Air Berlin

STN-HAJ-STN. Their staff are extremely nice decent leg room plane is clean and they are fairly punctual. Last time I flew with them the free food and drink was a snack and drink rather than a sandwich. If flying short haul I would be more than happy to use Air Berlin again.

FKB-HAM-FKB. We didn't expect a lot as our benchmark were the Australian low cost carriers. We were overwhelmed with what we got. On the 1hr flight we had one round of non alcoholic drinks and a snack. At the departure gates each way we could stock up on complimentary newspapers and magazines. There was enough leg room for tall people on FKB-HAM and doable for an hour space on the return. No seat back TV's but cabin mainscreen TV's with flight routing and TV series. The ground staff on either airport were efficient.

CPH-TXL-DUS-ZRH. New and clean aircraft. Snacks served crew were friendly even though we only spoke English. Fares were very cheap when compared to the competition. Only German magazines/newspapers available. Would fly them again if I'm in Europe.

TXL-KRK and then KRK-DUS. I was impressed with this airline - a good web site for discovering their service and making purchases very reasonable pricing meaning that one can piece together a complex itinerary without requiring round-trips to get the best prices. On-time performance for each of the 3 legs I flew baggage appearing promptly after the flights. Onboard experience very similar on the TXL-KRK and KRK-DUS flights - the former was a 737-400 and the latter an A319. Not luxurious but newish interiors and good service.

Santorini to NUE. Check-in in Santorini took nearly two hours due to computer failures but we landed on time. New A320 FAs abrupt but OK and one of the meals I ordered on the site showed up. IFE was overhead. Pilot liked to point out the sights. All-in-all they deliver on short- haul flights but there's no glamour here.

Dubrovnik - Munich. A320 was full and while it was a short flight of just over an hour it seemed a lot longer as every second passenger seemed to be a screaming child. Maybe have flights where no passengers are under 5 years of age? Let's see which airline is brave enough to introduce such a restriction. After this performance I think next time I will pay a higher fare on the full fare airlines.

The aircraft itself was clean seats however not very well padded. I'm not a very tall person but in order to sleep I had to lean forward on the tray table; I ended up being repeatedly suffocated by the person in front of me every time she reclined her seat. The entertainment system is okay and they dim the screens during the night to help you sleep. The food was good but it seems you only get the choice of Chicken or Pasta.

Dusseldorf-Miami. I was faced in July with few available seats and high fares using American Airlines and other airlines. However travelling Gatwick to Dusseldork and including an overnight stay my trip to Miami with Air Berlin saved me a fortune and I was very impressed with the Air Berlin service. Two reasonable meals as good as other transatlantic economy offerings with free complimentary wine and liqueuers which is something unheard of with AA. IFE via a shared screen but not a problem. The cabin crew were great. Security checks at Dusseldorf quick. All in all a very pleasant trip and with the bonus of an arrival at Miami 35 minutes early.

DUS-LAX-DUS. Check-in ok. Seat pitch much narrower than on other airlines little to no leg room. Food is average but had to pay for everything even non-alcoholic drinks. No IFE on outbound flight - limited IFE with shared monitor on return flight. Staff rather arrogant and unfriendly. Cabin and wash rooms dirty on departure on outbound flight. It seems Air Berlin offers two very different products under the same brand - I'm happy with the product for the European market but long-haul is not recommendable and not even cheap!

Zürich-Düsseldorf-Reykjavik. Excellent airline friendly staff reasonable food. Good aircraft. Return trip on SAS via Oslo was less enjoyable.