Germanwings

Just one hop from Berlin TXL to Paris CDG on early Saturday morning. Departure delayed by more than 20 minutes because the nighty ice on the planewings had to be removed first. But nevertheless arrival in time! Very good value for money booking and checking-in via internet were a breeze staff friendly bought aboard a tasty sandwich and blacked water called coffee seating comfort quite fine but also depending on your neighbours in front and behind. Overall a good impression felt more like on Lufthansa than on a cheap carrier. I like the new design very much!

LHR-STR-LHR. First time using GW and was quite impressed. Price was good (especially as it was from Heathrow). Plane was fine and as we had a "Smart" fare we got 32 inch leg room and a 23 kg bag which was excellent. Seats were the modern "thin" style which was OK for such a short flight but I'm not sure I'd like to do more than two hours. Staff on both flights were efficient rather than friendly which they probably needed to be on such a short flight. The smart fare also included a a drink and a snack and to be honest I wish they hadn't bothered because it was quite definitely the worst inflight meal I have had in over 40 years of flying. The "snack" consisted of a sandwich of turkey in soggy brown bread which was totally inedible a small bottle of water and a tiny Toblerone chocolate. I also made the mistake of having tea which was tepid dishwater. My tip would be to avoid the sandwich and have juice to drink. This was really a small disappointment in an otherwise excellent experience and I would have no qualms about recommending Germanwings.

Flew at the end of October from London via Dusseldorf to Vienna. Both flights were on time. However I upgraded myself to a Smart fare. The legroom is decent however I wish I would benefit at Boarding. No Priority Boarding anywhere. I understand you pay for the Extra Legroom however I still believe we should board before other Economy passengers. The food is horrible. I did not touch it. I don't recommend it. The seats were ok and the crew could be a bit friendlier. Overall I would consider it again however some improvements to be done.

Regular on HAM-BHX which is Germanwings operated by Eurowings Bombardier CRJ 900 jets. Flight has never been delayed by more than 20mins (>30 flights) and staff are friendly. I was able to get some very cheap tickets for this route so I cannot complain. My only gripe is the bus boarding and de-boarding at HAM. FlyBE connects to an airbridge both at BHX and HAM which is much preferable.

Flight Stuttgart-Hamburg. Was regular user of LH flights since they put GW in place I do everything I can to avoid this airline. No value for money and cost are usually higher than alternative carriers. Other carriers offer way better service and value for money. I specifically dislike the fact that on the majority of the flights I have been using seats were broken (once you lean back they recline) and airplane interior was poor condition / not cleaned. On my last trip I advised the steward on board on a chewing gum sticking to the emergency exit seat and asked him to ensure it is being removed on the next cleaning cycle. The answer was that he was not cleaning the airplane. Think that shows the service mindset. Not up to what I was used to from LH I also experienced a large share of delayed flights.

Went with Germanwings from Manchester to Cologne 21st October returned 28th October first time with this airline very satisfied and would definitely recommend to friends flights on time and staff very helpful.

Cologne/Bonn to Manchester and return. Both legs of the journey were late. On both occasions we were called to the gate on time and then waited and waited. At least at Cologne Bonn there are seats and toilets at the gates in Manchester we were left standing for over an hour. No information from the airline and no apology - very poor show. Sadly this lack of customer service is my experience with Lufthansa short haul generally (GW are part of Lufthansa) which is why I avoid them for short haul flights these days. On short flights my priority is punctuality and here they are sadly lacking. A319 both ways which I find more comfortable than the 737s but that is the only positive thing I can find to say about the experience. Food and drink on board was pricey and not great quality - nowhere near as good value as Ryanair (never thought I'd write those words!). Next time we'll stick with Ryanair - the planes are less comfortable but that's not so significant when the flight only lasts 90 minutes and they are much more likely to get you to your destination on time!

Flew London Heathrow - Cologne Bonn on Monday 8th September. Had checked in online and printed my boarding card 2 days before but as I had a suitcase to go in the hold I still needed to queue at the baggage drop-off point/check in desk. Flight left on time and was smooth throughout. The plane seemed new and was clean. My fare included a snack (choice of cheese or ham roll) a small packet with 3 boiled sweets (not quite sure why) and a small bottle of water. I chose the cheese sandwich which was "ok but could be better". After the complimentary snack service the crew came round offering hot and cold drinks - including alcoholic drinks - although not sure if any of these were complimentary. We landed 1 hour after departure from Heathrow slightly less time than advertised. I have scored the in-flight entertainment a 1 purely because being a short flight there wasn't any and the website won't allow me to submit my review without a score. Based on my experience I would consider flying with German Wings again.

I am writing this on behalf of my wife who is currently flying the wrong way across Europe due to the incompetence of this shambolic operation. She was booked to fly from Hanover to London Stansted. There was a short delay and the passengers got on. The passengers were then told to get off as astonishingly the crew needed to finish their shift. They were left waiting for three hours without any information. When they re-boarded the flight they were told they would be flying to Cologne instead of London to pick up more passengers. A bit like one of those cheap taxi buses I guess. Hopefully she'll make it home before I have to go to work tomorrow. Looking at the other reviews I would seriously think twice before booking with this outfit.

Hamburg to Prague late Monday morning. This segment was part of a larger Lufthansa itinerary though clearly advertised as a 4U flight. The catch here is that Germanwings out of Hamburg is actually operated by Eurowings CRJ900s which is an absolute letdown compared to the usual A320s. The staff are enthusiastic about offering refreshments though - unlike Lufthansa proper - these are strictly for sale and are perhaps pushed too hard. There was nothing intrinsically wrong with the flight expect for the tight and cramped airplane these flights just don't measure up to the level of service across the LH network.