Air Berlin: Airline undertakes recent restoration attempt – Handelsblatt

Air-Berlin-flyer in Berlin Tegel

The Arab airline Etihad bought in 2011 almost 30 per cent of Air Berlin shares, keeping the company since then with cash injections in the air.

(Photo: AP)

Frankfurt For Air Berlin is what the current restructuring program according to estimates by CEO Stefan Pichler all or nothing. “This is our last shot, we have to make it now, there’s no second try more”, Pichler said the “Sueddeutsche Zeitung” on Saturday.

After years of unsuccessful permanent rehabilitation under ex-head of Deutsche Bahn Hartmut Mehdorn and his successor Wolfgang Prock-Schauer inside out Pichler the Group had approximately 9000 employees around. “We do not anticipate that we will again need money this year,” said the reigning since February, Air Berlin CEO

Air Berlin -. Rapid ascent, years of turmoil

• Exactly 35 years ago raised the first Air Berlin flyer from. It all began with Allied special rights to land in the divided Berlin. After the turn Air Berlin grew to number two in the skies over Germany zoom, but now she puts years in the crisis.

• 1978: founded as a charter company by the former Pan Am pilot Kim Lundgren. Maiden flight on 28 April 1979 by Tegel to Mallorca. The fleet includes two machines

  1991. In April of LTU manager Joachim Hunold buys the majority of shares. There are 15 flights per day shortly thereafter. Air Berlin is expanding and stationed increasingly aircraft from regional airports

  1998:. With the Mallorca shuttle entry into the scheduled flight business

entry to 25 percent in the Austrian airline Niki of former racing driver Niki Lauda.

• IPO and acquisition of dba.

• purchase of holiday airline LTU, thus intercontinental flights.

• 2008: Air Berlin slips into the red, laying on the first cost-cutting program: routes are eliminated, aircraft are retired. The acquisition of the holiday airline Condor fails.

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  Air Berlin announces 2012 entry into the airline alliance Oneworld to.

Hunold throws in the towel, Hartmut Mehdorn accepts. Another cost-cutting program is to improve the operating result by 200 million euros. 18 of the 170 machines are sold.

The Arab state airline Etihad increased its stake of just under 3 to 29.2 per cent and supports the Airline with a 255-million-dollar loan. A new savings program starts. The sale of the frequent flyer program of major shareholder Etihad brings only temporary in the black again.

Wolfgang Prock-Schauer is Chief Executive Officer and exacerbates the by Mehdorn last year launched new savings program. Every tenth job is eliminated, the fleet will shrink to 142 machines. 400 million euros are to be saved until the end of 2014.

Air Berlin says the balance sheet template from surprising and moves them to weeks. The speculation about the future of the airline reached a climax. Finally, it is clear: Etihad pumping more money into the airline

In February Stefan Pichler takes over management of the ailing airline. He announces rapid remediation steps. “As of March it has to go blow for blow,” said Pichler.

If the airline in their capital base after years of losses gaping hole of 560 million euros, but need fresh funds, it is expected to be tight. “The turning point we have to deal with on its own,” said Pichler. “No one likes throwing bad money after good.”

The Arab airline Etihad bought in 2011 almost 30 percent of the shares of Air Berlin and holds the company since then with cash injections in the air. The Community flights of Air Berlin Etihad are competitors such as Lufthansa an eyesore. These so-called codeshare agreements should remain an isolated incident, a spokesman of the German Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt had declared in April

Born to Run around the world -. The CV of Stefan Pichler

• 1957: Stefan Pichler was born in Munich. His mother is a teacher, his father worked at the Patent Office

  Source:. Wirtschaftswoche online

• 1970: Pichler turns out to be talented runners. As a student he runs middle distance, then he moves to the obstacle course and finally on the long haul,

  1976:. After graduation Pichler starts a career as a professional cross-country skiers who him thanks to an extremely fast time during the marathon (2 hours twelve minutes) brings to the national team. About the 25-kilometer distance Pichler temporarily one of the five best in the world

  1980:. Pichler qualifies for the Olympic Games in Moscow. But his participation fails the boycott of the West after the invasion of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan.

• 1983 Pichler finished his running career and looking for a location. In the sporting goods industry Adidas Group CEO Herbert Hainer today he snapped a job away. Pichler goes instead as Head of Sports Promotions to competitor Nike.

• 1985 Pichler quits his job and studied law and economics in Augsburg. He makes 1989 a degree in economics.

• 1990: After a trainee program at Lufthansa, he goes for the airline to Paris. He starts as a marketing manager for France and also takes over the job in 1992 as a sales manager. 1993 Pichler is country manager for France and ensures significant growth

  1995:. Pichler switches to the Lufthansa headquarters in Frankfurt, initially as Head of Global Distribution Policy and from 1996 Head of Sales Germany. In 1997 he is Sales Director of the airline business. Under the motto “We match on any price”, he attacked the first budget airlines like Ryanair. To finance this, he expresses the distribution costs and does at the then central travel agencies unpopular because it is reducing the revenue to five percent, the sales commission from the usual nine percent. Internally Pichler is controversial because it rugged with his companions and in the favor of hard zufriedenzustellenden way its employees demotivated.

• 2000: Lufthansa CEO Jürgen Weber is impressed by Pichler’s successes and makes him the head of the travel group C & N in Oberursel. To combine the composite from the Lufthansa Urlaubsflieger Condor and the tour operator (Karstadt), Pichler grinds internal structures. His goal is from C & N to make a world-leading travel group, of up to luxury holidays all offers of cheap travel. These revenues are expected to rise because a continuous chain of distribution, flights, hotels and on-site support to utilize all the parts better.
  To better utilize the chain, Pichler will internationalize the business. But its planned acquisition, the British Thomson Travel Group, archrival Preussag snapped him off for his trip daughter Tui. Because Preussag CEO Michael Frenzel can act faster than Pichler, who only has to always ask its shareholders Lufthansa and Karstadt. Instead buys Pichler British Thomas Cook, Tui must repel competitive reasons. Shortly before Pichler has taken in France Havas Voyages

  2001:. Aborted after the end of the New Economy boom, by the growing number of online bargains and later the travel anxiety to the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 the demand for a tour operator. Instead of merging the Group, Pichler must launch an austerity program and wants to push the costs by about ten percent. Nevertheless, Thomas Cook writes in the 2001/2002 financial year the first loss

  2003:. Pichler is dismissed. Despite layoffs and the sale of aircraft, the loss doubled in the financial year 2002/2003 to more than 250 million euros. This cost him the support of its shareholders. In the workforce, he had already lost before, both through his daily work abruptness and by the abandonment of traditional brands such as Condor.

• 2004: Pichler leaves disappointed Germany. Because his employment contract for at least six months forbids him other jobs in the travel industry, it draws on the Seychelles and is training to become an instructor. Through the mediation of friends, he comes into contact with the British serial entrepreneur Richard Branson, of him as vice chairman to his Australian airline Virgin Blue Line (now Virgin Australia). Brings
  Pichler brings the line on price and raises the quality of service. Later he starts getting into long-haul business. The relaxed Australian style and the influence Branson can also Pichler little looser and more relaxed, report companions.

• 2009: After Virgin Blue has achieved a record operating margins of over 20 percent, but not as expected Pichler CEO is, it changes to Kuwait for budget airlines Jazeera Airways. He needs a new business model, because it prohibited the United Arab Emirates its hub in Dubai in order to make room for their own low cost airline Flydubai and their premium line Emirates.
  Pichler reduced Jazeera Airways strong and makes it the most profitable line of the region. Because he called to Dubai in a house on the Palm Jumeira first group of artificial islands attracts with his wife, he has close contacts in the local economy and also counts the emirate chief Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum for his friends.

• 2011: Already in 2011 and 2012 negotiated Pichler with Air Berlin over the top job. Etihad CEO James Hogan would like to hire him. But reportedly, the other directors are against it. You and especially Superintendent Hans-Joachim Körber and old boss Hunold prefer the former Vice Wolfgang Prock-Schauer. Supposedly because they unnecessarily radical conversions fear among Pichler.

• 2013: Following the success at Jazeera Pichler changes to the top post of the small governmental Fiji Airways, based in Nadi, on the archipelago’s largest airport. The rich supply of water and the quiet life with the airline with – according to website – more than twice as many board members as aircraft entice him. For this he and his Australian wife Leonie were supposedly the hot dry climate a little sorry.
  Pichler begins Fiji Airways rebuild and renounces all plans a return to Germany. “I’ll manage with security in the coming years, the airline here and then I’ll let it expire. I mean, I was more than 20 years as CEO and eventually have to be enough, “he explains in an interview.

• “36.5″

  2014: Probably because Pichler has more time, he comes more often now to Germany and is on events of his old employer Lufthansa . see As for Air Berlin, the figures are no better, says it supposedly Etihad CEO Hogan again in early summer on the top job at. In the summer, the situation at Air Berlin intensifies. The EU examines whether Etihad has a dominant influence, which could cost Air Berlin’s status as a European airline and the majority of international routes. At the same time wants federal Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt Air Berlin withdraw the right of Community flights with Etihad.
  Why change more and more members of the Air Berlin Board their opinions and eventually vote in October, according to insiders, the long reluctant members Körber and Hunold Pichler vocation , Pichler takes the choice to be happy. Opposite joys he suggests that in spite of all the natural pleasures of Fiji but lacks the cultural offerings in Europe and particularly in Berlin. “But it can also show in his home his quality as a restructuring now and this makes up for both the impression of his failure at Thomas Cook as well as its reputation as disgust, certainly has not bothered him,” said a companion.

  2015:. On February 1, Pichler is Air Berlin CEO

Pichler nevertheless expressed confidence that Community flights are still approved. He assumes that “you do not want to bear the responsibility in the federal government to destroy a company with 9,000 jobs and re-establish a monopoly in some areas”.

obtained by the codeshare agreements Air Berlin connections within Europe and of Germany in the United Arab Emirates flight number of Etihad. Air Berlin thus increasing aircraft utilization, while the major shareholder Etihad more destinations can offer the world.