German airline Air Berlin has shared that it intends its shares to begin trading from 5th May, on the Frankfurt stock exchange. (4/24/2006)

With the flotation of Air Berlin we are opening up new and attractive areas for potential growth. We have already reached high-levels of customer satisfaction and by extending our services we will be able to raise our performance even more,?said Joachim Hunold, chief executive officer, Air Berlin PLC.

In the first quarter of 2006, Air Berlin carried 8.5 per cent more passengers than over the same period in the previous year, excluding the extremely busy Easter period which did not fall in the first quarter. With 2,751,770 passengers, the number had increased by 214,721 compared with last year.

According to the share prospectus, Air Berlin hopes to reap about euro350 million (US$432 million) from the offering, with a net result of euro290 million (US$358 million) after commissions and expenses.

The shares in the company will be offered to retail and institutional investors for public subscription in Germany, and outside Germany in the form of private placements to institutional investors. After placement free float should exceed 50 percent. When the company is floated, Joachim Hunold will not divest any of his own holding and has undertaken not to do so, for a period of 18 months following the listing.

According to Bloomberg, the airline has hedged prices for 80 percent of its fuel needs this year, and is starting to secure contracts for 2007, Hunold said. The company is also conservatively?hedged against currency shifts, he reportedly said.

More than 50 percent of Air Berlin's stock will be traded after the IPO, Hunold said. The company doesn't have immediate plans to pay a dividend because first we want to have the money for expansion,?he reportedly said.