Watch out, Beadle's about! (Air Berlin)

Member Name: ms_memory

Product:	Air Berlin
Date:	20/12/08 (310 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent customer service hotline, wide range of destinations, usually good value

Disadvantages: Onboard service is hit-and-miss, delays seem to be dealt with badly, dire onboard TV programmes

Air Berlin is a 'semi-low-cost' airline based in Berlin, Germany, and has taken over several smaller German competitors over the past few years, making it part of the 4th biggest airline group in Europe. This month it won the World Travel Award in the category of "World's Leading Budget Airline" for the second year in succession.

I've flown with Air Berlin many times, both as an alternative to Ryanair/Easyjet when flying between Britain and Germany, as well as for travelling within Germany (e.g. Berlin-Frankfurt, Berlin-Munich) or between Germany and other European destinations such as France, Austria and Spain. The UK airports served by Air Berlin are Manchester (with flights to Paderborn) and London Stansted (flights to various German cities, European destinations such as Copenhagen, Helsinki, Paris, Milan, Vienna and further afield e.g. Bangkok, Punta Cana, Miami, Cuba). A lot of the longer flights from London require you to change planes in Germany.


*****Prices*****


Air Berlin is comparable to Easyjet and Ryanair price-wise, with a few exceptions. It can occasionally cost around 10-20% more on similar routes and at busy periods e.g. in August the prices seem to rise dramatically, especially to Mediterranean destinations. In the summer it's usually cheaper to fly with a national carrier. For example, it would have cost me almost Euro700 to fly from Berlin to Valencia in August with Air Berlin; I ended up going with Lufthansa as it was cheaper. Air Berlin has a frequent flyer programme - perks include air miles and an extra luggage allowance - but I don't use it.


*****Booking process*****


Air Berlin prides itself on the simplicity of its 5-step online booking process. Curiously, it advertises this fact on the TV screens during flights - surely most people on the plane have already experienced the booking process? Anyway, booking flights online does indeed involve 5 steps: 1) choose destination and dates 2) select flights 3) enter passenger details 4) enter payment details 5) confirm. When you're selecting flights, the page displays a large number of flight options and prices at once for quick comparison. If you click next to a particular flight, the total costs including tax (but excluding 'service charge') are shown at the bottom of the screen, which is very useful. The service charge is a payment processing fee, which is applicable no matter what payment method you use.

One feature I really appreciate with Air Berlin is that you can pay by bank transfer (i.e. the money is automatically taken out of your bank account) provided that you bank with a German, Austrian or Dutch bank (I do). The charge for this is Euro10; using a credit card would cost Euro15. Another good thing about the online booking process is that the contact phone numbers are prominently displayed on the site in case of problems.


****After booking*****


The reservation confirmation pops up in my inbox straight away, though for some reason I usually receive two identical confirmations. One problem I've encountered is that if you have a long name it can sometimes be cut off the flight confirmation. I phoned up recently to clarify that the booking was still valid (only half of my boyfriend's name was included in the booking) and they said this would be fine, but we were worried in case there was a problem when we got to the check-in desk. However, we checked in without any problems.

A few days before flying I sometimes get an invitation to check in online, which I don't tend to do as I've usually got hold luggage to check in. Air Berlin offers an express check-in via machines at some airports (e.g. Berlin Tegel) but on the occasion I've tried to use it I couldn't as it wanted the number of the credit card or ID card I used to book. Seeing as I paid via bank transfer and as a British citizen don't (yet) have an ID card, I had to go and queue up at a check-in desk.


*****Cancelling your flight*****


Once I was due to fly with Air Berlin to Ibiza but had to cancel a few weeks before due to an injury which meant I couldn't fly (never mind go clubbing!). I phoned up and explained my problem; a full refund was deposited in my bank account a few days later, which I really hadn't been expecting! They didn't ask me to provide any evidence or anything, and just handed back my cash. I was so impressed I emailed their customer service department, and they even emailed back to thank me!


*****Check in*****


Air Berlin seems to be pretty lenient with hand luggage - I've taken more than one bag/ large-ish bags without any problems. The hold luggage allowance for European and long-haul flights is 20 kilos, but if the length of the trip is 28 days or longer, the allowance is 30 kilos. The check-in staff have always been friendly and efficient when I've flown and I've never had to queue for very long. Seats are allocated, so I usually get a choice of window or aisle seat.


*****On-board services*****


I admit I don't know what kind of aircraft I've flown on with Air Berlin, but apparently the average age of the fleet is 6.1 years. What I do know is that there's a little more leg-room than with Easyjet or Ryanair.

On all the flights to/ from Germany there's a selection of German-language newspapers - usually the main German dailies such as Die Welt, local Berlin papers, and a selection of magazines - mainly women's lifestyle mags and the odd car-related publication. I don't recall seeing any English ones. The cabin crew are generally professional, but sometimes efficient to the point that they speak so quickly that I can't understand what they're saying - in English or German.

All flights include a hot and cold (soft) drink and a snack - usually something like mini pretzels or a small cake on the domestic flights. On longer flights I've had sandwiches (usually a choice of cheese or meat on German-style rye bread or in a roll) and on long-haul flights or flights of 4 hours or more they provide full meals. It's possible to purchase extras such as sweets, chocolate and alcoholic drinks, but last time I flew the cabin crew rushed down the aisle doling out free food and didn't give passengers the chance to ask to buy extra items - despite the Twix bars sticking tantalisingly out of the trolley. There was no price list for sweets in my seat pocket anyway, just a brochure boasting that every passenger gets a chocolate heart (I can't say I ever have).

Duty free goods have been limited on the last couple of flights I took and those who did want to buy anything had to request a small sheet from the crew to see what they had in stock, which seemed a bit of a hassle.


*****In-flight entertainment*****


One thing that really makes me smile about Air Berlin is their apparent love of cheesy pop music. On boarding and disembarking they always pipe some random schmaltzy tunes through the cabin. I recall a lot of Celine Dion and Elton John, as well as homegrown German pop, but flying this month we were treated to seasonal offerings from Wham! and Wizzard, among others. As we were delayed before take-off we ended up hearing 'Last Christmas' several times, complete with the video on all the screens. Although I don't mind this at all (I love a bit of George and Andrew) I imagine it could annoy some people!

You can purchase headphones for Euro3 to listen to the music programme but I've never bothered as it is usually a pretty uninspiring list of chart tunes. The on-board TV programme looks dire. It used to be old episodes of Mr Bean, but recently there have been more You've Been Framed/Candid Camera-style programmes, which just seem to involve people falling over or getting soaked with water. They do seem to be popular with the German passengers though.

When the screens aren't showing cars being bulldozed 'Beadle's About'-style, there is a tracker with a map showing how far the plane is from its destination. This is a nice touch as it reminds me of long-haul flights and makes the experience a bit more exciting.


*****The dreaded delay*****


Flying with Air Berlin is a breeze when all goes to plan, but I was recently delayed on a flight and saw a different side to the airline. On the way from Berlin-Tegel to Paris-Orly we were delayed for about half an hour on the runway before take-off because there was a sickening chemical/smoky smell wafting around the cabin. There were no announcements about what it was and the crew didn't respond when people pressed the call buttons to ask. Then it was announced that we were ready for take-off and the passengers were quite worried. Once in the air the pilot announced that the air-conditioning system had started to smoke but "now it seems ok".

On the return evening flight from Paris-Orly to Berlin-Tegel there was a delay at Orly airport. We were only told about it after we should have already boarded at Orly, even though Air Berlin must have known well in advance, since the incoming aircraft hadn't yet arrived from Berlin. This was annoying because if I'd known I would have gone and bought some food before the airport shops closed; also I could have let my boyfriend know of the delay before he set off to Berlin-Tegel airport to meet me.

When we finally took off - 2 hours behind schedule and on a different plane - we weren't offered an explanation for the delay. As we were about to land in Berlin we were suddenly told by the captain that we had been rerouted to another airport - Schoenefeld - as Berlin Tegel closed at midnight. This was a complete surprise to all the passengers and we weren't offered any help or advice on getting into the city - it was after midnight, public transport had stopped, and Schoenefeld's really far out of the city. Many of the French passengers were worried as they didn't even know where they were! The crew quickly made themselves scarce as soon as we disembarked. My boyfriend, who'd gone to Tegel Airport, said they told him an hour before we landed that the plane was being rerouted, so the crew must have known but didn't tell us passengers till the last minute. I ended up getting home 3 hours later than planned, but that was only because I had no hold luggage and managed to get a taxi quickly - for some people it must have taken even longer.


*****Conclusion*****


Air Berlin is a little dearer than your average budget carrier, but offers extras such as allocated seats and drinks/snacks. I have always been very impressed with their online and phone service but now I've experienced how they deal with delays - i.e. not keeping passengers informed of what is happening - they've really gone down in my estimation and I might think twice before booking an evening flight with them, lest I get stranded somewhere!

Summary: A budget airline with some frills