airberlin is focussing on positioning Düsseldorf as its hub for North America

airberlin is making a big push at Düsseldorf International Airport through growth in its trans-Atlantic network with a new twice weekly service to Las Vegas McCarran International Airport. Germany's second largest carrier is also elevating its seasonal route to Los Angeles International Airport to a year-round service and increasing frequencies to Miami International Airport to six times per week in winter 2012. The expansion of airberlin's services to North America from Düsseldorf intensifies competition with the carrier's arch rival Lufthansa, which also operates a hub at Germany's third largest airport, but has limited ambition to develop its long-haul network there.

Lufthansa operates three hubs in the country and it concentrates the majority of its long-haul flying in Frankfurt and in Munich. It operates to 70 non-stop passenger destinations from Düsseldorf, of which only four are long-haul: Chicago O'Hare, Newark, Toronto Pearson and Miami International. The latter service is suspended in summer 2012, leaving it with just three intercontinental routes from the airport in summer 2012.