Let's hope Air Berlin is sold soon, Sept 15 is a date that others have been mentioning as the auction date deadline. I have a ticket booked JFk-TXL-TLV for 10/22, returning 10/29. Since they are technically selling the flex fares online and they haven't officially cancelled the flights, they won't rebook anything when you call. The call center insists that the flight is scheduled as planned and if the flight is cancelled they will rebook on another airline. This is such a money grab on Air Berlin's part. They knew they wouldn't be able to fly these sale routes, but needed the cash. So they accept the bookings, and then string everyone along by not officially cancelling the routes until they are sold off, which makes it difficult to file a claim with insurance or credit card protection.
My guess is that Lufthansa would have to take over the existing bookings if they take over the long haul, but I can't imagine that they would keep the current Air Berlin schedule. Anyone have any luck in getting rebooked before the official announcement? The CSR seemed to indicate that they would rebook you and send an email with the new routing, but we'll see how that actually works out as Oneworld is unlikely to take any bookings if Lufthansa is taking over the long haul routes.