When I was working in Cologne as a Supervisor for Air Berlin on the UPS aircraft in 2014 we were informed that UPS did not extend the contract with Air Berlin. This was in September 2014 and they give 3 months notice. At that time Air Berlin had already financial difficulties and closed some stations and some flights to certain destinations. When this happened Air Berlin decided to close the station in Cologne.

UPS then awarded the contract to Nayak Aircraft Services. Many of us were offered a position with them and carry on with the UPS contact. Some of the AME were offered transfers to other Air Berlin stations in Germany. The contract with UPS will still continue till 31st December 2014. I was offered a position in the Engineering Department at three Air Berlin stations which included Munich, Dusseldorf and Berlin. This was in October 2014.

I went home and told Cornelia about it and showed her the letter. I could go to any of these Air Berlin Stations. I just need to notify them which one is my option. We then prayed about it and I had a dream one night and it was about a wall. The next morning I discuss it with Cornelia and said there was a wall in Berlin before. So I will accept the position in Berlin at the Air Berlin HQ. So I completed the paperwork and send it off. I also arranged to meet Stephan for a meeting and flew one morning to Berlin for the interview and returned the evening. I did this on one of my off days. I had my interview and Stephan offered me a position as a Systems Engineer in the Engineering Department. Stephan was the head of the Avionics Engineering Department. We completed all the documentation and he said I can start there on 02nd January 2015. I will get my appointment letter in the post.

The next step was to get a place and to arrange the move to Berlin. Air Berlin also offered me a payment for the move to Berlin. Accommodation in Berlin was on demand, very expensive and a big problem was parking. To go to work with the car was not an option. They offered me a card to park in a garage next to our offices. They can only accommodate a certain amount of cars and all the places were taken at 6:30 in the morning. There was a bus stop in front of the building.

We went three times to Berlin to look for accommodation. They were all during my off days. We had appointments with agencies that showed us some places but they were not suitable for us. On the last day we found a place which was empty. The landlord showed us two places next to each other. They were available and if we like it we can choose which one we will take. We like them and the looked at both and the decided to take the one. This was located in Tremmen which was about 50 km away from Berlin. Tremmen is a small village and there were only 700 people in this village. There was a train station nearby and then I will use the train and bus to go to work. I just need to use the car to get to the train station and back. Since the kitchen was incomplete the landlord offered to complete it and install a stove for us. We will be able to move in the middle of December 2014. We signed the contract with the landlord.

We were happy that we found some accommodation and returned home. Now the packing should start and we need to arrange for the move to Berlin. We were living in a house in Lohmar and decided to put it on the market and sell it. Several people were interested but we did not accept their offers. Then a man came and offered us the price which we wanted and sold it to him. We told him that he can move in on the 15th December 2014. He was happy and accepted it.

Since I still had vacation left for 2014 I decided to take my vacation from the 14th December to 31st December and this was granted. During this time we can move to Berlin. We could stay till the 14 December 2014. In the meantime our move to Berlin was also arranged for the 14th December 2014. They arrived on this day and started to load the truck for the move. My appointment letter also arrived on this day in the post. Just after midday they completed and then they drove off to Berlin. We then handed the keys over and left after we packed our car also full of items which we feel could damage in the truck. We arrived the evening late in a place when we booked a place for the night. Early the next morning we drove to our new apartment and waited for the landlord to get the keys for our place. Soon afterwards the landlord and the movers arrived there as well and started to offload the truck and moved things into the apartment.

We had time now to unpack all our things and move it into the positions and places. The move went smooth and nothing was broken. We had now time to relax and take it easy and explore the area. It was in the country side with some farms around and also some deer and other wild animals.

Then on 2nd January 2015 I drove to the station and went by train to Berlin and then by bus to the office in Tempelhof in Berlin. I moved into my office and met all the others. It was the first time that I was back in normal routine and working only Monday to Friday and dayshift only. For the last 12 years I was working permanent night shift in Cologne. My schedule was 6 days on and 4 days off. During these 12 years the shift pattern changed a few times but this one was the most acceptable one for the 16 aircraft which came in daily during this time. It just felt so good to have a job again during daytime. I just fitted perfectly in my new position and started to get familiar with all the tasks which were given to me. After the second week they decided what they expect from me and what I am responsible for on the Air Berlin Fleet. I had access to both Boeing and to the Airbus companies.

I loved my new position and my work in my office. This was my dream job which I was longing for so long. No more overtime and no more working on weekends. I met the Airbus representative and he came around frequently to help me to get familiar with the Airbus website and information. All glory and praise to God