Air Berlin

MUC-HAM return. Both flights on time smiling cabin crew sufficient leg room. Onboard service a snack and all kinds of drinks. My preferred airline for domestic trips in Germany as they deliver a reliable service.

Barcelona to Dusseldorf. Very nice crew and friendly. We got a salami or cheese sandwich and 1 or 2 drinks. Very clean and modern airplane. Shared IFE screens throughout the cabin. Airbus A320. Arrived at Dusseldorf a few minutes ahead of schedule.

Dusseldorf to Vancouver and used Air Berlin because they have a non stop flight. Never have I been on an airline that has such abusive people and a system generated to swindle money out of passengers because of bags. They were rude and knew that when you get to the counter you have no choice but to accept any tactics they use to get money out of you for bags. They will try to charge you 150 Euros for the hand pieces you are carrying which are not overweight and in regulation size. There were at least 15 to 20 passengers who were experiencing the same thing. It was not just one employee who was doing this the passengers realized and were talking about it that employees of AirBerlin had an organized system of telephoning each other to pinpoint passengers that they could charge more from the check in counter to the cashier to the gate check in. Three people on the counter at the gate who were picked out for extra charges for hand pieces were yelling at them for not providing a receipt.

SFO-Dusseldorf-Barcelona. Service better than expected from a low cost carrier. Free international newspapers and magazines upon entering the aircraft. Hot meals with complimentary wine. Constant complimentary drink service throughout the flight. IFE was shared screen with headphones priced at 5 Euros. However a 10 hr flight on an A330 is the maximum one could take before the restrooms and cabin start to become uncomfortable and dirty. Connection at Dusseldorf was a bit confusing due to the on-going construction and limited passenger seating areas. Dusseldorf airport is a duty free shopping centre with passenger amenities as an afterthought. Dusseldorf to Barcelona on A320 was great. Again complimentary drinks and sandwiches. IFE was shared screen.

STR-HAM one way. Very pleasant flight no lines at check-in on time nice cabin crew one round of drinks with choice of cookies or crackers 737-700 clean and well prepared. Pitch between seats could be one or two inches more. Cheap fare since we booked 4 months in advance. Overall: very good!

Passenger cabin was ok legroom was enough for a small person. Cabin crew especially female FA's were not friendly and seemed irritated and annoyed. Service was not worth the price.

ZRH-TXL-CPH in Economy Class. All flights on time cabin service good (free drinks) and FA's had a positive attitude. Legroom could be better. I'm impressed they actually managed to get my transfer luggage to my destination given the connection time in TXL was only 25 mins.

DUS-MUC-MBA and return on A330 in their Business product. Excellent value for money and good service. Friendly flight attendants with a good sense of humour in Business both a bit older and probably because of that very professional. Seats good for C-Class on a holiday carrier. Great choice of meals and excellent quality.

Air Berlin changed our return flight for our honeymoon a few weeks beforehand so that we would miss our connection in Dusseldorf. Their only attempt to reconcile was to refund the ticket in full or give us 80 Euro off a hotel in Dusseldorf so we could catch a connection the next day. The former would cancel our honeymoon in its entirety and the latter would not cover the cost of a hotel at such last minute notice. There was absolutely no consideration or concern on their part. They seemed totally indifferent to the entire issue.

I use AB several times throughout the summer between FRA and Spain. No matter what the flight is always jammed packed with screaming babies and out of control children. Best tip is to avoid any seat toward the front where they tend to sit. It can be unbearable and airlines need to address this problem soon. Cabin crew are usually good and cabin service is fine.