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Hi all,
I've been travelling around Europe for the past few weeks and during this time took 4 German domestic flights on airberlin, which is a member of oneworld. I chose airberlin for intra-Germany flights because of the ability to earn QFF points/SCs and also because it is a reputable airline with flights which were convenient for my schedule. I'll do a short trip report for each flight and then give feedback on aspects common to all flights and my overall impressions at the end.
Flight 1: AB6184 MUC-TXL
Saturday 13/4/13
Boeing 737-700
Seat 3F
After getting up way too early, I got a night bus into Munich city and then the S8 to Munich Airport. This flight from Munich to Berlin (Tegel) departed at 06:15 so when I was travelling to the airport, the U-Bahn (underground) trains weren't running and the only S-Bahn (suburban) trains running were the S8 trains to the airport.
The flight left and arrived on time and was relatively uneventful. I don't think the flight was more than half full. Breakfast was served (for free, I was half-expecting to have to pay) and was just a cup of instant coffee and something which resembled bread and tasted like a pretzel. I guess this is the standard these days when it comes to airline meals.
There are no trains from Tegel airport to Berlin city but the TXL bus got me there in about 20 minutes and cost significantly less than the train to Munich Airport.
Flight 2: AB6201 TXL-MUC
Sunday 14/4/13
Airbus A321
Seat 2F
Unlike the TXL bus the previous morning, the bus to the airport was jam-packed. As in, breathing space was a luxury and many people were denied boarding as they couldn't physically get into the bus. Be warned, if you're going to use the bus, allow extra time.
The evening flight was delayed by 40 minutes due to the inbound aircraft arriving late and was fairly full, but was otherwise quite enjoyable. On this particular aircraft, row 2 is the front row on the right hand side of the aircraft, so I had a bulkhead seat with ample legroom. I would recommend bulkhead seats 1A-C and 2 D-F on the A321. (These are economy seats as airberlin does not offer business class on domestic flights.)
The "refreshment" consisted of a small drink and the choice a small bag of mixed nuts or a packet of chips. At least they don't claim that their menu was inspired by Neil Perry or Luke Mangan!
For the first time in about a week, this particular day was sunny and the lack of clouds made for some good views out the window, particularly when departing Berlin.
Flight 3: AB6120 MUC-CGN
Tuesday 16/4/13
Boeing 737-700
Seat 7A
This was an early afternoon flight and was fairly full, with a lot of business people travelling to Cologne. When I got on the plane and looked at where I would be sitting, I was overcome with a wave a disappointment, similar to the feeling you get when you get on a Jetstar flight, until I realised that I was actually seated in the row in front of the row without a window (I always like to see out). Be warned, row 8 on this aircraft has no window.
Again, the refreshment was a small drink and a "salzig oder süß" (sweet or salty) snack option; in this case a packet of chips or a chocolate bar. Both looked to be "fun size", but for a one hour flight it was adequate.
I noticed that this flight was "operated by TUIfly" because it was written on the front of the plane and also in fine print on the safety card. This surprised me as the plane was in full airberlin colours, the flight was marketed by airberlin and there was no mention of this when I booked the flight. Apparently airberlin wet leases quite a few TUIfly aircraft, which are operated by TUIfly crew but marketed by airberlin, similar to the Qantas/Jetconnect arrangement. Nonetheless, most people wouldn't notice the difference. In fact, the aircraft and service seemed identical to that which is featured on "proper" airberlin flights.
Flight 4: AB6127 CGN-MUC
Tuesday 16/4/13
Boeing 737-700
Seat 6A
The first thing I noticed before even boarding this evening flight was that it was exactly the same aircraft (D-AHXH) which had brought me to Cologne earlier in the day. I was even more surprised to find the exact same cabin crew as earlier in the day welcome me onboard the plane! This has happened to me before, but not on flights 6 hours apart! I made a comment to the steward and he said something along the lines of "we don't get any free time." Apparently the crew had been shuttling between Munich and other German cities the whole afternoon!
The flight had to hold a little above Munich due to a passing thunderstorm but other than that it was almost identical to the previous flight. The exact same "food" was served. The crew looked a bit tired on this flight but were still professional and I can't complain about the service.
Overall impressions
I found airberlin to be a relatively good airline, although not quite up to Qantas' standard. Their planes are relatively new and comfortable and they got me to where I needed to go comfortably, and for most flights, on time.
Whilst airberlin is by definition a full-service airline, there are certain aspects which scream LCC to me. Firstly, they have brochures at the front of the plane advertising their frequent flyer program (top bonus) and various other things which I consider to be very tacky. There is no AVOD entertainment (on domestic flights, at least). I would describe the entertainment system as similar to the drop-down screens on the old QF 737-400s, except that they don't actually show any sort of entertainment. Instead, they show a mixture of advertisements and the flight path for the entire flight. One of these repetitive ads advertises the airline's partnership with Etihad Airways and Virgin Australia, which I find interesting considering the airline's partnership with Qantas through oneworld. They also say in the opening spiel "if you would like more information about our frequent flyer program 'topbonus', please don't hesitate to ask one of our cabin crew" and at the end of the flight they make an announcement advertising a particular car rental company, which again I think is tacky and should not have a place in announcements.
There are "radios" in the armrests, like on the QF 734s, however the flight attendants don't actually hand out headphones so it's only useful if you BYO headphones, with the adaptor for aircraft. Even then, I would be surprised if it worked. The staff were generally friendly and helpful and the leather seats are comfortable and the seat pitch is adequate for a short flight, however it's certainly nothing to write home about. They did serve a refreshment on each flight, similar to what you would get on a QF Link dash 8 flight, i.e. a small drink and very small refreshment. As you leave the aircraft, the flight attendant hands out chocolates; I haven't decided if I think this is a nice gesture or a cheap way to bribe people into leaving the plane feeling good about the airline.
Announcements are made in German and English, but I found it easier to understand the German announcements, even though my English is better than my German. In any case, most English announcements were, at the least, comprehendible.
Would I choose to fly airberlin again? Yes.
I've been travelling around Europe for the past few weeks and during this time took 4 German domestic flights on airberlin, which is a member of oneworld. I chose airberlin for intra-Germany flights because of the ability to earn QFF points/SCs and also because it is a reputable airline with flights which were convenient for my schedule. I'll do a short trip report for each flight and then give feedback on aspects common to all flights and my overall impressions at the end.
Flight 1: AB6184 MUC-TXL
Saturday 13/4/13
Boeing 737-700
Seat 3F
After getting up way too early, I got a night bus into Munich city and then the S8 to Munich Airport. This flight from Munich to Berlin (Tegel) departed at 06:15 so when I was travelling to the airport, the U-Bahn (underground) trains weren't running and the only S-Bahn (suburban) trains running were the S8 trains to the airport.
The flight left and arrived on time and was relatively uneventful. I don't think the flight was more than half full. Breakfast was served (for free, I was half-expecting to have to pay) and was just a cup of instant coffee and something which resembled bread and tasted like a pretzel. I guess this is the standard these days when it comes to airline meals.
There are no trains from Tegel airport to Berlin city but the TXL bus got me there in about 20 minutes and cost significantly less than the train to Munich Airport.
Flight 2: AB6201 TXL-MUC
Sunday 14/4/13
Airbus A321
Seat 2F
Unlike the TXL bus the previous morning, the bus to the airport was jam-packed. As in, breathing space was a luxury and many people were denied boarding as they couldn't physically get into the bus. Be warned, if you're going to use the bus, allow extra time.
The evening flight was delayed by 40 minutes due to the inbound aircraft arriving late and was fairly full, but was otherwise quite enjoyable. On this particular aircraft, row 2 is the front row on the right hand side of the aircraft, so I had a bulkhead seat with ample legroom. I would recommend bulkhead seats 1A-C and 2 D-F on the A321. (These are economy seats as airberlin does not offer business class on domestic flights.)
The "refreshment" consisted of a small drink and the choice a small bag of mixed nuts or a packet of chips. At least they don't claim that their menu was inspired by Neil Perry or Luke Mangan!
For the first time in about a week, this particular day was sunny and the lack of clouds made for some good views out the window, particularly when departing Berlin.
Flight 3: AB6120 MUC-CGN
Tuesday 16/4/13
Boeing 737-700
Seat 7A
This was an early afternoon flight and was fairly full, with a lot of business people travelling to Cologne. When I got on the plane and looked at where I would be sitting, I was overcome with a wave a disappointment, similar to the feeling you get when you get on a Jetstar flight, until I realised that I was actually seated in the row in front of the row without a window (I always like to see out). Be warned, row 8 on this aircraft has no window.
Again, the refreshment was a small drink and a "salzig oder süß" (sweet or salty) snack option; in this case a packet of chips or a chocolate bar. Both looked to be "fun size", but for a one hour flight it was adequate.
I noticed that this flight was "operated by TUIfly" because it was written on the front of the plane and also in fine print on the safety card. This surprised me as the plane was in full airberlin colours, the flight was marketed by airberlin and there was no mention of this when I booked the flight. Apparently airberlin wet leases quite a few TUIfly aircraft, which are operated by TUIfly crew but marketed by airberlin, similar to the Qantas/Jetconnect arrangement. Nonetheless, most people wouldn't notice the difference. In fact, the aircraft and service seemed identical to that which is featured on "proper" airberlin flights.
Flight 4: AB6127 CGN-MUC
Tuesday 16/4/13
Boeing 737-700
Seat 6A
The first thing I noticed before even boarding this evening flight was that it was exactly the same aircraft (D-AHXH) which had brought me to Cologne earlier in the day. I was even more surprised to find the exact same cabin crew as earlier in the day welcome me onboard the plane! This has happened to me before, but not on flights 6 hours apart! I made a comment to the steward and he said something along the lines of "we don't get any free time." Apparently the crew had been shuttling between Munich and other German cities the whole afternoon!
The flight had to hold a little above Munich due to a passing thunderstorm but other than that it was almost identical to the previous flight. The exact same "food" was served. The crew looked a bit tired on this flight but were still professional and I can't complain about the service.
Overall impressions
I found airberlin to be a relatively good airline, although not quite up to Qantas' standard. Their planes are relatively new and comfortable and they got me to where I needed to go comfortably, and for most flights, on time.
Whilst airberlin is by definition a full-service airline, there are certain aspects which scream LCC to me. Firstly, they have brochures at the front of the plane advertising their frequent flyer program (top bonus) and various other things which I consider to be very tacky. There is no AVOD entertainment (on domestic flights, at least). I would describe the entertainment system as similar to the drop-down screens on the old QF 737-400s, except that they don't actually show any sort of entertainment. Instead, they show a mixture of advertisements and the flight path for the entire flight. One of these repetitive ads advertises the airline's partnership with Etihad Airways and Virgin Australia, which I find interesting considering the airline's partnership with Qantas through oneworld. They also say in the opening spiel "if you would like more information about our frequent flyer program 'topbonus', please don't hesitate to ask one of our cabin crew" and at the end of the flight they make an announcement advertising a particular car rental company, which again I think is tacky and should not have a place in announcements.
There are "radios" in the armrests, like on the QF 734s, however the flight attendants don't actually hand out headphones so it's only useful if you BYO headphones, with the adaptor for aircraft. Even then, I would be surprised if it worked. The staff were generally friendly and helpful and the leather seats are comfortable and the seat pitch is adequate for a short flight, however it's certainly nothing to write home about. They did serve a refreshment on each flight, similar to what you would get on a QF Link dash 8 flight, i.e. a small drink and very small refreshment. As you leave the aircraft, the flight attendant hands out chocolates; I haven't decided if I think this is a nice gesture or a cheap way to bribe people into leaving the plane feeling good about the airline.
Announcements are made in German and English, but I found it easier to understand the German announcements, even though my English is better than my German. In any case, most English announcements were, at the least, comprehendible.
Would I choose to fly airberlin again? Yes.
