasing your annualized profit from all sources as $12,000. This would be a one time only profit and you better get your house in order to maintain that profit so the share holders will still see the equity they have in the company as being a good hold.
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