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 ,

Berlin: Rents are going up twice as fast as consumer prices.

Berlin is facing a shortage in housing, consequently the rents are going up. What could be the solution? Again public construction? Wasn't it just a couple of years ago that the Senate demolished housing blocks? Now they could be used again. At least investors are happy. They can choose from a - sometimes long - list of applicants for a flat in the center of Berlin. What will happen to those living from welfare? Will they not find a place anymore? At least, this is sure, not in the center. 

In many other cities this is

Who will be affected by the future airport of Berlin (Schönefeld)?

Three times as many landings as before will be the scenario the residents around Schönefeld will have to adopt to. But also Berlin will notice it. The following graphic had been published by Berliner Morgenpost Online on 10 September 2010

On Monday, the German Air Traffic Control Commission (DFS) presented for the first time the future noise impact to the mayors of the municipalities bordering Schönefeld. Adjustments of the routes are still possible. The opening of the new airport is now scheduled for 3 June 2012. After the meeting, it is clear that the routes will be over the center of Berlin. This is new to most Berliners.

Berlin Insider Tip: Französisch-Buchholz

Properties in Berlin are becoming increasingly popular. On the northern outskirts of the capital French-Buchholz, part of Pankow, has become a popular residential area. Several thousand new homes in Berlin were created here, much of which are townhouses in looser construction, with spacious green areas with plenty of space for children.

French-Buchholz is also attractive due to

Berlin airport BBI is about to take off...

The new Berlin airport BBI is gathering pace. The magic deadline is 30 October 2011. Lufthansa, like others, is already preparing the big move. For them it is more than a new destination; Lufthansa plans to make Berlin its future hub. The new winter schedule reflects these plans: 3 new destination that until October 2011 will leave from Berlin-Tegel: Dubai, Miami, Mombasa.

Berlin: new resi project where once the Nazis surrendered and the KGB ruled

Berlin-Karlshorst was established in the late 19th century as garden-city of Berlin, in the North-East of the city. After the WW II it has long been the place only known for the unconditional surrender of the Deutsche Wehrmacht.

After that the KGB took the caserne as their HQ in Eastern Germany. When in 1994 the Russian Allies left Eastern Germany, the premises were partially converted into the German-Russian Museum.

German government still in Bonn. When will they move (and cut costs)?

The social democratic party (SPD) is claiming a final date when the rest of the government will move from Bonn to Berlin. It sounds impossible to understand why 20 years after the fall of the wall, in the 20th year of reunification there are as many civil servants and government employees in Berlin as in Bonn. Does the German population actually know? Apparently not. The subject came up when somebody in the Bundestag had a closer look on the list of government spending.

Berlin: Airport fees will be decisive for the success of new airport

According to Mr. Hunold, CEO of AirBerlin - Germany's Nr. 2 airline - the new airport BBI should not charge more than what they are paying now. A big increase would not be affordable for the airlines and Berlin would be the only location where AirBerlin is actually growing. He adds that the fees for airlines will directly influence the success of the multi-billion-euro investment.

The airport company offered the airlines to work together on the new fee structure. It is less a question of cost than of politics. The region itself still does not produce a big demand, but foreign tourists love Berlin and are the most important factor behind the growth of AirBerlin. The location of Berlin is for Hunold perfect when it comes to route air traffic from the South or the East and North-East.

Berlin: District fights with snowballs

Berlin is the capital of pacifists. Nowhere else so many people go on the street to show their opinion. But what is this here??? It is known that once per year Kreuzbergers and Friedrichhainers (actually one district, formerly east and west) meet on the Oberbaum bridge to through tomatos at each other. No wonder that they got new ideas during this long winter with massive snow.

This really interesting article can be read here: 

Schneeballschlacht: Kreuzberg vs Neukölln from Adrian Pohr on Vimeo.

Lufthansa: BBI airport will not be our new hub / Still no solution for private jets

After asking yesterday "What will happen to Tegel Airport" , I saw another press release on the matter today. The supporters of the new airport BBI (Berlin-Brandenburg-International in Schönefeld, great Berlin area) are dreaming of an international hub, but Lufthansa made it very clear yesterday morning during a breakfast meeting of the chamber of commerce: they are delighted to expand their business at the new airport, but do not even think about using BBI as a new hub. There would be already Frankfurt and Munich, two economically powerful cities where the investment produces a return. Lufthansa say that at the moment Berlin is quite far away from a similar position.

Berlin: What will happen to Tegel Aiport when BBI opens in 2011?

Berliners remember very well when end of 2008 the last plane departed from Tempelhof airport. The idea is to make the new international (and former Eastern-Berliner airport) Schönefeld the sole commercial airport of Berlin. Tegel is still open, but Schönefeld is scheduled already for October 2011. What then? Another airport closing without concept for the time after? Another Tempelhof-like disaster?

Real Estate Investments: Become A Provider Of The Poor

"Deka prediction: Yields continue falling, but rents won't rise before 2011"

This headline was in the press today. Now you would ask: how is that? How can yields fall, are prices rising? Well, yes. Actually this is a very bizarre moment. The prices are rising because people do not know what to do with their cash. Sounds like a luxury problem. But this is true for everybody. What will you do with, let's say, 25,000 EUR?