Air Berlin review - by Alex Orchard

22 May 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

STN- HAJ return. Very impressed. I believe that Air Berlin is one of only two carriers who fly out to HAJ direct (and even with Lufthansa the majority of the time you have to fly via FRA or MUN)? Check-in at STN was fast and efficient, boarding was on-time to pre-allocated seats on a half-full flight. Seemingly brand new A319 with leather seats- very impressed indeed. Courteous, friendly and smiling FAs where nothing was too much trouble. Was nice to see complimentary newspapers (albeit in German) available at boarding. A little shocked to receive complimentary sandwich and soft drinks on-board but this is where AB definitely excels over the other LCCs. Flight landed on-time in HAJ. Return journey - very quick check-in, boarded late and as a result took off about 30 mins late. Crew very efficient in minimising delay any further once on board. Not so new B737-800 but still clean and comfortable, especially on such a short flight (1hr). Complimentary sandwich and soft drinks given out on as well as the option to purchase alcohol and other snacks for very reasonable prices. Crew also managed a full service of the on-board shop in this short time too. Despite late departure at HAJ, landed at STN only 10 minutes late and Stansted is a breeze when you don't have any luggage so no real problems with delays. Fare was reasonable considering I only booked it a week or so in advance. All in all a fantastic airline. Will be flying on this route at least once a month from now on and will always use AB. It is cheaper than Lufthansa without all the hassle of going via other German cities. Well done Air Berlin- please don't stop this route!

Air Berlin review - by Michael Stephens

8 May 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

STN to Tegel Berlin. Frankly, having flown with them since 1998, I do not know why this airline is classed among the "low-cost" - certainly not the service, which is well up to BA standard, nor the aircraft, which are very much younger than BA's fleet. Departures on time, food and drink good, cabin crew pleasant.

Air Berlin review - by K Hansen

24 April 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

Copenhagen to Mallorca. Excellent flight, good service and free sandwich and non-alcoholic drinks. You don’t get this from any other airline flying between Denmark and Spain these days. SAS, Iberia, Sterling and Spanair are all charging for this. It’s a pleasure being onboard a plane, getting the basics free-of-charge and if you would like more substantial food, you can always buy a dish. It felt almost like SAS five-ten years ago. Our national carrier has gone really bad when it comes to inflight services, and I would prefer to fly Air Berlin anytime. Up there with Lufthansa in my opinion!

Air Berlin review - by Kate Evans

15 April 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

Alicante to Cologne. Easy check in and nice FA's . Gave free sandwiches and drinks. I was surprised as was expecting more of an easyjet experience. Aircraft clean and in good shape - even had decent entertainment. I don't know how they do it for 79 euro!!

Air Berlin review - by Jeffrey Miller

12 April 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

FRA to ZRH. I had to get a quick connection to Zurich. Discovered Air Berlin on the internet and booked my flight. Surprisingly pleasant flight - left on time, efficient in-flight service with a light snack (sandwich) and drink (for a short flight). Very nice for the price. I would definitely travel with AB again!

Air Berlin review - by Brian Smith

10 April 2007   Customer Trip Rating : n/a

STN-TXL return. Was forced to buy a brand new ticket after weather in ORD delayed me in catching my flight to LHR on AA. BA refused to allow me to take the first flight available when I arrived into the UK even though I had a ticket with them. Last minute flight was EUR234 on Air Berlin which required me taking the tube into London and then the Stansted Express to Stansted from Liverpool Street. Check in at STN quick - within 10 minutes. Wonderfully set up airport - much better than LHR. Flight on a relatively new A320 - comfortable seats and inflight entertainment. Crew friendly and distributed cheese or ham rolls. A novel idea from an American used to bare bones service on American based airlines. Arrived into TXL 15 minutes early due to good tailwinds. Return on an old 737-300 converted from Deutsche BA. Delayed leaving, no reason given. Left approximately 30 minutes late - arrived on time. Flight crew friendly and snack provided. No entertainment at all. Was very impressed with Air Berlin and will fly them again if price is right and going to a central airport.

Air Berlin review - by Tim Short
29 March 2007

Berlin Tegel-Zurich. No queue at Berlin (never is at this tiny efficient airport); flight left on time on semingly brand new A320. New style slim seats comfy for a short flight and spotless cabin. Surprised to get free roll and soft drinks, their buy-booze is reasonable too at €2 for a beer. Very pleasant crew, amusing comments from the flight deck (we weren't sure he knew where he was going) and announcements in German and English which was appreciated, but a surprise. So much better than Ryanair or Easy Jet.

Air Berlin review - by L George
20 March 2007

Belfast Harbour to Stansted. Long queue for check-in, (20 minutes) but pleasant staff. Waited in departure lounge until a few minutes after scheduled departure time, once the flight was called everyone was speedily boarded and we eventually took off 30 minutes late. Aircraft was clean, legroom was OK for a short journey, small TV monitors throughout the aircraft which showed usual international style - no language skills necessary type TV. Headphones available for 2 Euro. Flight was very quick (less than 1 hour) and in that time the very good and very efficient flight attendants served a sandwich (free), a hot drink (also free) and sold tickets for the Stansted Express. Flight deck crew made several announcements before and after take off and apologised for the delay. Would definitely fly Air Berlin again if they had a direct flight and the price was competitive. Arrived into Stanstaed approximately 10 minutes late.

Air Berlin review - by Christopher McCaw
20 March 2007

BHD-STN-LEJ-STN-BHD. Excellent service from Air Berlin. Friendly and attentive cabin crew, clean aircraft and complementary food and drink. It's great to have a flight like this from Belfast, where you don't have to collect bags in Stansted and then check them in again for the flight to Leipzig. On my return journey the flight from Leipzig to Stansted was delayed by an hour, and yet the flight from Stansted to Belfast waited for me!!!! Air Berlin delayed the flight from STN to BHD by an hour for me!! That's what I call service.

Air Berlin review - by Stewart McKane
9 March 2007

STN-PMI-BCN and return. Whilst the service is typically German, that is by no means a bad thing. Polite and efficient, food was of good quality and served promptly (including on the 30 minute PMI to BCN hop!). Staff were on hand at all locations to help get you on your way - a blessing at PMI. In fact, on both legs, my onward flight from PMI was held by about 10 minutes, and still arrived on time. The pilots explained that this was due to waiting for ground handlers to confirm that all connecting passengers' baggage had been loaded - first time I've seen that! Incredible price for the standard of service I received.

Air Berlin review - by C Barkei
19 February 2007

Have flown Air Berlin on a regular basis over the last 4 years from STA to TXL and NUE and also to VIE. (about 15 flights in total). I have used them as an individual passenger and also as a group leader booking up to 20 passengers. On every occasion they have been polite, helpful and friendly, offering an excellent service comparable at least to BA with true flexibility and value for money fares. Delays have been very rare indeed.

Air Berlin review - by Philippa Mizen
13 February 2007

Once again a very good flight from Stansted to Palma and return. Flight out on time and by no means full. Our return was just over an hour late but due to the fact that Stansted had been closed for a while on the previous day due to snow that was acceptable. Once again not full. Air Berlin are our favourite airline and extremely good value for money.

Air Berlin review - by Christoffer Madsen
9 February 2007

BGY-TGL-CPH-TGL-BGY. 3 out of 4 flights were operated by DBA but inflight service was great nonetheless. Free rolls and beverages on flights between Bergamo and Berlin on an ancient Fokker 100 with plenty of legroom, while we had snacks and beverages on the flights (Boeing 737) from Berlin to Copenhagen. None of the flights were on time, however, and staff members were not very informative about delays and changes. Considering that I was flying in a peak period and that the ticket price was around €100 I still consider AB a great value for money product and will not hesitate to fly with them again.

Air Berlin review - by Faye Courtney
29 January 2007

I was extremely impressed with Air Berlin and was pleasantly surprised to receive such good quality service from a low-cost airline. There were no queues at check-in at all and we were dealt with quickly and very efficiently. Having assigned seats meant that there was no undignified squabble to choose your seats (like you get with Ryanair) and we even got free soft drinks and a sandwich. The flight actually left early (London-Vienna) and was punctual coming back too. The plane looked new and the seats were comfortable, the staff were all friendly and professional.

Air Berlin review - by Chris Seal
29 January 2007

STN-TXL. This week we found a useful, but little advertised fact. At Stansted (and Zurich I think) Gold and Silver card holders can now use the Fast Track through security control. Air Berlin staff don't offer this as a matter of course (Air Berlin have to pay for this service) so you have to ask for it, having found the detail in the depths of their website and printed it off as proof!). You also, of course, get a dedicated check-in desk which makes the silver card well worth it (you can buy one if you don't travel that often with them). The flight itself was up to Air Berlin's usual standards; we were late but that wasn't Air Berlin's fault.

Air Berlin review - by Paul Wilmot
12 January 2007

Stansted-Vienna return. No queues at the airport, even though it was the weekend before Christmas, and friendly ground service. Booked extra- legroom seats, which were well worth the cost. Flight was almost full, but uneventful, and cabin service efficient, as one expects from this airline. We will certainly use Air Berlin (NIKI) again, and agree with a previous comment below - it is a shame they do not run more routes from Stansted.

Air Berlin review - by Jakob Madsen
27 December 2006

CPH-DUS return. It's really cheap, but the planes were nice and the food was good! I was surprised there even was food! The return flight was delayed so I missed my train in Copenhagen. I wrote an email to the airline and after a few weeks I got a refund of the cost of the new train ticket. Nice and hassle-free customer service!

Air Berlin review - by Frank Hickon
20 December 2006

London STN to Düsseldorf (DUS) and also Berlin to Amsterdam. Slight but tolerable delays of 15 minutes for both flight but above all - no nonsense good service. There isn't much difference to a full fare airline. Seating is normal and pre-allocated, normal soft drinks and some sandwich is provided free of charge so no rip off tricks applied. Airplane was clean, no problem with checkin, though waiting time at checkin was slightly longer than for a normal full fare flight, but still way better than charter flights or bad airlines, so in the end quite ok. All just as it should be. Price was 29 EUR per direction, booked 3 months in advance. Thats outstanding performance for the price.

Air Berlin review - by Robbie Barrigan
10 December 2006

STN-TXL-STN: Again 10 out of 10 for Air Berlin, it is such a joy to travel with this airline. F100 aircraft both ways, so comfortable and spacious and the crew friendly and attentive as always. Seat allocation, free snack and soft drinks and very reasonable fares. I hope they will put more routes out of Stansted.

Air Berlin review - by D Mulholland
10 December 2006

Return flight from London Stansted to Berlin. What a civilised way to travel, no Q's at check-in either way, allocated seating, smart and friendly staff, free snacks and soft drinks and all at the price that compares to Ryanair, but without the mayhem and general rudeness you encounter with that particular lot. The aircraft was clean, comfortable and had plenty of legroom. On a similar trip last year using Ryanair, check-in was chaotic as was boarding (bordering on dangerous on return from Berlin).

Air Berlin review - by John Hughes
7 December 2006

I just returned from a return flight to Dussledorf from Glasgow, via Stansted. It's quite relaxing really, and all my four flights were not full, so I had a row of seats to myself each time (though this makes me worry about the service's sustainability at such a price). On the return through Stansted, they have improved the security situation, compared to earlier this year when I ended up coming back through the main security check, thus contributing to a flight delay on the connection. Now there is a shortcut through passport and a dedicated security check for the connecting flights. Everything was on time, if not early, so well done.

Air Berlin  review - by Jason Shutt
3 December 2006

Just recently flew to Belfast from Stansted, then back again 4 days later. The flight out was on time, comfortable and complimentary food set it completely aside from the competition in low cost airlines. The aircraft on this occasion was a very old Fokker 100, you could tell inside how old it was, but nonetheless, a relaxing short flight with pleasant crew. The flight back was a new 737-700, much more presentable with equal service, on time. The allocated seating works better as its never a dangerous rush up the ladders or down the jetty to grab the best seats. Easyjet and Ryanair should take a leaf out of Air Berlin because where possible, its Air Berlin for me. Well done.

Air Berlin review - by Sandra Collyns
27 November 2006

Stansted to Glasgow on a B737 700. I was very pleased with the service. The flight was on time, a full service is offered and the cabin crew are very efficient, if not friendly. They are by far the best airline offering this route. The only strange thing is that the inflight magazine was all in German - on a British domestic route, i would expect at least a small section in English.

Air Berlin review - by Terry Yong
5 November 2006

Rome to Muenster. Feels just like a full-service even though the prices are budget. Offered newspapers, magazines (all german and italian though) and sweets during boarding. Crew gave out either a ham or cheese sandwich inflight, with free coffee, tea or juice. I had a coffee and orange juice. Service by the crew was decent but not outstanding. Inflight entertainment was also available. Before landing, kitkat chocolate bars were handed out. Truely a superb LCC airline!!

Air Berlin review - by Gethin Morgan
1 November 2006

Stanstead to Nureemberg and back. First time with this airline, but certainly not the last. Friendly and nice crew, leg room great plus a much needed and nice ham or cheese roll and coffee free.

Air Berlin review - by Pierre Knoblauch
1 November 2006

I have used Air-Berlin now several times and its great! Very friendly service, excellent comfort! I would recommend Air-Berlin to anyone who wants cheap fares + comfort!

Air Berlin review - by Chris Ilsley
27 October 2006

I have used Air Berlin several times on the Stansted-Berlin route. It is incomparably better than any of the other low cost airlines; indeed there is no indication, other than the truly low cost, that it is anything other than a major player. Full marks must be awarded to Air Berlin's cabin staff who act in a totally professional manner unlike their pleasant, but embarassingly gauche, Easyjet/Ryanair counterparts.

Air Berlin review - by Philippa Mizen
19 October 2006

Our third trip from Stansted to Palma with Air Berlin. Once again a very good flight - slightly delayed on the outbound leg due to a family getting caught up in the security queue. 30 minute delay on inbound due to late arrival of plane but arrived at stansted only 20 minutes late. The plane both ways was not full so made for a comfortable journey. This is a superb airline who treats its customers like human beings. Keep up the good work!

Air Berlin review - by Greg Carpenter
17 October 2006

Over the past year, I have flown the London Stansted - Berlin TXL route regularly, and consistently experienced above average level of service. On each flight, a choice of snacks was provided free, in-flight newspapers (including English-language papers on every other flight) were handed out. The staff were friendly and attentive (never mind the strong German accent of their flight attendants). Delays are less frequent than with most other budget carriers in Europe; the fact that seats are assigned (and a choice of preferred seating is offered) aso limits the kind of group dynamics that makes travel with other leading European low-cost carriers such a hassle.

Air Berlin review - by M Sheldon
10 October 2006

MAN-STN. I was very disappointed. Flight delayed by around 20mins with no apology or reason for the late departure. The plane was filthy and it had not been cleaned at all. I'm only around 5'7 and the seat pitch on this aircraft was very tight. It's interesting how Air Berlin is operating a lot more internal UK services but when I picked up their in- flight magazine, I noticed that it was only in German. Maybe I was unlucky on this occasion, but for me once is enough.

Air Berlin review - by Alexander Montgomery
25 September 2006

Zurich-Frankfurt. I only needed a one-way ticket, with other airlines, it's cheaper to book a return flight. No such silly games with Air Berlin. You need one-way, you pay one way, without a surcharge. Flight time was 43 minutes in a new A320, the free magazines I picked up at the entrance would have already cost me 10% of what I paid for the ticket. Were offered a tasty sandwich and a choice of non-alcoholic beverages for free. It's a shame that AB won't be flying this route anymore in the future, using Swiss is comparably a very bleak alternative, with 85% less miles and 100% less service.

Air Berlin review - by Micha Frickenhaus
24 September 2006

Duesseldorf to Copenhagen. I don't know why, but for some reason, I had been trying to avoid Air Berlin in the past, maybe because they're mainly a tourist airline flying to sunny destinations in the mediterranean region, but this time, I couldn't resist the temptation of paying a mere 29 euros to get to the Danish capital - and I was very surprised, included them in the list of my favourite airlines right away! Friendly staff, they were smiling and joking even at 5 o'clock in the morning, free in-flight snacks and magazines, clean and comfortable aircrafts, nothing to complain about even though I was really trying to find something - I will be flying them again!

Air Berlin review - by Paul Stevenson
16 September 2006

Stansted to Nuremburg Boeing 737-800 - returning on an A320 that looked new. A very good airline with basic, but adequate complimentary food and drink. Seats pre-allocated, free German newspapers and inflight entertainment - better than I expected. They don't feel like a low fares carrier! I just hope their cost base allows them to compete with the other major low fares carriers in the long term.

Air Berlin review - by Phil Carter
8 September 2006

STN-VIE-STN. Very friendly and helpful check in staff both ways, and very pleasant aircrew on both sectors, who were very keen to offer more than one drink with the very fresh cheese/ham rolls on offer. Plane was 40 mins late leaving Stansted which was not too bad. Return flight was 2 hrs late and I was surprised how badly it was handled by Air Berlin - from previous experiences with them I expected more. No announcement was made regarding the delay, the screen displaying the flight at the departure gate just went blank and stayed that way! No one was available at the departure gate to ask and other staff just said it wasn't their aircraft so didn't know. Eventually the flight came back up at 'delayed 1.5 hrs' and a man appeared who cheerfully told us that they hadn't really got a clue as to the real delay time they'd just put up a time to keep us happy! After 2 hrs, staff arrived to board us, not one apology or explanation offered. About 10 minutes from landing the pilot made a very brief apology for being so late. As Air Berlin have always been excellent before I'll ignore this blip but it should not happen.

Air Berlin review - by Eric Charlton
6 September 2006

Vienna to Düsseldorf . Very good impression. Friendly efficient onboard personnel, punctual take off, perfect landing, palatable free onboard snack and very comfortable roomy leather bound seat. That was my first Air Berlin flight and if this is typical of their standard I shall certainly use them again.

Air Berlin review - by Chris Seal
6 September 2006

Stn-Txl-Stn Check-in easy. Didn't need to use my silver card to get straight to check-in. For some reason, Air Berlin now fly from the second terminal which means that if you have a Priority Pass card and use the business lounge you have to leave the lounge with plenty of time to get to the gate. You also have to rely on the lounge staff to keep you informed on the details of your flight. However, once on board there are no problems at all. Both sectors were fine with efficient staff. it will be interesting to see what changes with their takeover of dba.

Air Berlin review - by David Sherwell
22 August 2006

Manchester-Hamburg-Vienna return. I cannot see any reason for travelling with a higher fare airline. Good check-in. Sweets and newspaper on boarding (not necessary, but a nice touch). Sandwiches were fine and better that KLM's cheap flight offerings. Modern fleet and excellent flight record (no fatalities to date!) give a feeling of safety. Legroom fine and in-flight service was more than adequate. An aborted takeoff on the return leg was scary but well handled and the staff and airline uncompromising in getting us back quickly. This was my second flight with Air Berlin and they are now my first choice, displacing KLM. (Flight experiences with KLM, Ryanair, EasyJet, BA).

Air Berlin review - by A Colman
22 August 2006

Palma Mallorca to Stansted 12.8.06. In view of the reported chaos in the UK post the recent anti-terror raids we fully expected a nightmare - instead we had closer to a dream return trip, departing and arriving within minutes of 'on-time'. The cabin crew were polite and efficient, the information and handling staff at Palma were truly excellent, and having used Air berlin for the first time on this family holiday I would have no hesitation in booking with them again.

Air Berlin review - by Hans Clahsen
12 August 2006

CPH-DUS and return. Base fare 1 Euro + add ons. Flight time exactly one hour but was served candy, newspaper, tasty sandwich and drinks, all free. Why can't an airline like this reside in the United States? Never seen such a great service as I experienced on these short two flights. Lufthansa, send your crews to Air Berlin for training.

Air Berlin review - by David Rodriguez
3 August 2006

BCN-HAM-BCN. It's the second time I use Air Berlin. I got this return flight for just €58. The flight was on time, in a new Airbus 320. We were offered a sandwich, drinks and magazines for free. In addition, there was the possibility to upgrade to a Do& Co meal (Hong Kong Noodles in our case) for €9. I think the idea is quite good, but maybe it's slightly overpriced, taking into account that if you take the upgrade you don't take the sandwich. Out of this point, the price quality ratio deserves a 10 out of 10. It's amazing that call themselves a low-cost airline offers more value than most venerable airlines. Now I understand why Iberia (one of the worst nightmares you can imagine) has had to discontinue flights to HAM from BCN: Air Berlin outperforms it in every dimension. Last but not least! Although I purchased the tickets in a promotion, I have been awarded 1000 miles per journey.