Air Berlin has last shot at turnaround - CEO

BERLIN (Reuters) - Air Berlin has one last shot at turning itself around, its chief executive told a German newspaper, underlining the scale of the challenge facing Germany's second largest airline.

The budget airline, 29 percent owned by Abu Dhabi-based Etihad, has made operating losses in four of the last five years and changed its chief executive four times in the last three years as it seeks to stem losses and reduce debt.

"It's our last shot. We have to manage it now, there won't be a second chance," Stefan Pichler said in an interview with Sueddeutsche Zeitung published on Saturday.

The airline racked up heavy debts after an acquisition spree, and Pichler told the paper the takeovers hadn't been integrated enough into the company and that the airline needed to reduce costs further to compete with rivals such as Ryanair and easyJet .

Pichler, credited for turning around Fiji Airways before becoming CEO at Air Berlin in February, is reviewing the airline's routes and has introduced a new revenue management system to better match ticket prices to demand. Earlier this month he said the airline would reduce its fleet further. [ID:nL5N0Y321Z]

"It is possible to save the company. We don't have much time," he said.

Pichler, a straight-talking manager who encourages employees to email him directly with their ideas to improve the company's fortunes, said that while Air Berlin had burned money for years, he did not expect it to need fresh funding this year.

Air Berlin said in May it was aiming for a "noticeable" improvement in its results this year and to return to an operating profit in 2016.[ID:nL5N0Y311R]

Pichler also said it was too early to say whether or not Air Berlin would remain listed on the stock exchange while it underwent restructuring.

(Reporting by Victoria Bryan; editing by Clelia Oziel)