Few Avios, little tax – the new Stuttgart / Vienna to Abu Dhabi airberlin routes

If you are heading to the United States or the Middle East, airberlin is an excellent option.  You will minimise your taxes and, in some cases, the Avios spent.

I wrote a long overview of airberlin in this Avios Redemption University article.  I recommend that you take a look at it if you are not familiar with the airline.

The ‘sweet spot’ on airberlin in Berlin to Abu Dhabi.  Because this just falls under 3,000 miles, you only need 50,000 Avios return in Business Class and 25,000 Avios return in Economy.  Tax will be around £75.

All airberlin Business Class seats now have a flat bed.  On the Abu Dhabi route, you also benefit from a free chauffeur service in Berlin and Abu Dhabi as they are Etihad codeshare routes.

Note that Dusseldorf to Abu Dhabi is just over 3,000 miles.  An Avios redemption on this route is poorer value at 80,000 Avios return in Business and 40,000 return in Economy.

The new Stuttgart route

airberlin announced last week that it is launching Stuttgart to Abu Dhabi from December 1st.  There will be one flight per day.

Slighly oddly, it is using an Airbus A320 aircraft.  This is a single aisle short-haul aircraft.  It will be configured with 12 business class seats and 132 economy seats – this means, I imagine, that they are not treating it as a long-haul route.  You simply couldn’t get 12 flat bed seats and 132 economy seats into an A320.

At the time of writing, redemption seats were not loaded into ba.com.  Great Circle Mapper says that Stuttgart to Abu Dhabi is 2,967 miles.  This means that is should also fall into the ‘sweet spot’ of 50,000 Avios return in Business and 25,000 return in Economy.  If they are not running flat beds then the Berlin service will be far preferable.  If that is not available this would make a good value alternative.

The new Vienna route

airberlin has a sister airline in Austria called NIKI which was once owned by racing driver Niki Lauda. NIKI is launching an identical service to Abu Dhabi from Vienna which starts on November 1st.

Again, it will run daily and use an Airbus A320.

I have seen NIKI flights on ba.com before for Avios redemption although this route does not yet seem to be available.  At 2,637 miles it would fall clearly into the 25,000 / 50,000 Avios zone although I have no idea what sort of business class service NIKI offers.

What about Aer Lingus and Abu Dhabi?

I wonder when Aer Lingus is finally going to announce an Abu Dhabi route?  It is quite a while now since Etihad invested in the airline, and the only way that Etihad can make a decent return is to start funnelling long-haul passengers to Abu Dhabi.  The goal should be to persuade Irish passengers flying East not to fly to London for a BA connection.

With airberlin now offering services to Abu Dhabi from Berlin, Dusseldorf, Stuttgart and Vienna to supply transfer passengers to its major shareholder, it is odd that Aer Lingus is not doing the same.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2025)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

American Express Business Platinum

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.