In the wake of the refurbishment of its Business Class - now equipped with new 'FullFlat' seats - completed last spring, Air Berlin is embarking on a new seduction operation aimed at business customers. On 11 August, the airline made official the launch of the "airberlin exquisite" offer: a new "auction" system which allows passengers to make a bid in the hope of being upgraded at a lower cost, after checking the eligibility of their flight. "Customers can decide how much they are prepared to pay, and then a decision is made from the bids as to who will be upgraded to Business Class," explains Jacob Fischer, Vice President Distribution at Airberlin. Although still unprecedented on the German market, this auction-based upgrade system has already been tried out by other airlines, including El Al, Air New Zealand and, more recently, Cathay Pacific.
