GERMANWINGS Passenger Reviews and Customer Trip Reports

GERMANWINGS customer review :  9 February 2010 by M Brown (UK)

Found the customer service centre staff awful. They failed to mention that there is an EUR 80 fee when using the call centre. When I called back to query this I was told to, 'take it or leave it' and hung up on. When I complained they denied everything and closed the complaint. To date I have not heard from them again. From previous experience the airline itself is great but the customer service and general attitude is more than bad, it is insulting. Germanwings problem is not what it does, but how it handles the ensuing complaints. Germanwings made me a very unhappy customer.

GERMANWINGS customer review :  29 January 2010 by L Mallon (Germany)

CGN-ZRH. Despite the sudden snowfall at their Cologne hub, Germanwings managed to keep their operations moving reasonably efficiently. Waiting PAX were kept informed, and when the delayed aircraft came in from Leipzig, it was turned around in less than 15 minutes. The aircraft seemed almost new, and was less than half full. Service pleasant, of the low cost variety, and snacks and drinks cost no more than they would in a Cologne café. Germanwings has recently offered Miles & More redemptions, making it a potentially interesting partner.

GERMANWINGS customer review :  23 January 2010 by J Ross (UK)

We had to postpone our flights due to illness. Called the airline (GBP0.25 per minute), was told I could not cancel but only postpone and that I needed to provide a new date (c EUR25 per route per person). I decided to call back with the dates but also noticed a further EUR80 charge. Called a second time, queried this with operator and was told, 'take it or leave it'. I informed the operator this was unacceptable language and was cut off! Called a third time, asked for the manager, put on hold, then spoke with the manager. Was told the charge applied to call centre fees and did not apply to online changes. As I could not get online I asked the manger to make the changes without the charge which they did. I asked for the second call to be investigated which they have not done. Germanwings are fine if you do not have any exceptions, otherwise you might as well fly BA - at least they are not so extremely rude and offensive.

GERMANWINGS customer review :  9 October 2009 by H Mutschler (Germany)

Cologne-Zurich-Cologne, used online-checkin on first leg, so we only needed the drop off bags at check in counter. Seats have limited legroom but OK. Newsmagazin (Focus) was for free. They charge EUR 10/piece if you need to check in baggage, but we paid by booking. Return flight, check in counter was opened 30 minutes late, but they ask you to be there 2h in advance if you have bags. No frill so nothing served unless you pay, as usually on low-cost. Would prefer TUIfly instead.

GERMANWINGS customer review : 19 September 2009 : by Claudia Stanzani

Customer Rating : 3/5

Bologna to Koln, and Munich to Bologna (via Koln). New planes. You pay for everything - for the luggage (€5.00 each luggage), internet transaction. Flight attendants ok. Airport attendant at Munich airport not very nice.

GERMANWINGS customer review : 22 July 2009 : by G Burns

Customer Rating : 5/5

DUB to CGN, first time flying with GermanWings. Friendly, efficient (and thus precisely punctual). GW allowed us to pool our 20kg/person checked-baggage limit across the five passengers on the reservation, so we didn't have to scramble to get one of the bags down from 22 to 20 kg. I also like that you can pay €20 in advance for a bag up to 30kg rather than get burned at the airport like Ryanair. Seat pitch a bit cramped, but that's standard for budget flights; it wasn't a long flight so I wasn't uncomfortable. Didn't seem possible fully to match the better bargains on Easyjet or Aer Lingus but price was still very good. Tip: Join "My German Wings" before you book a flight, or else, as one post noted, you can't check or change your booking on line.

GERMANWINGS customer review : 28 May 2009 : by A Suciu

Customer Rating : 4/5

Bucharest - Stuttgart return. A pleasant flight, enough space for the legs, kind stewards. Amazingly, ground GermanWings personnel helped us with the queue in front of Baneasa's Passport Control Office in order to urge departure in time. I was positively impressed. We had no delay on both flights. I'll definitely choose again German Wings for my next trip.

GERMANWINGS customer review : 22 January 2009 : by J Barbian

Customer Rating : 3/5

SXF-CGN-SXF. I agree with the comment below about "sharp practices". The booking page gives a "taxes and fees" quote that is quite nice, but if you should want a reserved seat, that will be €5.95 each way, sir. Oh, you want to pay with a credit card on the internet?. Well, we can do that, but it will be €9.52 extra (?). Still, it beat Air Berlin and the train by € 48 for a weekend trip, so I will take my chances. It's my first time flying a Euro discounter and expect only to be taken from A to B in safety, I guess

GERMANWINGS customer review : 21 January 2009 : by Soeren Krumrey

Customer Rating : 4/5

SXF-STR-SXF. Quite good for a budget airline with the usual negatives (boarding via bus and outdoor stairs in the freezing cold, drinks and meals cost extra, pretty tight seat pitch) but friendly and efficient service, fairly new planes, incredibly cheap airfares (we paid about 40 Euros return from Berlin to Stuttgart) and both flights on time. Nothing fancy but nothing too bad either.

GERMANWINGS customer review : 15 January 2009 : by Michael Koeller

Customer Rating : 4/5

I often use the MUC-DTM-MUC leg. Internet-booking is very easy and the prizes are unbeatable as I often manage to get a 40 € return-ticket. The flights are on time, the check-in very efficient. The planes are in a good shape (A319s) and most of the time very clean. Staff is most of the time pleasant and attentive. You even get a newspaper or a magazine (FOCUS) - quite remarkable for a no-frills airline. All in all always a good experience.

GERMANWINGS customer review : 7 November 2008 : by P Ohlsson

Customer Rating : 1/5

I have found the Germanwings Boomerang program a lie. It is not possible to book a bonus ticket. As soon as one tries to get into the bonus account, the answer from the system comes with a long delay. The longer, the more advanced one is in the actual booking. At the end one always gets a FEHLER on the page. I have tried plenty of times at different occasions from different computers running different OS and browsers. Always the same effect. The support phone number is also dead, as expected, even if they warn about .99Euro per minute.

GERMANWINGS customer review : 14 October 2008 : by P Gatineau

Customer Rating : 3/5

STR-LIS-STR. One of the longest Germanwings route from Stuttgart. To my surprise the seat pitch was good. I wonder whether Germanwings uses special aircraft (the old one) with less seats on these long routes. Outbound delayed by one hour. Return on time but had to wait 45 minutes for the bags. Polite crew and nice flight. Had reserved 9 months in advance so flight fare was acceptable but still far away from the discount prices advertised everywhere. Rating would have been better without delay (almost impossible with Germanwings).

GERMANWINGS customer review : 29 August 2008 : by Mark Evans

Customer Rating : 4/5

STN-CGN-STN. Looking forward to renewing my acquaintance with this favourite budget carrier after a gap of 3-4 years, my spirits sank on arrival at Stansted, as a throng of passengers for both this and the similarly-timed Stuttgart flight were milling around the check-in desk. Only one person was dealing with the two flights. This was down to the Swissport agency. A manageress from the latter belatedly assessed the unsatisfactory situation and a second check-in agent duly arrived, but it was a close-run thing for many passengers, and we were 20 minutes late pushing back. Once on board, the experience was good and I can again recommend the Happy Snack Plus offering, which is good value and quality at EUR6.50. Return flight was fine, albeit 40 minues late - excellent self-check-in arrangement at CGN.

GERMANWINGS customer review : 19 August 2008 : by Sam Holloway

Customer Rating : 4/5

STN-CGN-STN, first time with Germanwings. Some confusion when booking as the website kept reverting into German and it wasn't later possible to verify my booking online (so I phoned, and everything was quickly confirmed). Outward was no problem at all. Allocated seating stops the stupid free-for- all crush and instantly makes the whole thing better than Ryanair. Coming back, we arrived quite early and were told that the plane had been substituted for a smaller aircraft, hence they were looking for people to bump onto the Lufthansa LHR flight. That'd probably be better for some people, but we specifically needed to get back to STN. Fortunately they got enough people to change and we got checked through OK. However, no-one told most passengers that their seat reservations were no longer valid (it was a completely different seat layout!) and so there was some frustration on boarding. But overall, the service was good and the flights were on-time. We'll give them another try.

GERMANWINGS customer review : 19 June 2008 : by J Nandris

Customer Rating : 3/5

The last-minute addition of £13 for use of a "credit card" [it was a debit card] and some other fee, with no prior notice at the very last stage of the booking procedure, verges on sharp practice by German Wings. The public are not fools. The sudden switch to German towards the end of booking must also be inconvenient for those who do not speak it. These reviews raise many points - do GermanWings take note or act?

GERMANWINGS customer review : 29 April 2008 : by Michael Stocking

Customer Rating : 1/5

STN-CGN-STN. My second time on GermanWings. The first was marred by late departure caused by a public service strike in Germany - so not really their fault. However, trip back this second time was diabolical. Flight cancelled. No explanation. Lousy ground staff at Cologne. Bussed to Dusseldorf with 60 other passengers for Air Berlin. Arrived too late - no GermanWings staff around; Air Berlin refused to take responsibility. Passengers getting very angry; police starting to take an interest. To get home I had to buy a single on KLM via Amsterdam at a cost of 330 euros. Serves me right for trying a cut price, cut service airline again.

GERMANWINGS customer review : 29 April 2008 : by P Gatineau

Customer Rating : 3/5

STR-STN return. Another great flight with Germanwings. They do allocate seats now, so you can ensure already during check-in to seat together without having to rush for boarding. Staff friendly, as usual. Seats very cramped as usual ! Germanwings needs slim seats to improve the seat pitch. Long flights to Portugal or Turkey must be a nightmare ! Rating depending on the price paid. More than 300EUR return is not that cheap anymore.

GERMANWINGS customer review by Andy Bock

16 April 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

Getting too expensive and low value. We have used Germanwings frequently in the last months commuting between Warsaw and Cologne. We used them as there is no real alternative. Lufthansa leaves this route to their daughter company. The flights have never been on time. Check-in in Warsaw is a complete and utter disaster as there are long queues outside the terminal and the waiting hall is overcrowded (last summer emergency crews had to be called in to handle fainting travellers) and the luggage handling is catastrophic. Ground staff is unfriendly and their only comment is: these are our procedures. Check-in in Cologne is now all do-it-yourself and the counters are only there to check the weight and cash in as many additional fees as possible. Booking is riddled with additional fees and surcharges. I am now paying the same as when Lufthansa were servicing this route a few years ago. To avoid the credit card fee and to get a higher luggage allowance I took out the Germanwings credit card. Now I found out that with this card I have a new current account where I can't pay the balance automatically but need to check every day whether my credit card has caused a minus in an unwanted account. On a plus, the planes are in good condition and the staff are friendly.

GERMANWINGS customer review by P Wegener

2 April 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

STN-CGN-STN. Outbound took off on time, return was 15 minutes late. If you are over 6" in height, your knees are going to have difficulty finding space if both seats beside you are occupied. Airbuses were clean, leather seats, crew were fine. Food & bevergaes on offer were expensive. As a budget airline, there were no faults.

GERMANWINGS customer review by T Neuhaus

21 February 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

STN-STR return. Have flown this route quite a few times now. Very good for a low cost carrier. Cabin crew excellent on both flights. Bought a coffee and was offered two free re-fills during the 80 minute flight. Pilot very communicative. One of the few issues I have with Germanwings is that the seat pitch is pretty awful. Other than that they deliver good value for money.

GERMANWINGS customer review by Chris Peterson

30 January 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

HAM-LGW A320 aircraft had multiple broken seats that were used regardless. Steep excess baggage costs if you exceed the 20kg. No free food or drinks, no assigned seating. Paying via credit card cost me a hefty six euro fee.

GERMANWINGS customer review by Eduardo Räuchle

22 January 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

Germanwings is an airline I use very often, as my family lives in Madrid and I work and live in Stuttgart. They offer most economical rates between these two cities, and booking 2 months in advance can secure a real bargain. Check in in Stuttgart is a breeze, due to dedicated terminal checking in all Germanwings flights, whereas check in at Madrid is a nightmare, since there is only one person checking in the entire flight. Long queues form well before two hours before scheduled take off, which is when the check in counters open. Boarding has always been uneventful with this airline and in cabin service is professional and unobtrusive. Prices for on board catering are reasonable, especially when compared to other low cost carriers; on some occasions we were given free of charge smoothies at the end of the flight that would otherwise have to be disposed of as they were reaching their best-before-date. I have always found the cabin to be clean. Baggage allowance seems generous in comparison to other low cost carriers and on one occasion when I had to travel with two heavy suitcases, the lady at check in let me off paying 4 kg of one suitcase and was very apologetic about having to bill me for the other suitcase. Save for the queues in Madrid, I can only recommend this airline.

GERMANWINGS customer review by Andrija Matic

7 December 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

Zagreb - Cologne - Barcelona this December. All flights were on time. Transfer in CGN swift and pleasant. Aircraft clean with leather seats and great legroom. One of the most professional and courteous cabin crews I have experienced. Excellent ratio between quality and price. Will use them again.

GERMANWINGS customer review by Peter Schweizer

1 November 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

HAM-LGW-HAM operated by fairly new A-320 and both flights on time. Interior looked a bit tired but leather seats are a nice touch. Prices for food/drinks on board seem to be reasonable even though I did not purchase anything. Slept on both flights but only because I managed to secure exit row seats. Normal seat pitch seemed very tight but not worse than on other LCC. As I am not a fan of the open seating policy will not fly Germanwings until they allocate seats. You get what you pay for and and I would call these two flights standard/average LCC service.

GERMANWINGS customer review by Frank Vahaparan

4 July 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

Cologne - Sofia - Cologne. My first time with this Airline. The flight was operated by Nordic Airlines on an MD80. The aircraft looked a bit old, but had new Germanwings seats, so I think they bought Nordic Airlines. The crew was half Germanwings staff, and half swedish Nordic Airlines staff. Crew was friendly, but seats were a bit too close together. On the way back, there was a brand new A319. I think the flight was better that on any other LH economy class flight! The seats were very cosy and everything was clean. But the best on this flight was the crew. On of my friend had problems with his stomach and the flight attendant was so friendly, and asked all the time about his condition, and gave him water for free. Germanwings is right after Air Berlin my second favourite airline.

GERMANWINGS customer review by J Kinder

19 June 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

Stansted - Cologne - Stansted. The flights were great and the service so much more professional than some other low cost airlines in Europe. Both flights on time and on the STN - CGN flights we managed to get the emergency exit seats with lots of leg room in very comfy leather seats. The one thing I would like to be improved (as I would with all low cost airlines) is to allocate seat numbers. The gate agent at STN made a PA that they would board numbers 1 - 30 first, only for the other agent to say it was too late as she had already started boarding everyone. On the return was first come first served and then we were put on a bus so no real need/advantage to get there too early. From the airlines side I can see why they don't allocate seats, but as a passenger it would make the experience less stressful. Return flight a little late departing due to ATC but made up the time in the air. As had hand luggage only, we landed at STN at 19.30 and were in the car coming home at 19.40 - can't argue with that. All in all 2 very good flights at very cheap prices.

GERMANWINGS customer review by V Orliange

5 June 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

STR-STN and return. Aircraft very clean, leather seats confortable but pitch very tight. Boarding quite chaotic as everybody want to get the emergency exit row (myself included...). Seat pre-assignment would be then hepful. As usual some delay (especially on the evening flights). Overall a nice airline, rating then of course depending on the price paid.

GERMANWINGS customer review by Andrija Matic

31 May 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

Zagreb - Cologne return. Both flights were operated by brand new Airbus 319. Leather seats, comfortable legroom as well as professional and friendly flight attendants. Food and beverage prices onboard fair. Great value for money.

GERMANWINGS customer review by M Jonkman

28 May 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

CGN-SOF vv. Good flights in modern, clean planes with friendly and competent staff. No delays. Boarding by check-in sequence at Sofia Airport ('old' terminal 1) was a joke. Excellent value for money.

GERMANWINGS customer review by Marc Langenbein

19 May 2007   Customer Trip Rating : n/a

CGN-LIS; FAO-CGN in spring 2007: Both flights on A321, interior was looking slightly used, but airplanes were clean and stuff was friendly. I bought a small menu, sandwich was OK and the price was fair. CGN-LIS was a great fare, but the flights from/to FAO are still pretty expensive. Altogether a good journey on a fair price level.

GERMANWINGS customer review by Urszula Bielecka

18 January 2007   Customer Trip Rating : n/a

MAD-CGN and CGN-WAW - amazing experience on both flights. The cabin crew was very friendly and even stopped to talk to my group about were we are from and what brought us to CGN. The only problem I had was that flying out of CGN during boarding they didn't adhere to regular boarding procedures so even though my friends and I had low sequence numbers we were one of the last ones to board but due to some confusion among other passengers miraculously we were able to sit together. The food on board was reasonable priced and overall a pleasurable flight both ways. Will travel with the happily again if I ever go back to Germany.

GERMANWINGS customer review by Christopher Bainbridge
9 January 2007

Stansted-Stuttgart return. Normally fly Stansted-Friedrichshafen with Ryanair but decided to make use of Germanwing's much lower fares. Brand new planes (Airbus A319). Departure almost on time and very friendly cabin crew. Very young flight crew for both flights. Captain's announcements were friendly and informative, much better than BA and Ryanair. On-board prices very reasonable compared to the extortionate prices charged by Ryanair. Legroom better than on BA's Airbus A319's. Comfortable leather seats and very well cared for cabin. Boarding procedure organised and swift. Baggage was handled extremely fast and efficiently. All in all one of the best airlines I've flown with. Will definitely use Germanwings again.