Air Berlin Plc reported group earnings results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2013. The company has realised group revenue of EUR 791.9 million in the first quarter of 2013 as compared to EUR 812.9 million in the first quarter of 2012. Therefore, revenue decreased by only 2.6%, despite the 10.8% reduction in capacity. The operating loss (LBIT) amounts to EUR 188.4 million in the first quarter of the current year as compared to EUR 149.3 million in the prior year's quarter. Compared to the same quarter of the previous year, LBITDAR reduced from EUR 7.2 million to EUR 31.5 million. The financial loss amounted to EUR 25.0 million as compared to EUR 3.6 million in the previous year. Pre-tax loss in the first quarter of 2013 amounted to EUR 213.4 million after EUR 152.9 million in the same quarter of the previous year. The net loss of the first quarter of 2013 amounts to EUR 196.3 million after EUR 163.6 million in the first quarter of 2012. Basic and diluted loss per share amounts to EUR 1.68, compared with EUR 1.51 in the first quarter of 2012. Adjusted by turnaround charges and other extraordinary items, the first quarter LBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) of EUR 171.2 million is at the level of the previous year. For the same quarter last year, the company reported an LBIT of EUR 149.3 million, which would have been EUR 173.1 million without a one-time, positive earnings contribution from a sale of assets. In the first quarter, the company reduced net debt from EUR 770 million at the end of 2012 to EUR 728 million on 31st March 2013. The company confirmed the earnings target for 2013 and still expects to achieve a break-even result on an EBIT basis for the current year.

With the optimization of its route network and the focus on well-established routes, Air Berlin Plc was able to significantly increase capacity utilization in April 2013. The company was able to increase capacity utilization by 4.2% points to 84.01%, and welcomed 2,481,959 passengers on board for the month of April. Whereas in the context of its flight route optimization plan, airberlin reduced its available seat kilometers (ASK) by 13.8% to 4.37 billion, the revenue passenger kilometers (RPK) only decreased by 9.3% to 3.67 billion. For the January to April period of the year 2013, airberlin increased capacity utilization by 3.1% points in yearly comparison, to 85.13%, and welcomed a total of 8,401,009 passengers on board. The available seat kilometers totaled 15.52 billion and the revenue passenger kilometers amounted to 13.21 billion.

Air Berlin Plc and JatAirways have announced that they are planning a codeshare agreement, set to be implemented in the course of summer 2013. The new agreement is aimed at collaboration between the two airlines on selected routes within Europe and to the US. airberlin plans to place its code on JatAirways' flights between Germany and Belgrade and thus provide its guests with non-stop connection to the Serbian capital. In return JatAirways will place its JU code on flights across airberlin's extensive route network. Via the airberlin hubs in Berlin and Dusseldorf there are connections to Europe and the US, such as Chicago or New York.