First, James Hogan's Etihad bought an equity stake in Air Berlin, a oneworld member.
Air Berlin is also joining the oneworld alliance based around British Airways and American Airlines.
Once he is a full member he can rightly ask after the loyalties of Qantas and Air Berlin.
"We would regret it very deeply if Air Berlin left Oneworld, " says Ashby.
First prize: free tickets on budget carrier Air Berlin PLC, which had expected to make Brandenburg its new, expanded hub.
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Air Berlin had originally placed a 25 unit order in 2007, which it later reduced to 15 units and reaffirmed.
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Companies like Air Berlin, Germany's second biggest carrier, have been severely affected by the delays and are suing for lost revenues.
Etihad has stakes in Air Seychelles, Air Berlin, Virgin Australia and Aer Lingus, with these partner airlines contributing 19% of passenger revenues.
On Tuesday, Air Berlin announced an order for 15 Dreamliners, noting the 787 is the right plane for them in the long run.
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It has partnerships with Air Berlin, Air Seychelles and Virgin Australia, but also signed codeshare deals this quarter with Aer Lingus and China Eastern Airlines.
How on earth can a oneworld Air Berlin do a strategic tie up with the leading carrier in a rival airline and keep its loyalty to oneworld?
Like Air Berlin, Norwegian, the fourth-largest budget carrier, is spreading its wings by offering longer flights to the Middle East and north Africa encroaching further into traditional airlines' territory.
Perhaps the most dramatic example of changes in the market is Air Berlin, which has swallowed several smaller carriers to emerge as Germany's second airline and the third-biggest budget carrier in Europe.
Air Berlin, Germany's second largest carrier after Lufthansa, has only been a member of Oneworld since March last year and if it were ever to leave, the alliance wouldn't let it go quietly.
Boeing is still waiting for approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on potential fixes to begin test-flying the 787, but it continues to receive orders for the Dreamliner, with Air Berlin announcing an order for 15 units on Tuesday.
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In 1940, the British Air Force dropped its first bombs on Berlin in an overnight raid.
The heroes of the blockade turned out to be Bevin, President Truman and Clay, the American proconsul who created the airlift which succeeded in supplying Berlin in the face of a belief within the Pentagon that Berlin could not be sustained by air.
This is my father, when he was a young Air Force captain, flying cargo planes during the Berlin Airlift.
At one end of the spectrum the archly alternative, quintessentially Berlin venue of Kater Holzig played host to the Tech Open Air festival.
When I was in Berlin in the autumn of 1989, change was in the air.
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From his presidential life, highlights include a section of the Berlin Wall presented by the people of Germany and a walk inside Air Force One -- one of Clotworthy's favorite experiences.
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