Berlin Schönefeld Airport: Countdown

3 June 2012 - Save the date! (the airport will open)

It is actually closer than we can all grasp. While the residents and the airport company are still fighting at court about routes and noise protection, the "hard ware" improves daily and nearly totaly unnoticed since the court battles get all the media coverage.

What is left to do?

• The way from check-in counter to the bridges on the main and south pier facilitate treadmills, which are almost all already installed, not on the North pier. 
• The check-in is supposed to be ready by November 2011, also the security gates. 
• Test, tests and tests are being planned. From January on everything will be tested until May 2012, arrival, departure, security, the whole airport operations.
• Public transport. There will be an underground S-Bahn (city train) stop in the airport and a connection from the current station of Schönefeld (yes, it is an existing city, not just an airport) to the airport. They still have to close the gap between those two stations. 
• The tower is currently being equipped with the latest technology. Beginning of 2012 the controlers will move to the new 72 meter high tower.

Do you want to test the airport in Berlin? They are looking for 10,000 volunteers. As of today they seem to have found enough, but if you want to register for the waiting list, you can do it here (only in German).

Successful Protest Against Airport Noise?

The protests have been heard. Finally. But also one point is again very clear: somebody will be disturbed by the airport. But who? Will it again be an East-West discussion? The state of Brandenburg will re-plan the routes according to the SPD. This means actually nothing though German press is celebrating the stamina of the local residents. The citizens were demanding better protection against the noise and the court decided that they are eligible for soundproof windows and other protection measures.

Berlin Schönefeld Airport: Good-bye BBI, Welcome BER

Finally. The aiport opening is scheduled for 3 June 2012 and the baby got the right name: BBI. Probably for the last 5 years people have been asking why they are still calling the new Schönefeld airport BBI, since this IATA code is long gone. It is the name of the Indian airport of Bhubaneswar.

How many names does BER actually have? Which is the middle name? Let's see:

BBI Berlin Airport: No Hub For Lufthansa

Suprising news were published in May when Lufthansa said they would not invest into an expansion in Berlin; Frankfurt and Munich would be more than enough, but they would speak to their Star Alliance partners to fly to Berlin. In the past Lufthansa had said right the opposite. The new airport in Schönefeld, close to Berlin will open in June 2012. Last week the company had said that they want to "be more active in Berlin", but a decision would be taken in summer. What exactly does that now mean? More important: how will that influence the arrival and departure flight routes over the city. This is a subject that annoyed many Berliners that after many years of

Berlin: Backyard camping and indoor chalets for tourists

Where else would you find such a crazy idea, manifesting and screaming for success if not in Berlin? The neighbors of the most hip areas of Berlin are not that happy anymore with all those tourists that are invading their streets, making them feel like animals in a zoo. In trendy Neukölln, this might also become the case where the "Hüttenpalast" (hut palace) will open end of this month. The idea is so unique that you just want to go and have a look at it. At what?

Berlin: rents keep rising

Last year, the rents in Berlin have increased on average by 4.5 percent. In the two-year comparison, rents soared, up nearly ten percent higher. This is from the residential market report presented yesterday by the housing company, GSW and the consulting firm CB Richard Ellis (CBRE).

"The Berlin housing market is very attractive," concludes GSW-chief Thomas Zinner. The main reasons for rent increases are according to CBRE evaluator Michael Schlatterer the low construction activity in recent years and the significant increase in the number of households. According to the report on the Housing Market by IBB also published this week ,

Western Germany: "Not so known" locations produce higher yield

Institutional investors are traditionally looking for investments where the Germans earn their money: Munich, Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Cologne, Stuttgart.  What about the cities right next to those locations? The German managment magazine "Manager Magazin" published an interesting article yesterday (here in German o-version) in which they have a closer to look to where investors