Air Berlin

The new A320 has thinner seats and are poorly designed. They do not take into account that people can have extra long upper legs, so that results in several of us passengers, including me, being forced to spread legs and put one outside in the aisle. We do not fit behind the chair anymore. I was not the only one complaining and neither of us was a tall person (I am 1,75 cm tall). Additionally the new tables on these chairs do not fold out properly, which results in them not fitting between belly and back so not coming down completely, which results in the table being pushed too far back. Even the nice stewardess confirmed the problem. I like Air Berlin for their service, reliability and good price, but their seats are awful and that makes the trip extremely uncomfortable.

DUS-JFK-DUS with Air Berlin. They do not have a Premium Economy but I decided to try the XL-seat that they are now offering. These are standard economy seats with a pitch that has been increased to 36 inches - the rest of the service remains standard. Extra costs for the XL seat are 79 Euros per leg if booked at least 72 hours in advance. However, I can recommend this as worth paying for. Acceptable pricing for a lot of more comfort due to the additional leg space.

The economy seats on Air Berlin A330-200 were narrow and cramped; if you are over 5'7" tall, good luck to you. The aisles were generally narrow, and towards the rear of the plane, they were more so. However, the video screens on the seat backs were of adequate size and worked fairly well.

We flew Düsseldorf to Curaçao on 28 Dec. They charge a fee for different seat locations and we paid for preferred seating which means you disembark faster - not true, so money for nothing and the seat pitch is the same. Outbound flight was okay but with poor cabin service. Very intimate and only 1 bottle of small water offered during the 10 hour and 30 minute flight, most airlines on long haul do juice and water rounds frequently. Seat pitch is very very uncomfortable. The cabin crew were very scruffy. They were taking companions as it was new year and more time seem to be spent with them then the fare paying customer. The return flight was 9th December and the cabin crew were very different, attention to detail and smart and friendly. Once again seat pitch is very poor and uncomfortable.Food on board was very tasty and well presented. I did have some queries prior to travel but responses differed between telephone and email communication - then resulted in no communication at all. My view is that the airline is not very customer focused and trying to compete in the long haul field with little experience. I also felt safety procedures were compromise on the connecting flights, lack of proper and thorough cabin secure checks ie. People still using mobiles for take off and landing, seat backs reclined during the stage of flight and hand baggage not stowed properly under seats.

You pretty much get the average European economy class product on Air Berlin. Legroom is OK and seats are relatively comfortable for a short flight. Seat recline is average. I miss the coat hook on Air Berlin flights because it means that you have to store your jacket in the overhead compartments and there's usually someone who will place their luggage on your jacket.

The only resaon I fly Air Berlin is that the flight leaves in Ft Myers and lands in Duesseldorf. The seat arrangement is an audacity. I used to be able to at least have a 3 hr nap going to Germany - not any more. It is impossible to get a rest at night. I am 5'7", average medium sized, weighing 190 lbs. The width of the seat is for children, not adults. If Air Berlin is in trouble it might be because of the severe disrespect to their customers.

The lack of legroom on an aircraft designed for long-haul flights is outrageous. I am 6'1" (1.85 mt) and almost went crazy as I had no room to put my legs - especially when the passenger in front of me reclined his seat. I understand airlines want to squeeze as many people as possible, but this went beyond what could be considered as reasonable. I will probably never fly Air Berlin again.

Torture - could not get my knees straight although my legs are short. Not bearable for longer than 30 minutes!

It was an old "old style" seat which wasn't a slim seat. It was of course used but it was ok. But I prefer a slim seat for shorter flights which are mostly used throuGH the Air Berlin fleet.

Flight from Dusseldorf to Abu Dhabi 6 hours with a seatpitch like this is torture! They should warn all customers over 175 cm not to fly Air Berlin.