Air Berlin

Copenhagen to Berlin and Berlin to Paris 28 May and return 5 June Paris to Berlin and Berlin to Copenhagen. Sceptical as the tickets were relatively cheap. Surprised by the excellent service: all flights were clean and well maintained we got a free drink snacks free newspapers and the leg space was reasonable. While leaving the flight we got Air Berlin chocolates from staff with a smile. Staff were kind. Overall I had a very nice and experience and would travel them again.

AB gets the short haul service right. Both the outbound and the return flight (same day) on time clean well maintained 737s. Generous newspaper/magazine offer in the boarding area at TXL somewhat less generous at DUS. Efficient and friendly on board service with a choice of a sweet (candy bar) or a salty (small bag of sesame saltines) miniature snack and a drinks run they are always gladly serving both a hot and a cold drink wine and beer included at no charge. The friendly and obviously motivated staff a big plus. Legroom scarce but not a big issue on 45 minute flights. Absolutely my choice again for the next intra-German flight if the fare is right.

New York to Dusseldorf Koln to Berlin Munich to Dusseldorf and Dusseldorf to New York in the last 2 weeks. Flights were late which seems out of character for a German airline but landed on time. The seats are extremely close together. I'm 6'4" (194 cm) and could not sit with my legs forward at all and could not stretch them under the seat either. For the longer flights the entire 8 hour flights my knees and shins were pressed into some part of the seats in front of me. I was on the aisle so every time someone passed by me they bumped my knee shoulder or foot impossible to even relax much less sleep. I'm not overweight at all but these seats could only be comfortable for children. To make it all worse on the trans-oceanic flights the pilots seemed to find every segment of turbulence over the North Atlantic. I think we were bouncing around for at least 50% of the trip. Air Berlin: good prices bad passenger experience.

Dusseldorf-Berlin-St Petersburg. We checked in easily at the machine. At bag drop our Russian visas were very carefully checked. Boarding smooth for the first flight and our bulkhead seats on the A321 had plenty of legroom. A drink and a very bready pastry were served. Crew were efficient and the plane operated on time. Bussed to the terminal at Tegel. The boarding of the flight to St Petersburg was poor. Although there are dedicated gates for flights to Russia there is no signage or information to indicate that before reporting to the gate you have to have your Russian visa checked (again) at a desk labelled simply "Air Berlin service". To enter the departure lounge you have to pass through passport control. As we could see that the lounge had no toilets and not having been informed about the need to have our visa checked again we and many others decided not to go into the lounge until just before boarding time. At that time we were directed to join a long queue where a single employee was slowly checking visas. All the while Air Berlin announcements were telling people to board the plane immediately as it was about to depart! The whole mess could be avoided by clear signage and information. Once on board the A320 the seating and basic lunch were fine for a 2.5 hr flight - although loud chatter and giggling among crew in the galley during descent was a bit unprofessional. Again we were bussed to the terminal.

When we booked the return flight from Europe on Air Berlin as a part of our round trip booking through American Airlines we were told that the Air Berlin flight from Berlin on business class would have lie flat seats (not true and the seats sere very uncomfortable). We were told that the connecting Air Berlin flight in Berlin would not require that we go through security again (not true). The food and service in business class were very poor. The cabin was hot and the attendants either could not adjust the temperature or did not pursuant to our request. The Air Berlin website cannot be negotiated to see the seat layout and select seats hence we had to rely on the Air Berlin representative telephone conversations as to location of seats. Our seats were changed 3 times without any notice. Sound quality of the entertainment system is very poor. The information regarding status of the flight and time of arrival on the entertainment system was grossly inaccurate.

CPH-DUS CGN-LPA in April 2013. Flights on time decent service with a snack and non-alcoholic beverage CPH-DUS. CGN-LPA a filling sandwich served with same beverages as above. Both flights were good service efficient but a little mechanic. Air Berlin-chocolates given upon disembarkation of each flight. All in all a decent product in today's aviation market.

LHR to Phuket. We were worried about travelling with this airline following the reviews on here however our flight to Phuket was on time and food and in flight entertainment was ok. So far so good. Our return journey was a different story. We arrived at Phuket airport to be told we couldn't check in as the AirBerlin plane hadn't arrived or even set off for us. Various options were thrown around including another night in Phuket returning on the next Airberlin flight. After being left in the dark for some time we were then booked on to a Qatar airlines flight which first flew to Kuala Lumpur then to Qatar where we then boarded a flight to Heathrow. In total we were delayed by 8 hours. The manner in which we were left in the dark at Phuket was very worrying and it seems from the reviews below that this is not rare for this airline.

ZRH to TXL to MIA. First leg in Economy Class (Air Berlin does not offer Business Class on short haul). Flight on time friendly Crew and nice snack. Second flight in Business Class. Crew friendly greeted passengers by name. Seat not fully flat but angled cradle style but had a good sleep. Entertainment AVOD however no current blockbusters selection of films rather poor. Meals just okay everything is on the tray (starter cheese dessert) except the hot meal which was served seperately. Why don't they serve the cheese and the dessert not separately as they used to? Arrival in Miami a few minutes late immigration took 40 minutes Air Berlin staff in the baggage reclaim area assisting passengers.

MIA-DUS Seat 22 A+C. Check-in hectic but quick boarding slow typical for USA. Seat small and very uncomfortable with little leg room a no go for a 9.5 hr flight. Service sloppy. Drinks ok. The only good thing was the price cheap as this airline has now become. Next time I will use another airline.

Travelled from Abu Dhabi to Phuket on 28th April. After reading the comments on here before my trip I was very apprehensive about the flight but the service was good food was good too. The only problem was the leg room which was a bit uncomfortable but I would certainly do this flight again.