I have used Air Berlin on only one occasion but not because I was disappointed with the service, quite the contrary - I was highly delighted and absolutely gutted when they stopped the service to my chosen airport in Germany.
I found Air Berlin to be a hybrid between the standard no frills airline and your major European airline.
I flew to Germany on at least 7 occasions last year to visit our best friends. I always shop around for the cheapest deal whilst still making it the least hassle route. I flew with Easyjet, RyanAir and V-Bird (this company has gone POP now and probably just as well judging by the standard of service) as well as Air Berlin and Air Berlin was by far the best quality.
Air Berlin fly from both Stansted and Manchester to various locations in Germany. My chosen destination was Dortmund from Stansted - the service which has now been finished. I booked the flights around March time last year for departure in June. Around 2 weeks before the flight was due to leave I was contacted via email by Air Berlin to say they had finished servicing my chosen route and I would have to fly to another airport or take my money back. They gave me an alternative which was not really suitable as the times were not in accordance with our plans. However on checking the site I found an alternative flight which was more suitable on the previous day to Munster which is only around an hour away from our destination. On calling the Air Berlin customer services and explaining the situation, a very helpful Germany lady transferred all passengers at no extra charge and booked my 1 further passenger at the cost it would have been on the original flight. She was extremely helpful.
On arrival at Stansted we got to the check in desk and unlike the other No frills airlines the queue was non existent. The lady on the desk, was German but had impeccable English, she was polite, helpful and well presented.
We boarded our flight with leather seats, plenty of overhead storage and a good reading light, and once in flight were offered hot or soft drinks FOC and sandwiches again FOC. Alcohol could be purchased if you required it.
The staff and the captain were very friendly even though there was a distinct lack of English people on the flight (only us in fact) everything was said twice, once in German and once in English - all cabin staff spoke English.
It is worth mentioning at this point that all prices quoted on the website are inclusive of taxes etc so the price you see is the price you pay. Air Berlin also fly to major airports not to ones 30k away from the place you think you are going to arrive at!!!
The booking procedure is very easy on the website and all confirmation is sent to you via email. As mentioned earlier the customer services line is very helpful too.
The airplanes that I travelled on were very new and there is a surprising amount of leg room for a budget line. We travelled with a major Airline later in the year and were cramped the whole time of the flight.
Check in was easy, we left on time, the suitcases were out quickly and most importantly th flight was very cheap - what more can you ask of a "Budget" airline.
More details
Class flown most frequently
Economy
How often do you travel with this airline
First time
Where did you book
Directly with this airline
Safety
Very safe
How well does it cater for disabled people
Don't know
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