Air Berlin

Dusseldorf-Bangkok return. Check in at Dusseldorf airport took a long time. Staff is unfriendly and not much service or help at check in. One customer before me had a problem with small overweight handbag. Staff just shouted at him. No window seats available although later in the airplane there were empty seats occupied by staff. Food poor. On my return from Chiang Mai transit was poorly coordinated by Air Berlin. Only by help through Thai Airways was I able to find transit point and catch my flight in time. Air Berlin also forget at first to file my correct passport number - had to return at check in. Flight back horrible - no window seats just small seat in the middle. Not enough space for legs. Seat in front of me failed to work so less space. Staff seemed not to care about this problem. Flight arrived on schedule very slow unloading of the bags. For a budget airline it is pretty expensive. The attitude is arrogant.

Return flight to Bangkok. Business Class was something between Premium Economy and real Business Class. Service was fine food okay seats fine though not angled flat.

MUC-POP-MUC in Business Class. Dedicated check-in at Munich. Shared Lounge in Munich was hard to find no food service and a weird collection of magazines. POP-MUC via VRA: Check-in a bit more crowded and less efficient - lounge in POP hard to find due to construction works. Shared Lounge at POP serves non-edible sandwiches and a very limited variety of drinks no magazines or newspapers but free wifi. No Lounge access for transit pax in VRA. Onboard welcome drink service with prosecco and orange juice - prosecco was barely drinkable. Food and Beverages edible and tasty. Cabin crew deliver attentive and friendly service however not very consistent. Seats outdated. Mechanical adjustments only 150 degree recline and oldish IFE. Seat pitch and width were decent. Washroom clean. Amenity kit provided on both legs with usable contents. Kit different on return flight (might have been an economy kit) and seems to have been in storage for an extended time. Good product for the price - saves around EUR 1000 and at least 5 hours vs UA + Jetblue or AA via MIA even though the return trip is somewhat lengthy due to a stop in VRA or MBJ.

Stockholm - Berlin - Miami - Atlanta. Weather delays in Atlanta caused me to be stranded in Miami for 4 days. Knowing the forecast I asked representatives in Stockholm and Berlin if I would make it to my final destination. All representatives refused to look up flight or airport information causing me to be stranded in Miami instead of getting on a later flight out of Stockholm. Furthermore the flight in Berlin was delayed 3.5 hours. Completely unpleasant flight experience. I will not fly with Air Berlin again. Flight was satisfactory.

Bangkok to Vienna ticket for BKK-MUC-VIE was by far the cheapest possible on this route. When we arrived at the airport our flight was delayed by 14 hours but they rebooked us to BKK- TXL-VIE. Departure from BKK one hour late flight above average. A330 not new and seats had terrible seat pitch but it was clean and service was excellent. They even managed to organize a vegetarian meal for my girlfriend (as our meal request was for the original flight via MUC). Plenty of free drinks and snacks. Transfer in TXL bit chaotic had to run to our connecting flight. Boeing 737 had much bigger seat pitch and was newer. Again quite a lot of drinks and snacks for such a short flight. Downside was the lost luggage (forgotten in TXL delivered 7 days later) and no possibility at all to contact Air Berlin to find anything about it.

If you regard Air Berlin as a low cost carrier this is the best you could experience in this segment - planes are clean and pretty new. You get good attention onboard and a snack plus a soda or juice for free. On the ground however the experience is different. They are really overdoing it with baggage weight I find it a sure way to turn a loyal customer - holding the Frequent Flier Card - off by making a big fuss (happened twice) when the baggage weighs 215 kg instead of 20 kg. Terminal at Berlin Tegel Airport lacks seating which becomes pretty inconvenient if a lot of delays occur at the same time. If the price difference is not more than 10-15% to a regular carrier like LH or CX I would probably pay that and choose them instead of Air Berlin.

Frankfurt-Hamburg. Very good for price. Well organised and with tidy plane. Upper end of quality for the budget market.

STN-SZG and MUC-HAJ-STN. Excellent for economy tickets and better than competitors. When the first leg of our return flight was delayed (which would mean we would have missed our connection) we were booked onto a BA direct flight to Heathrow without even having to ask. Will use again in preference to RyanAir EasyJet etc

Zurich to Berlin. Online check-in easy to navigate. Queued for 10 minutes at the bag drop; ground staff were pleasant. Flight departed within 15 minutes of allocated time. Complimentary newspapers in German and complimentary beverages and snack. The plane was clean and the staff were pretty good. Overall a good flight and excellent value compared with Swiss.

ZRH-DUS-ZRH. Both flights left on time and arrived ahead of schedule. A320 and A319 well maintained crew professional with limited language skills. Despite cabin not too clean on outbound no issues on flight back. Some free drinks and snacks served. With an unbeatable price and a good schedule is definitely well worth flying short hauls in Europe.