Air Berlin Virtual? And some other subject related questions

[Daniel Ugander 1116693]

There isn't a lot of information about this virtual institution on the internet. And that's bugging me. I found out that it for whatever reason had to close. Apparently the real Air Berlin airline had contacted them.

 

Does this mean that there isn't a current one, and that it'll never be an Air Berlin Virtual airline on Vatsim again? If that's the case, then it really, if you don't mind me saying, sucks.

 

I recently bought the PMDG NGX 737 and representing Air Berlin would have been really nice.

 

I'd like to represent a British or (most likely) a German airline. I'm a Swede, but I'd love to fly in those well-crowded airspaces, over my own. However, I find it quite hard to find an airline operating in the UK flying the B737NG aircraft. In Germany, the only airline I'm aware of operating with B737NG is Air Berlin. Lufthansa doesn't seem to operate them. British airways loves their buses for the short and medium distances routes, and Boeing for the long ones. Yes, I'm aware of the fact that BAW has ordered a few A380s.

 

So, I guess my question is if Air Berlin Virtual really is down, and if there is any other airline in the German and the British area that I could fancy.

[Semir Gebran]

Chances are that if you can't google AirBerlin VA, it's not there. I can tell you that some real world airlines have a serious ( weird ) PR issue with their online fans.

 

As far as I know Thomson operates the NG in the UK, you can also consider Ryanair, it's not British but flies a lot in the UK. As for Germany TUIFly, XL Airways Germany and Sky Airlines operate the NG. Whether those have VA's is something you have to find out on your own I'm afraid

 

/Semir

Edited January 21, 2012 at 04:49 PM by Guest

[Marc Wheeler]

There have been a bunch of VAs that were forced to closed, because of real-world airlines. JetBlue and WestJet are two that come to mind but there are others.

 

If anyone is going to start a VA based on a real-world airline, get permission first (and this can take some time). Don't let your hard work go to waste!

[Daniel Ugander 1116693]

Chances are that if you can't google AirBerlin VA, it's not there. I can tell you that some real worl airline have a serious ( weird ) PR issues with their online fans.

 

As far as I know Thomson operates the NG in the UK, you can also consider Ryanair, it's not British but flies a lot in the UK. As for Germany TUIFly, XL Airways Germany and Sky Airlines operate the NG. Whether those have VA's is something you have to find out on your own I'm afraid

 

/Semir

 

I'll have a look at them, thank you .

 

There have been a bunch of VAs that were forced to closed, because of real-world airlines. JetBlue and WestJet are two that come to mind but there are others.

 

If anyone is going to start a VA based on a real-world airline, get permission first (and this can take some time). Don't let your hard work go to waste!

 

That's weird actually. What are they afraid of? I haven't seen any VA that had the intention on trying to sell tickets to people. However, if one of them have done that, I'm quite positive I'd have heard of it . Cheers!

[Ernesto Alvarez 818262]

is Air Berlin a budget carrier?

 

budget carrier's seem to be the ones that are more likely to shut you down without permission, especially on our side of the pond. JetBlue is notorius for it.

 

the big carriers are more approachable. no guarantee theyll give the ok, but a few have

 

That's weird actually. What are they afraid of?

 

Copyright and trademark protection usually. rules regarding those can change from country to country

[Semir Gebran]

is Air Berlin a budget carrier?

 

Yes it's budget, but a higher cl[Mod - Happy Thoughts] ( and prices ) than Ryanair and possibly EasyJet. They also operate long haul flights with an A330

 

/Semir

[Semir Gebran]

That's weird actually. What are they afraid of? I haven't seen any VA that had the intention on trying to sell tickets to people. However, if one of them have done that, I'm quite positive I'd have heard of it . Cheers!

 

It's called bad PR and lack of understanding on part of the management, you must understand that those people most probably know nothing about our hobby.

 

I gave this VA issue a thought before actually starting my own, and I think fictional VA's have more benefits if done right for the sheer flexibility and lack of legal problems because at any given moment, even if the VA is permitted to use the brand, you may face a demand to close so essentially this makes you a slave in some sense.

 

/Semir

[Johnathon Neilsen 955672]

Or another option is to open a VA the simulates the real world airline, but doesnt portray its logos or name anywhere, a good example would be Simulated B6, (JetBlue) or SimCOA etc...