A month in Europe: 12 airlines, 10 countries

[ellen10]

The last time I was in Berlin the whole wall still existed!
I need to go back.

 

[Mattg]

From Berlin, the next stop was Dusseldorf. Once again I used Airberlin for the short domestic hop.

AB6437 Berlin (Tegel) - Dusseldorf
Airbus A320
Departure time: 09:20
Arrival time: 10:30



Airberlin partners with both Qantas and Virgin Australia. As I currently need Virgin status credits more than Qantas, I decided to credit the flight to Velocity. When I checked in my QFF number was linked to the booking. My boarding pass had priority boarding/security etc. on it and my bag was tagged with a oneworld priority tag. I asked the lady to change the number on my BP to Velocity and she was happy to oblige, but warned that I would lose my oneworld sapphire benefits. It was a short flight and I didn't have much time for the lounge anyway, so I didn't mind. My new boarding pass had no priority marked on it, which I expected. But - get this - the lady actually removed the "priority" tag that had already been attached to my checked luggage! At least I got to keep my seat at the front of the plane and shadow.

The general line for security was right next to the check-in counters and as I joined the end of the long line, I could hear her jokingly talking about me with her colleague about how I'd just given up my priority access etc. etc.

Well, it turns out that I made the ultimate frequent flyer faux pas! I didn't think to check that Velocity status credits are earned on AB flights... turns out they aren't and I earned just 73 points and zero status credits for the flight! The Qantas point earn is just as bad, but at least you get 10 status credits.

Anyway, this was another pleasant & uneventful short flight. The majority of passengers were businesspeople.

The crew on this leg were particularly friendly. The usual "sweet or salty" snack were offered, as well as complimentary drinks. As it was a breakfast flight they had some bakery style snacks available, including the hot pretzel stick.



Disembarkation was via a stand-off bay and a bus trip to the terminal.

I may have mentioned this before but I like Airberlin. You can rely on getting friendly and efficient service. This kind of consistency is hard to find on other airlines.

 

[Mattg]

Dusseldorf

I spent just one day in Dusseldorf, and quite honestly it was enough. It was a pleasant enough city but quite "industrial". Besides the tower, tourist attractions were few and far between.

A few photos:

 

[Cool Cat Phil]

Well, it turns out that I made the ultimate frequent flyer faux pas! I didn't think to check that Velocity status credits are earned on AB flights... turns out they aren't and I earned just 73 points and zero status credits for the flight! The Qantas point earn is just as bad, but at least you get 10 status credits.

.

Certainly a very interesting observation considering Air Berlin & Virgin Australia both have a common shareholder being Etihad and one would think all three airlines would have the ability to earn status credits on each airline retrospectively.
Maybe Air Berlin being a One World member may have a precedent that prohibits unfavourable treatment to another One World Member, ie Qantas?

I would love to know the answer to this.

Just as a side question I wonder when travelling on VA or QF in Australia for those chasing status credits/tier miles on Air Berlin's "Top Bonus" frequent flyer scheme works when travelling in Australia?

Which airline would those who are chasing Status on Air Berlin be better to fly with for the purpose of status credit / tier mile accrual ?

 

[Mattg]

Not far by train from Dusseldorf is Wuppertal. I spent a few hours there and must say, I was pleasantly surprised. It was a lovely little town.



The "lego bridge":



Instead of an underground subway, Wuppertal has something called the "Schwebebahn", or suspension railway. The tracks are above both the ground and the train carriages. I'd never seen anything like it before.

 

[Mattg]

The final stop in Europe was Cologne in Germany - a place I had already passed through two weeks earlier. I've been to Cologne many times before so didn't spend much time sightseeing. But there's one thing that no visitor to Cologne can miss (even if they tried to - it's that big!) I'm of course talking about the Dom.

 

[Mattg]

I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Europe! But it was soon time to return to Australia.

As usual, I was not going to be flying direct! Where's the fun in that? A different routing and four different airlines were used for the return journey that would eventually take me to Canberra.

My first leg was from Cologne to Bangkok on Eurowings. Eurowings is the low-cost subsidiary of Lufthansa that Germanwings will eventually be rebranded into. Germanwings/Eurowings have been flying short-haul routes around Europe for years, but they only began flying long-haul routes a few months ago. The airline currently flies to holiday destinations like Thailand, Cuba and the Dominican Republic from its Cologne hub, using a small fleet of A330 aircraft.

I booked a launch fare when the Cologne - Bangkok flight was first announced mid-last year. The price was just €199 for a "basic" fare, but I paid the extra €50 for a "smart" fare which included a checked bag, meals, seat selection and frequent flyer miles. That's still less than $400 all up... so I was pretty happy with that!

Between the time of booking and the date of the flight, the flight was changed at least two or three times. It ended up leaving about 3 hours earlier than originally planned, and the airport used in Bangkok also changed. Originally we were to fly into Don Mueang Airport, but this was later changed to Bangkok's main international airport. They did at least send an email advising every time a change was made.

There was a very long queue for both check-in and passport control as Eurowings seemed to have 3 flights leaving around the same time (and they didn't seem to have many contract staff to deal with all the passengers). But our flight boarded and departed on time.

EW106 Cologne/Bonn - Bangkok
Airbus A330-200
Departure time: 11:50
Arrival time: 04:55 (+1 day)





There are two cabin classes on the Eurowings A330 aircraft.

There are three rows of "Best" seats at the front of the cabin. In a 2-3-2 configuration, these seats resemble premium economy seats and offer superior legroom.

Economy is in a standard 2-4-2 configuration. The main cabin features several rows of extra legroom seats starting from the second emergency exit doors. These seats feature several inches of extra legroom and come with an included blanket and pillow. The cost to sit there is an extra €50.

If you didn't want to pay to sit there, my pick would a seat in one of the several rows of standard economy seats just behind the "Best" cabin but in front of the extra legroom seats. The legroom here wasn't any better than the economy seats at the back of the plane, but you do get a more private cabin with curtains at the front and back.

I ended up in row 36, in a standard economy class seat.

A shot of the cabin - sorry for the poor picture quality:



The seat width was okay, and the cloth-covered seat itself was reasonably comfortable, albeit perhaps a little firm. I did find the leg room to be lower than usual for a long-haul configured aircraft. The difference became more noticeable by the end of the flight.



There was a complimentary bottle of water in every seat pocket, and the flight attendants did walk around the cabin offering free cups of mineral water throughout the flight. That's the only thing that was offered for free.

A hot lunch was served around 2 hours into the flight. Passengers that had pre-ordered meals were given a choice of chicken or pasta. I chose the chicken which tasted okay, but I did feel that the serving size was too small. It came with a bread roll and small chocolate.



I wanted a beer with lunch (which cost €3 extra) but the drinks trolley did not reach my seat until 45 minutes after receiving my meal! By this time I had already long finished eating. By the way, for on board purchases the flight attendants accepted cash in Euros, or credit cards with a minimum spend of €5.

 

[Mattg]

Each seat had a personal seat-back entertainment screen and USB port. There was a moderate selection of movies, TV shows, music and games as well as the "airshow". I think the AVOD system itself may actually be identical to Jetstar's on their 787s. There were enough movies and TV shows (including the latest James Bond movie) to keep me occupied, though I did find the games to be of poor quality. The entertainment system was free to use, and if you needed headphones they were available to purchase for a few Euros.



The flight was 100% full, and I would estimate that 95% of the passengers were German tourists. That is clearly the target market. I did notice a few Thai people and passengers of various other nationalities on board, but literally only a few.

The crew did a pretty good job of looking after the full flight. They were friendly and professional, and maintained a presence throughout the flight.

After flying into the sunset, the cabin lights were dimmed and many passengers tried to get some rest before the ~5am arrival into Bangkok. About 7 hours into the 11 hour flight, I was just starting to nod off myself when an announcement was made that the crew would now distribute the arrival documents for Thailand. The lights were then switched back on (to full brightness!) for 15 minutes while the crew passed through the cabin, waking up many passengers in the process. After this the lights were switched off again. I have absolutely no idea why they decided to do this during the middle of the night when the cards could have been distributed towards the start or end of the flight instead!

2 and a half hours away from Bangkok the lights were switched on again and the breakfast service commenced. For passengers with pre-ordered meals (which was almost everyone) there was a choice of a cheese or salami sandwich. This came with a bag of gummi bears and a complimentary soft drink, tea, coffee, juice or water. This is exactly the same as the snack offered to passengers on "Smart" fares on European short-haul flights. Once again the drink arrived well after I'd finished eating.

The snack bag:



To be quite honest, half a sandwich and a few lollies did not cut it as breakfast. I was still very hungry by the end of the flight, even though I had purchased extra food during the night. I'm not sure if they are intentionally serving small meals to encourage additional food sales, or if it's just cost cutting. But if I'm paying an extra €50 for essentially a bag and two meals, then the meals should at least be substantial.

The breakfast service was completed 90 minutes before landing. Again, I don't understand the timing. On an overnight flight such as this one, most passengers would be trying to get some sleep. Why wake up everyone two and a half hours before landing when the breakfast service can be completed within one hour?!

We landed around 20 minutes early.

So, would I fly with Eurowings long-haul again? Well, if they were significantly cheaper than a full-service airline then I would certainly consider it. The hard product, overall, was actually pretty good for a low-cost airline. The service was friendly and they got me to my destination on-time. Early, in fact. For a low-cost airline, my expectations were exceeded.

There are just a few small things I think they could improve. Firstly, the meal service timing. Secondly, the meal serving sizes (especially breakfast). Thirdly, not waking everyone up during the night unnecessarily. But as I said, these are just small things!

 

[MEL_Traveller]

The tracks are above both the ground and the train carriages. I'd never seen anything like it before.

They have something similar in Tokyo? They're not the most attractive of things

edited - found a link to the one in Tokyo: Tokyo Railway Labyrinth: The Longest Suspension Monorail in the World

 

[Mattg]

Bangkok

Once again I was keen to break up the trip, so spent a couple of nights in Bangkok.

I have been to Bangkok before, and like the city, but this time I was keen to do something a little different. So on the "middle" day I did a full day tour to the Damnoensaduak Floating Market, River Kwai and Tiger Temple. I usually avoid organised tours like the plague, but in this case I made an exception and had an enjoyable (albeit long) day!

The tour itself was highly disorganised and there was a lot of driving involved, but the places we visited were all very interesting.

Firstly, the floating market:







After lunch we had about an hour at the River Kwai to check out the bridge built by prisoners of war during WWII as part of the so-called "death railway".

 

[Mattg]

We visited the nearby JEATH war museum, which contained some useful information and all sorts of memorabilia. To be honest I found the layout of the museum a bit strange.

The final stop was the "Tiger temple". I'm not too sure how I felt about this place. It was nice to get some photos with tigers, but the whole operation seemed like a bit of a tourist trap. The staff weren't even getting paid - they all seemed to be volunteer backpackers. And I imagine their treatment of the tigers would be questionable.

 

[Mattg]

The next leg of the return journey was a short positioning flight from Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur. I had booked a redeye flight from KL back to Australia that night, so flew down to the Malaysian capital mid-afternoon. There is a lot of choice on this route! I originally booked on the Royal Jordanian tag flight, but they ended up cancelling this sector several months out. The process of getting a refund was somewhat painful, but I did eventually get my money back. (A few dollars more than I paid, in fact, due to exchange rate differences.)

I instead booked on the Ethiopian Airlines tag flight on the same route.

ET618 Bangkok - Kuala Lumpur
Boeing 767-300
Departure time: 14:25
Arrival time: 17:45



This leg was the continuation of an overnight flight from Addis Ababa on an old Boeing 767.

There was no queue at check-in and I got served straight away by the friendly man wearing an Oman Air uniform.

Boarding was called early and by the time I reached the gate I was the only passenger left to board. Apparently only 11 passengers joined the flight in Bangkok! This was in addition to around 60 passengers continuing on from Ethiopia, so the flight was very lightly loaded. There appeared to be only 2 passengers in Business class. According to the gate agent, the leg from ADD to BKK was full.

The Business class seats were in a 2-2-2 configuration and appeared to be angle-flat beds when fully reclined. They looked reasonable for a short to medium-haul sector, but certainly not the best out there.

A quick shot of the business seats:



I was in the front row of economy. The economy seats were comfortable, and I found the legroom reasonable.



And the front row of economy:



But other than that, the hard product was not great. The plane's interior appeared physically dated. I also noticed that the toilet was in a filthy condition - it appeared not to have been cleaned after the previous sector.

There was no personal in-flight entertainment; only overhead TV screens. Nothing was actually played on these screens, other than the safety video before take-off. (As an aside, I found it slightly amusing that the video specifically mentioned that computer accessories like printers could not be used in-flight.) There were radio jacks in each armrest, with several different "radio" stations available. Headphones were provided in the seat pocket. For some reason, Ethiopian music seemed to be playing over the PA system for the last ~30 minutes of the flight, starting pretty much as soon as the crew were asked to prepare the cabin for landing.

Having said that... where the hard product may have been lacking, I feel the soft product more than made up for it! For a flight of around two hours, the meal was excellent. I had the fish curry with rice, which was tasty. I thought serving size was large for an economy meal, too. A full range of beverages was available with lunch, including a lovely Spanish sauvignon blanc, and the crew were happy to offer refills.



The flight attendants were very hospitable, and nothing was ever too much trouble.

I observed that there was a mix-up with the meal of the lady behind me. Apparently she had ordered a vegetarian meal but one was not loaded. The crew proactively offered to prepare her a vegetarian meal using food from the Business cabin, which honestly looked really good. Full marks for service recovery right there.

I have just one criticism of the cabin crew. Many passengers were out of their seats well before we had reached the gate and the seatbelt sign was turned off after landing. The crew said and did absolutely nothing about it.

We arrived around half an hour early.

Overall, I actually enjoyed this flight a lot. For a flight of only two hours, the soft product was excellent and made up for a slightly underwhelming hard product.

 

[Mattg]

After a quick dinner in Kuala Lumpur (did I mention that I love the street food there?!) I headed over to klia2 and checked in for my next leg to Sydney. For this flight I was flying Air Asia X once again. I had booked a "Premium Flatbed" seat, which is Air Asia's version of Business class and was looking forward to trying out for the overnight flight.

A quick tip: Flights are often cheaper if you book ex Malaysia! As Air Asia doesn't charge a penalty for booking one-way flights, you might want to consider booking separate outbound and return flights as you might be able to save a small fortune on the return leg! I didn't book during any particular sale and got the Premium Flatbed for the equivalent of ~$400 by booking ex Malaysia and paying in ringgits.

D7 222 Kuala Lumpur - Sydney
Airbus A330-300
Departure time: 23:35
Arrival time: 10:45 (+1 day)

For some reason our plane (9M-XXA) was sporting a blank white livery:



This flight was almost the exact opposite of the last one. The hard product was pretty good, but the service was about as no-frills as it gets!

As a Premium Flatbed passenger you do get to skip the queues and use priority check-in. But there is no lounge access at the airport while waiting for the flight.

The flight seemed full, so I was happy to be in the pointy-end. As I took my chosen seat in row 2 I was welcomed on board by the purser and offered a complimentary bottle of water. Shortly after I was asked if I would move to an aisle seat in row one as a couple wanted to sit together. I had specifically chosen row 2, but didn't want to cause a scene so just moved.

Before take-off the purser came around to each passenger handing out a complimentary blanket and pillow. They also confirmed each passenger's hot meal order and asked if they would prefer to eat immediately after take-off or just before landing.

I chose to enjoy my satay chicken after take-off. The meal was pretty good, but was no different to what is served in economy.



That was about the extent of the complimentary Business class inclusions. Only the one meal was provided for free for the 8 hour flight, and drinks were not included. I asked for a beer with my meal and the flight attendant, somewhat embarrassed, informed me that I would have to pay 16 ringgits. There were also no amenity kits handed out. Not that I minded, but I've never flown long-haul Business class and not received one before.

There were two rows of "Premium Flatbed" seats in a 2-2-2 configuration. The seat was fairly comfortable, but I'm not sure I would describe it as a "flat bed". When fully reclined, the seat was not entirely flat. It was also on quite a substantial angle, meaning I kept slipping down the seat during the night. At least there was a foot rest. I was able to sleep reasonably comfortably lying on my back, but found it difficult to get comfortable on my side as the seat was not completely flat. Having said that, it was obviously much better than sitting in economy and I managed around 5 hours of sleep. There was also a privacy screen between each seat pair, and everyone had a personal reading light. The tray table folded away into the centre armrest.

The seat:



Row 1 legroom:



The crew were fine, although we had very little interaction with them other than to receive a meal and a few "freebies" at the very start of the flight.

We arrived a little late in Sydney, then waited over an hour before the bags started appearing on the carousel! I have no idea why it took so long.

Considering the price, I thought the product was pretty good. It was very much a "no-frills" business class experience, but the hard product was acceptable for an overnight flight. I would certainly choose it again over flying economy on a premium airline for around the same price!

 

[Mattg]

My final destination where I would end the trip was Canberra. After clearing customs I headed over to the Qantas domestic transfer bus. There was no queue and within about 15 minutes I was in the Qantas Club in terminal 3. I couldn't wait to have a shower and some lunch by this point!

QF1421 Sydney - Canberra
Dash 8 Q400
Departure time: 14:35
Arrival time: 15:30



The final leg was exactly as you would expect from a short QantasLink flight - pleasant and uneventful. The flight ran on time, the service was friendly... what more do you need for a ~30 minute flight?

As always complimentary drinks accompanied the snack, which on this flight was a small bag of passionfruit flavoured shortbread biscuits.

 

[Mattg]

And that concludes my month of travel! Unlike my trip around this time last year (Berlin to Canberra) pretty much everything went exactly to plan! No flights were cancelled, and almost all ran on-time or even early. That would have to just about be a record for me. The whole experience was almost entirely stress-free!

Europe is always a lot of fun, and this trip was no exception. It was nice to see some new places, as well as to spend some time in my favourite spots and visit lots of friends along the way. I also enjoyed travelling on a few "unorthodox" airlines/routings. I love trying new things, and on this trip I got to fly on 7 airlines that I hadn't previously flown.

Although this trip report doesn't have nearly as much drama as the Berlin to Canberra journey from last year, I hope you've enjoyed it! And I hope I've given you a few ideas on some of the left-field ways to get to Europe on a budget.

 

[Mattg]

Certainly a very interesting observation considering Air Berlin & Virgin Australia both have a common shareholder being Etihad and one would think all three airlines would have the ability to earn status credits on each airline retrospectively.
Maybe Air Berlin being a One World member may have a precedent that prohibits unfavourable treatment to another One World Member, ie Qantas?

I would love to know the answer to this.

Just as a side question I wonder when travelling on VA or QF in Australia for those chasing status credits/tier miles on Air Berlin's "Top Bonus" frequent flyer scheme works when travelling in Australia?

Which airline would those who are chasing Status on Air Berlin be better to fly with for the purpose of status credit / tier mile accrual ?

I just had a quick look, and AB topbonus status miles aren't earned on VA so it is at least reciprocal. (They aren't earned on Alitalia either, despite the AB/AZ partnership featuring prominently in a current AB advertising campaign in Germany.)

It seems to me that airberlin is the only Velocity partner airline where you don't earn status credits! Truly bizarre.

 

[drron]

An interesting TR.Though you wont catch us on some of those flights.:shock:
Once again good commentary on the cities visited.
Thanks for reporting.

 

[Mattg]

They have something similar in Tokyo? They're not the most attractive of things

edited - found a link to the one in Tokyo: Tokyo Railway Labyrinth: The Longest Suspension Monorail in the World

Thanks for the link - I hadn't seen that before. The train looks like it's upside down!

 

[OATEK]

Thanks Mattg, always something to learn from your trip reports.

 

[ric_melb]

Have really enjoyed your trip report Matt. Good to get your comments on the various cities you visited, and the airlines you flew with, together with photos.
One thing I did realise from your report is that my tolerance for LCC airlines or equivalent is much less than yours!