Relocating to Berlin: Getting There

Berlin is a surprisingly difficult city to fly to.  I know this because today I booked the final flight to Berlin for me, my wife, my daughter, and our cat. 

The main thing that makes Berlin difficult to fly to is that it has really crappy airports that can't handle large intercontinental aircraft.  They have been building a massive international airport that would live up to Berlin's status as a major world capital since 2006.  It was originally supposed to have opened in 2010.  Because of a wide burning swath of engineering and bureaucratic incompetence, Berlin Brandenburg Willy Brandt  International Airport will be lucky if it opens some time in 2014.  In the meantime, Berlin is left with two ancient airports, Tegel (opened in 1948 for the Berlin Airlift) and Schönefeld (opened in 1934) that together struggle to keep up with the demands of European travelers - never mind intercontinental travelers.  The most typical way of getting to Berlin from the United States is to fly to a major European hub city (London, Paris, Frankfurt, Brussels, Copenhagen, etc.), and then to fly a small or medium sized commuter plane into Berlin.

I will be flying between my present home in Washington, DC and my future home in Berlin twice in July.  The first flight was originally going through Moscow.  That is approximately 1,140 miles out of my way.  Fortunately, I was able to find a flight through Brussels, which is more or less between my origin and my destination.  The second flight had a few more interesting options.  The first option was to fly from Washington to Istanbul, Turkey, and then on to Berlin.  That is approximately 1,370 miles out of my way.  The second option was to go through Copenhagen, Denmark, which is only a stone's throw from Berlin.  Things were looking better.

The final option, and the one that I chose, was that rarest of rarities: a direct non-stop flight from the United States to Berlin - albeit on a relatively small plane flying at the furthest extent of its operational range. 

"Why Peter, it's a miracle!"  I hear you saying.  And indeed you would be right, if it weren't for one thing.

This rare direct non-stop flight to Berlin leaves out of Newark Liberty International Airport.

Newark Liberty International Airport and I have something of a history.  Twice in my life, I have completely given up on flying and have rented a car instead to get to my destination.  The first time was when I was threatened with being snowed into Milwaukee's General Mitchell International Airport, and so I drove to Chicago's O'Hare International Airport in order to get home.  The second time was on a return trip from Berlin that had the misfortune of stopping in Newark on the way to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 

An interesting thing they don't tell you about Newark's airport when you schedule flights through there is that only the truly lucky leave from there within a day or two of their originally scheduled departure time.  As I understand it, this is because the airlines have scheduled their arrivals and departures so densely that if a flight somehow misses its slot to take off, it has to go to the end of a very long and always increasing queue of other planes that have also missed their takeoff slots.  Of course, arriving planes can't circle the airport forever, so they receive priority for any open slots that may appear over departing planes.  On this particular layover in Newark from Berlin to Pittsburgh, we sat through more than half a dozen delays that added up to more than six hours, before we finally gave up and drove the rest of the way.

And so, despite my previous blood oath to avoid Newark at any cost, our final trip from the United States leaves from there.  I suppose there must be some sort of perverse poetry in that.