AIR BERLIN review : 7 May 2008 : by Jack Bond

Customer Rating : 5/5

London Stansted - Dusseldorf return. Exceptionally efficient service, polite staff both at Stansted and Dusseldorf at the check-in desks and air crew. Very reasonable cost, comfy seats free non- alcoholic drinks. Time span from arrival to reclaim luggage both ways was the fastest I've experienced.

Air Berlin review - by J Scott

5 May 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

BCN-TXL-BCN. The enormous advantage from our point of view was/is the direct flight without passing through the main Palma hub which Air Berlin uses for most flights to/from the Iberian Peninsula. For those of us still old-fashioned enough to try to cut down on take offs and landings, not to mention "sections in the middle", this is a major factor. Both flight were extremely timeous and the crew were efficient and polite. The price was very competitive indeed (as we took advantage of a 2-for-1 ticket offer in February) and included a fairly hefty snack with free non-alcoholic drinks. The single down side, which I had not noticed on my only previous Air Berlin flight out of BCN, was the complete absence of either Catalan or Castillian language announcements on the flight. Perhaps, on reflection, my perceptions of "mono"-lingualism being confined to UK carriers is unfair.

Air Berlin review - by Prabhat Saraswat

15 April 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

DUS-CPH return. An early morning flight, very comfortable seats, and nice breakfast , all that for a dirt cheap price. The crew was friendly and there were no delays whatsoever at both legs of the journey. The planes had very nice interiors with a superb inflight entertainment system.

Air Berlin review - by M Peters

9 March 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

STR-DUS-STR. Very short and efficient domestic flight. Brand-new airbus aircraft (very comfortable leather seats, good legroom, overhead screens). Check-in and boarding a breeze, flight took only 40 min. Crew friendly and served free, warm German-style Pretzel rolls and free cold and hot drinks - even beer + wine was for free - and all this for just €29 one way! I would definitely fly Air Berlin again!

Air Berlin review - by J Jackson

7 March 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

AMS-PMI. Flight on time, spacious seating, free sandwich, but spectacular hot meal (pre-order through website) and extremely nice staff. I dont quite get the hub thing at Palma Airport, where Air Berlin flights continue on to other destinations, on such short european flights I would think that flying non stop on another airline would save you a lot of time, but looking at the airport, a lot of passengers were actually connecting.

Air Berlin review - by S Gaudicheau

19 February 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

DUS-MUC-DUS and DUS-STN-DUS the same week and what a joy to fly with Air Berlin. Flights left on time even with the fog covering Dusseldorf area last Thursday. We arrived ahead of schedule in STN. FA friendly, sandwiches always appreciated. There is no better way to fly LCC within# Europe to my mind.

Air Berlin review - by H Dyson

13 January 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

Travelled over Christmas from UK to Germany and back, carrying dialysis equipment. Very pleased with booking in of medical equipment and handling thereof (this extra, fragile, weight travelled free and arrived safely). Comfortable seats with television option - would use again - especially as price was very good, booking 2-3 months in advance.

Air Berlin review - by L Poruschi

9 January 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

Low Cost ticket of 50 euros from Rome to Berlin. Great service. Free sandwiches, non- alcoholic drinks, newspapers and magazines in Englisf and German. FAs and Captain talked about the flight giving info of where we were, etc. They served chocolate on boarding and fortune cookies on leaving the plane (it was 31st of Dec). The food menu is great, I actually was tempted to purchase a - but it was breakfast time so I could only get breakfast food, which still sounded good, but was not what I wanted. They had in-flight entertainment (hidden camera and cartoons). Was very pleased with the service and the looks of the plane, especially since the previous flight with the BluAir (Romanian low cost) company was pretty dissapointing ~ awful and costed a bit more for about the same distance.

Air Berlin review - by R Berridge

20 December 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

Manchester to Paderborn in a 737 800 which provided more than adequate comfort. In flight service was great with a complementary sandwich, drinks and sweets. Also provided papers and magazines in german although I think I saw English papers too. Lots of info from crew and pilot. I am fortunate that I can book well in advance which provided me with two return tickets for less than £140 including all taxes and fuel surcharges. I have read lots of criticism about the 20kg luggage allowance. I thought this was generous and even got away with a couple of KG over on the return leg. What more can you ask for apart from maybe more routes as I will be using Air Berlin wherever possible.

Air Berlin review - by Sandra Collyns

20 December 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

Gothenburg city - Berlin Tegel - London Stansted. The fare was not toocheap at about 70 euros, but a lot cheaper than Ryanair or SAS who fly direct on the route. Firstly, i love gothenburg city airport as it is closer to Gothenburg than Landvetter airport and small and easy. Both flights left and departed on time, on B737 700's with a spacious cabin and comfortable leather seats. Full service was offered - a sandwich, hot drink and cold drink (even though both sectors were only about 1 hour) - which i was impressed with. I also thought that the IFE was great, as were all the cabin crew - even though those on the leg from Berlin to London looked quite tired. My only complaint was the transfer at Tegel airport, which I didn't like at all. Firstly it was a 3 hour connection time, which was too long. In Gothenburg City airport they told me i'd have to get the boarding pass for the trip to stansted in berlin but that i wouldn't have to check in again. I arrived into terminal C, where the flight connections desk was closed, and i was then told at the information desk to go to the one in terminal A, where my flight was leaving from. After queuing at the information desk at Terminal A, i was told that i had to check in to get my boarding pass - which i wasn't pleased about. Also, i don't like terminal A, where once through security, there are no shops or anything. Overall - the flights were pleasant, but i was unhappy with the flight connections after such a smooth one in Nuremburg a few months ago.

Air Berlin review - by P Gardner

7 December 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

STN-NUE-STN. Air Berlin have got it right low fares and a small level of cabin service. Was very surprised that there was even IFE offered on both flights. Overall I can find no faults with the services offered by the airline or its handling agents in Stansted or Nuremberg. The cabin crew where polite and where chatty during the flight.

Air Berlin review - by R Tavares

4 December 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

Faro-Palma-Zurich and back. Not as cheap as Ryanair or other low costs, true, but the service you get is worth the bit more you spend with Air Berlin. The connection flights at Palma work very well. I guess they have a good luggage handling in Palma cause never lost a bag. Flights smooth, good legroom, comfortable seats, good IFE considering flight time. Free drinks and a tasty and generous sandwich in PMI-ZRH-PMI route, and free drinks and snacks in the FAO-PMI-FAO route. Polite and friendly flight attendants, and captain keeping us updated during the flight. What else would you want?

Air Berlin review - by Bjoern Kukutz

27 November 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

Berlin TXL to BCN one way. Never used this airline before and was pleasantly surprised, especially when comparing with other LCC. Check-in and boarding was speedy at their designated Terminal C. A320 looking nice. IFE okay with intermittent flight status, but no personal screens. Was given free drinks and coffee, even a sandwich. Departed and arrived on time in BCN. Although very young girls consisted the majority working on this flight, overall crew impression was very professional and organised. Great product for the price paid. Will use AB again and much prefer them over EZY and Ryanair etc!

Air Berlin review - by Kim Krister

23 November 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

Helsinki-Palma via Berlin and Palma-Barcelona. Internet check-in was available at 6pm the day before departure. Seat reservation allowed us to have seats from first row and second row for all flights. Staff at HEL and PMI check-in desks were friendly and efficient, no queuing. Flight to PMI by A320 which was new, clean and comfortable. Surprisingly good legroom. Last leg to BCN (after week stopover at Mallorca) by B737-700 which was bit older but still had good legroom. Good service by FA´s with smile. German/ English spoken. Refreshments, snack, newspaper and inflight entertainment were free. They managed even to serve bottle of solid water and cookies for short 30min flight to BCN. All flights were on time. At PMI our luggage came after 3min wait. Overall this travel was better than we expected, this is reliable carrier and we will fly with them again.

Air Berlin review - by Michael Little

9 November 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

Düsseldorf - Stansted return. Quick check-in at Düsseldorf. As I was returning the same day with no luggage I got my return boarding pass too, which saved a bit of hassle on the return journey. Efficient boarding process in both directions, and both flights arrived 15-20 minutes early. The inflight service of a snack and drinks is appreciated, but on such a short leg the crew don´t have much time to smile! Languages German and English. Overall I would recommend Air-Berlin on this route. A word of warning about website bookings -- the day before the date you have chosen appears at the top of the screen, then the day you chose (in bolder type). Make sure you are not booking for the day before you want to fly!

Air Berlin review - by Melanie Baldwin

3 November 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

London Stansted to Tegel Berlin. Departed on time both out and on return. Free drink and sandwich offered both times. The price that I paid for my family was half the price offered by other low cost carriers, I hope that Air Berlin can keep this service going. I will certainly use them again.

Air Berlin review - by J Milne

3 November 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

What a shame the people of Belfast and Glasgow have lost such a great airline like Air Berlin. Food, drink, newspaper and sweets included in the price. A generous free 20kg baggage allowance was also included, as well as assigned seating at check-in. They didnt charge you for checking in either, like Ryanair at £2 per passenger each way! Air Berlin was great for connections too. If you were travelling with them to Stansted and again from Stansted to Germany your bags would go all the way through, and you get your onward boarding cards at Belfast/Glasgow. Now the people in Belfast City get Ryanair. Just the opposite in terms of service compared with Air Berlin. People just love low fares. For example ABs lowest one way fare to London was £24 including taxes. Ryanairs is £5 each way including taxes. A bit of a difference. Ryanair also have 4 flights a day compared to the 2 flights a day from AB. A days business can now be done in London. Just wish the service was as good as Air Berlin. The people of Manchester have benefited with AB as they can now fly direct to Germany instead of changing at Stansted.

Air Berlin review - by Ian Aitchison

28 October 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

Gothenberg City to Stansted via Berlin. First leg with new A319. Comfortable in new style recaro seats. Nice display on overhead screens showing position on map and also simulated position over google earth or similar. Second leg on older F100 but very nice leg room 34"+. Free bagel and soft drink, simple but just the job for short sectors such as these. Staff (in the air and on the ground) helpful, professional and friendly. Not the "bargain basement" cheapest flights but certainly top value for money.

Air Berlin review - by L Petersen

26 October 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

CPH-PMI and return. First time on Air Berlin, what a great experience. Perfect legroom, brand new Airbus A320, free sandwich and beverages and both flights were on time (return ticket 120 Euros). Hopefully this standard will be the future for more low-cost carriers - well done Air Berlin!!

Air Berlin review - by Sandra Collyns

26 October 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

Vienna-Nuremburg-Stansted for 40 euros - the cheapest flight I could find from Vienna to London. Vienna - Nuremburg a short flight of 50 minutes, but very friendly cabin crew offered sweets for take off, free newspapers, drinks and a sandwich. (I think the inflight service is much better than that offered by BA or Lufthansa.) The flight arrived on time. I had an extremely smooth connection in Nuremburg, where I got off the plane, went through passport control and straight back on the same plane. The onboard service was just as good on this flight, with the same friendly cabin crew. I arrived into Stansted on time and have nothing but praise for this excellent airline. My only complaint was that Vienna airport was horrible - very crowded and like a bus station with many people all queuing for a bus to their plane.

Air Berlin review - by J Salvá

17 October 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

Very good all round service and price. They give a free soft drink and a snack during the flight, even though mine was only about 1 hour long. Staff is polite at all times and very kind. Other airlines offer the same price but do not offer the same type of service.

Air Berlin review - by Michele Leitch

6 September 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

I use this airline from Belfast City to London Stansted. The crew are extremely efficient and friendly. The flight is only 55 minutes and they supply sandwiches and beverages on this route. I heard a rumour that Air Berlin are to pull out of Belfast City.

Air Berlin review - by F Weeren

28 August 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

I fly Air Berlin frequently, as do relatives on many inner-European routes. My experiences are always good, even though their baggage limits are extremely low. Nonetheless, even when overweight baggage charges are levied, they are reasonable and levied with apologies by an overly polite staff.Add to the fact that Air Berlin assigns seats, gives customers a free meal on every flight and manages to perform well without excuses just makes flying with them all the more enjoyable.

Air Berlin review - by Erik Jenner

15 August 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

I am flying this airline very often. TXL-VIE and VIE-TXL at the end of July was good. Only point to improve could be the language skills of the flight staff including the pilots. The English of the flight attendants could be difficult to understand by a non-english native speaker.

Air Berlin review - by Norbert Meyer

10 August 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

DUS-STN-BHD return. It was overall a pleasant flight not only because of the cheap fare Air Berlin is offering. They are serving free soft drinks and snacks on booth legs. Transfer in STN is efficient and fast. Separate immigration for Air Berlin passenger with transfer connections. They routed the baggage to the final destination without any problems. Staff with a smile on the face and very friendly. BHD to STN was fully booked and the crew even managed to serve everyone a drink and a snack. They have a frequent flyer program (even with such low fares) and after some european trips you are in the position to get free flights .

Air Berlin review - by Sandra Collyns

9 August 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

BHD-STN on a B737 700. The flight was 20 minutes late, but this didn't really matter. The aircraft was clean, cabin crew extremely friendly and efficient, and impressed by the inflight food. With these levels of service offered for such a cheap price, this is definitely the best airline flying from Belfast to London.

Air Berlin review - by Chris Roberts

2 August 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

STN-DUS return. Check-in quick and easy at STN, surprised by the pre- assigned seating (but happy!). Fokker 100 was small but comfortable, especially on the three seat side with no one in the middle seat. While I applaud the effort to serve a wide variety of hot and cold beverages plus a snack on such a short flight, it was disappointing to be in the three rows they skipped because of time constraints. Maybe a smaller list of drinks (juice, water, coffee?) and no sandwich on a 50 minute flight. Return from DUS: Check-in again quick and easy. B737-800 and very comfortable (most middle seats open). The cabin crew served everyone and I was quite impressed by their efforts. Downside to this flight: no landing cards distributed in flight. I would go back to Air Berlin in a heartbeat, but would appreciate it if they would do better with delays (at least say something to the passengers!)

Air Berlin review - by Richard Buckley

27 July 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

DUS-STN-MAN. I can endorse all the plaudits for this LCC airline, especially the free in-flight snacks and general professionalism. They even have a printed timetable. Both flights were punctual or early. When I booked the trip DUS-MAN I did not realise it involved a change at STN on to what is a domestic leg. The procedure at STN is farcical. You arrive at a remote gate, walk/shuttle to the main teminal for passport control, then back to the remote gate to an adjacent aircraft (or the same one if your destination is Glasgow). Then at MAN you get bussed round the houses to a strange door which bypasses passport control. Weird. The flights were fine, but let down by the STN hassle.

Air Berlin review - by Murat Odabasi

15 July 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

TXL-GSE-TSL. Very good price although I bought the ticket only two weeks in advance. Clean and new A319-A320 planes. Free sandwich, beverage, newspapers, and in-flight magazine. Ground and cabin crew very smooth and friendly. No delays. For a low-cost carrier, I think this is as good as it can get.

Air Berlin review - by David Allan

15 July 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

TXL-VIE return - faultless both ways. Newish 737-800 aircraft on both sectors, efficient and friendly service, great 3-D 'flight map' show on drop-down video screens, nice sandwiches and drinks served at no cost, detailed commentary from flight deck. All for a bargain price too.

Air Berlin review - by P Whitaker

19 June 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

Stansted to Dusseldorf. The flight, all in, cost me £85.00 return. As the last poster states, this is how flying used to be. Flights on time and to the actual destination (not miles away!). Check in very friendly and efficient, plane spotless, complimentary newspapers sweets, non alcoholic drinks and a perfectly adequate sandwich during the short flight. This is the second time I have flown Air Berlin, both times it has been a very enjoyable experience. It wouldn't do Ryanair any harm to take a few Air Berlin flights to see how low cost air travel can be done properly.

Air Berlin review - by Eileen Holland

14 June 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

Stansted to Belfast return. This is flying as it used to be. Outward a 737-700, return new Airbus, both spotless. Free tea or coffee, newspaper, sweet and snack all served with a smile and civility. Low cost carriers such as Ryanair please note. This was a very enjoyable experience. It is a pity AB don't fly to any other destinations I visit regularly. When I have a choice from now on it will be Air Berlin.

Air Berlin review - by J Milne

11 June 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

Flew ab between bhd-stn. Very impressed with the service. Its sets itself apart from the other lccs. No baggage charges, no seat charges and a free newspaper, sweets and a choice of crisps or a croissant and a soft drink included in the fare. These little frills make flying less painless and more enjoyable. Staff were friendly and professional. Captain kept us well up to date on our progress. Well done ab. Keep up the good work. Hopefully other lccs will follow. I just wish they flew to lhr or lgw, as stn is very far from central London!

Air Berlin review - by Rob Borzillo

28 May 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

FCO-TXL-FCO. Booked the flight for only 58 euros roundtrip! Departed about 45 minutes late, but arrived about 30 minutes behind schedule. Flight was operated by a former DBA 737-300. Air Berlin colors on outside, but inside DBA colors and signs. Complimentary sandwiches and drinks. Comfy seats with good pitch. On return flight from TXL, flight was fine with a 737-800. A bit tighter of a pitch, but entertained with Mr Bean playing overhead. Food served again which was great. I do not like the waiting area for flight out of TXL. I felt very cramped with a full 738 of people in a tight area. Air Berlin is highly recommended.

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