NIKI takes to the skies in new livery

2012-11-21 — /travelprnews.com/ — The first NIKI Airbus A320 to feature the new livery will leave Istanbul bound for Vienna on 21 November. The new look brings the NIKI fleet closer to the rest of the airberlin fleet. But one thing is unchanged: the role played by “the spirit of NIKI” will be undiminished.

The NIKI Airbus A320 was given a new look as part of its C-Check – a statutory maintenance assessment and service carried out every two years. The aircraft now features the airberlin design, which is picked out with familiar, fresh elements for the NIKI livery. The entire NIKI fleet, which is owned by the airberlin group, will be revamped to bring it in line with the corporate design of the airberlin group, NIKI’s owner. The spirit of NIKI will continue to form a key element of the new logo, and give an assurance of premium Austrian quality and unrivalled service.

NIKI will continue to increase capacity throughout 2013. Airbus will become the sole provider of aircraft to the fleet next year. As a member of the airberlin group, NIKI has generated double-digit growth in recent years. This year passenger numbers are projected to be around the five million mark. In autumn 2011 Vienna was given the status of official hub for the airberlin group, allowing the airline to enhance its appeal as a transfer location for business and private travellers alike. This development represents a perfect fit for airberlin’s wider strategic goals: the group’s partnership with Etihad Airways and membership of theoneworld® alliance opens up a global network to its passengers.

“NIKI is now instantly recognisable as a member of the airberlin group. In addition to ensuring that all of the planes appear in a uniform livery, we will also be moving over to a single aircraft manufacturer. And this will give us an even more efficient base in Vienna. An Airbus-only fleet complements our strategy for the Vienna hub: in addition to our scheduled flights we are developing new destinations for tourists for the entire airberlin group,” explained airberlin Chief Commercial Officer Paul Gregorowitsch.

NIKI CEO Christian Lesjak continued: “The NIKI Airbus fleet plays a significant role within the wider airberlin group. All of the aircraft in the NIKI fleet can be used for scheduled or charter flights depending on demand. By using Airbus planes we will be able to increase our overall capacity next year without increasing the total number of aircraft – a welcome development, particularly given the highly challenging economic climate currently facing all European markets.”

NIKI offers a full service of scheduled flights from Vienna, Salzburg, Linz and Graz to all the main destinations throughout Europe, as well as optimal connections to onward flights via airberlin’s global network and the oneworld alliance.

In 2011 NIKI posted revenue of about EUR 452.6 million (m) and carried a total of some 4.5m passengers, making it the second-largest airline at Vienna International Airport. Through its parent company airberlin, NIKI has been in a position to offer its customers access to a constantly growing network, even greater flexibility and individual solutions after becoming an affiliate member of the oneworld® alliance on 20 March 2012. NIKI and airberlin’s excellent products and prices have allowed the airlines to claim market leadership on routes between Germany and Austria.

airberlin is one of the leading airlines in Europe and Germany’s second-largest carrier. The group flies to 170 destinations in 40 countries and employs 9,300 people. The award-winning airline carried more than 35 million passengers in 2011. airberlin’s strategic partnership with Etihad Airways and its membership of the oneworld® alliance gives it access to a global network. airberlin offers flights to destinations worldwide with 14 partner airlines under codeshare agreements. The 158 aircraft in the airberlin fleet have an average age of just five years, making it one of the youngest and most environmentally friendly fleets in the whole of Europe.

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