Discount airlines have shaken the once sacrosanct world of airlines in many parts of the world. New for me is the first setup of an discount airline alliance by Air Berlin and Niki. Air Berlin has been specialized on charter flight for several years, but morphed into Germany's second largest airline (and largest discount airline) shuttling 9.8 million passengers in 2003. Air Berlin now invested into Niki Lauda's new venture build from the ashes of bankrupt Aero Lloyd. Both airlines now provide code-sharing flights especially from Central& Western Europe to Southern Europe.