airberlin names new head of corporate communications

Uwe Berlinghoff, 54, will become airberlin’s Director Corporate Communications and thus the company’s official spokesperson on 1 January of next year. Mr. Berlinghoff will be reporting directly to airberlin CEO Joachim Hunold and will be replacing acting Director Corporate Communications Peter Hauptvogel, 69, who will retain his positions as adviser to the board and in-house editor in chief of airberlin magazine.

Mr. Berlinghoff is currently Adam Opel GmbH Director Government Relations and director of federal-capital representation affairs in Berlin; he has held these positions for the past eight years and in this capacity is Opel’s liaison with the German government. Prior to this, he served for six years as Opel’s Chief Communications Officer and for two years was in charge of electronic and interactive media for the company. The first position Mr. Berlinghoff held at Opel was Director of Public Rela- tions at the company’s Eisenach plant, which was established after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

After graduating from college with a degree in German literature and political science, Mr. Berlinghoff worked as a researcher at the European Parliament, before moving on to become spokesperson for the Hessian Ministry of Social Affairs.

airberlin CEO Joachim Hunold had this to say about Mr. Berlinghoff: “In Uwe Berlinghoff we are gaining a communication professional who has extensive experience in many spheres of politics and business.”
airberlin is Germany’s second largest airline. The company currently has over 8,700 employees. In 2009 alone airberlin received more than 10 awards for service and quality. The fleet, with NIKI, encompasses 169 aircraft with an average age of five years. Consequently airberlin operates one of the youngest fleets in Europe. The airline’s modern aircraft are extremely fuel-efficient and so provide a lasting contribution to the reduction of aviation emissions. airberlin is one of the major airlines in Europe and currently flies to 168 destinations in 40 countries (incl. NIKI). In 2009 the airline carried around 28 million passengers. airberlin has decided to join the global airline alliance oneworld®. Full membership is planned for the start of 2012. Since November 2010 airberlin has been operating codeshare flights with American Airlines and Finnair.

Press contact:
Peter Hauptvogel
Director Corporate Communications
Tel.: + 49 30 3434 1500
Fax: + 49 30 3434 1509
eMail: abpresse@airberlin.com