Air Berlin

Announced on 11÷15÷15 direct flights from DFW to DUS, so friends booked a flight a month ago. Then a couple of days later AB decided to pull back from that flight (4 flights/​week) completely because ‘the seats were not filling up fast enough’. But what they mean to say is that they can make more money flying that Airbus 330 to more popular destinations (e.g. Brazil) and therefore leaving booked passengers in the cold. Bad apple in the One-​world alliance!

Worst customer service ever. Tried to get a vegan meal for my daughter flying to Germany. Customer service was worse than unhelpful. Rude, inconsiderate, and completely lacking in compassion. When we asked to speak to a supervisor, we were told by Silvester Prlichowski, who seems to be the only one answering their toll-​free line (we called 5 times and he answered) that it’s not the supervisors job to speak with customers. Unbelievable!

If you have another option take it, Do NOT fly Air Berlin.
They offer the worst seating, food and customer service of any airline. BUT the worst thing was they allowed TWO mid thirties males to freely congregate right in front of my bulkhead seat, right in front of my seat where the door is !!! … When I questioned the Stewardess about this she said yes they should not be there. But then did absolutely nothing about it !!!
Incredibly dangerous and I think Illegal these days.
If you can find another Airline do it.

Any traveler having issues with Air Berlin please make a complaint. They must be stopped with this poor service!

air berlin can you please call me back! the number you gave me to call to inquire about my lost baggage is a ghost number that no one answers.
it is extremely unprofessional that my bag has now been lost for three days and air berlin has done nothing to take accountability or remediate this situation.
do yourself a favor and avoid this airline at all costs

If Unilocal had 0 stars, I would give it to Air Berlin. I flew business from Florence to Los Angeles on August 21^st via Düsseldorf. They lost my luggage and the best part is that none of them sticker around to make sure all passengers were ok. Lufthansa had 3 people to help. Air Berlin this is unacceptable. I’m going to sue Air Berlin on Monday out of principle!
Air Berlin is low cost and should not be part of One World. Terrible experience.

THE WORST AIRLINE I EVER FLEW!!!
What do we do???
As reported Airlines last year mishandled 21.8 million bags, or 6.96 per 1,000 passengers, according to SITA, an aviation communications and technology company that tracks baggage performance each year.
I plan on contacting the Governors office and Charles Schumer senators office to place a complaint as you will read on all blogs AirBerlins
Track record for lost baggage.
Legislators need to be informed of this ongoing issue of missing baggage and non responsive airlines. It truly is an insult that carriers only have a liability of $ 200 which is an insult when most luggage has a cost of that alone.
What is the consumer to do???
I flew from Milan with a connecting flight in Düsseldorf to JFK flight#AB7450. My bags never arrived. I was supplied with a baggage claim receipt that had phone # to contact. 1 (718) 244‑0921. NY, USA have called countless times and left countless messages. NO REPONSE!!! I then reached out to AirBerlin Customer Care at 866 266 5588 and could you imagine they told me to call the Germany Office for assistance. My feeling to that response is if you are doing business in any country you should have a local contact number.
I then tried and even emailed still nothing
Air Berlin Cargo:
Booking please contact LEISURE CARGO GmbH by telephoning
Telephone: 49 (0)211−941 8795 or by sending an e-​mail to:
Air Berlin Misdirected baggage and Lost Baggage:
Address: Air Berlin PLC & Co Luftverkehrs KG, Gepäckermittlungszentrale /​Lost & Found Centre, Saatwinkler Damm 42 – 43, D-​13 627 Berlin
Telephone: 0049 (0)30−3434 4646
Fax: 0049 (0)30−3434 4649
Damaged Baggage: 0049 (0)30−3434 1909
Email:
LOST BAGGAGE EMAILS sent and contacted:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6) Gov. Mario Cuomo office
WHAT DO I DO?
WHO ELSE CAN I CONTACT???
Frustrated…
Steve Scarano
914.645.1368

I told myself that if this ended up being a pleasant experience, Id give a review.
I just got home from a flight from Berlin to New York City (JFK) and the overall experience was excellent. The staff was incredibly helpful, friendly, and attentive. It is obvious that they are trying extra hard to up their game in customer service and reliability. There were 2 complimentary meals included and they were surprisingly delicious (for airplane food), in addition to timely visits to make sure everyone was doing well. The in-​flight entertainment was vast and interesting enough for a flight, and the price was honestly unmatched. I would have paid twice as much on any other airline and they wouldn’t have included anything in the price! At least with Airberlin you get excellent customer service + perks like baggage and food.
The only downside was a random, unexplained wait at the gate when returning to JFK, but that wasnt the airline’s fault. I would definitely fly Air Berlin again. Thank you for the surprisingly positive experience!

Why does Unilocal not have a zero/​negative star option? My flight back from Florence, Italy went a little something like this.
1. Check in my bags, la-​dee-​da can’t wait to get my wine on and sleep on my flight.
2. Oooh, one hour delay not too shabby — good thing I have my newspaper that I may have just taken from the AirFrance kiosk. (Hey! Air Berlin didn’t have any!)
3. Okay, four hour delay? Call Air Berlin — they can’t reschedule me because they don’t see a delay on their computers. Umm, ok?
4. Flight cancelled! Everyone pick up your bags from baggage claim and please come back to the check-​in counter — chaos ensues as everyone runs to get their bags.
5. Hey, everyone! Hop on this uncomfortable bus and ride for four hours to Milan! We’ll fly you guys out on our 9:05PM flight
6. At the Milan airport… We had no idea you guys were coming from Florence, who are you? We have no more room on this flight. Please wait while we rebook all of your flights!
7. Ok, you’re booked for 6AM, please go to this hotel and come back in three hours!
8. Ooh, that 6AM flight you just came in at 4AM for? It’s delayed so you’ll miss your connecting flight. Please go to that other counter and re-​book your flight!
9. AirBerlin won’t pay for your re-​booked flight unless you fly with one of their affiliates, here, go fly to Rome.
Made it home 48 hours later. I hate you Air Berlin, like deep deep deep hate. And please note, this whole time I had been using international minutes to call them. The best part: no one on the phone knew that any of this was happening.

Air Berlin is okay as long as there are no irregular operations or difficulties, and that is where a company will shine or not — when it is tested.
I recently flew from Budapest to Berlin on a non-​stop flight. After waiting an hour for our luggage, an old man came and said in German only that they «couldn’t» or «wouldn’t» unload the bags from the aircraft and that we should go to baggage services to fill out a claim.
There it was chaos of course, and I filled out a form and left it there. I was not given a receipt. I couldn’t contact AB over the telephone because no one would answer so I went back to Tegel airport and found that my claim had not been entered into the system.
Well, they had my luggage for eight days and delivered it on the 13^th day (I had to fly on to Geneva for business without clothes, medicine, or a thing).
I have sent emails to Air Berlin to ask where to send my claims for incidental expenses, but they ignore me. I have heard from other travelers that they will just ignore you until you give up so that they do not have to assume any responsibility for causing your expenses. Also, they do not furnish their partner airlines information about your flights so you do not even get your mileage credit.
Well, I have filed a lawsuit in New York Small Claims Court. They can pay me what they owe me as well as a lawyer to appear for the hearings now.
Believe me: pay a little bit more and fly on Lufthansa. They are also not perfect but they at least stand up for them selves.

I was pleased with my service on Air Berlin. I flew from JFK to Dusseldorf, Germany roundtrip. This airline was efficient with check in and boarding. I think this was one of the fastest boarding processes for a long haul flight for a full flight that I have been on.
The plane was clean and the cabin crew was very professional both ways, and only one of the flight attendants did act like a «typical» German. The inflight entertainment was not that great, hence the four stars. I was able to overlook it because I feel like I could go to sleep without missing out on any new movies that I could have watched. The food was decent for airline food going to Germany, but the food on the return to the United States was not as good. On both flights everyone got a large waterbottle, earbuds, blanket, and pillow. However, on the flight to Dusseldorf everyone was also given an amenity kit that contained ear plugs, socks, toothbrush and toothpaste, and an eye mask.
We landed early both flights and disembarking the plane was also very quick. We did not get the chocolate hearts upon landing that I received on the domestic flights I took in Germany. My bags also took a long time to come, which made me a little worried after reading the reviews about the airline’s history with lost baggage.
Overall, Air Berlin was a good airline and I would not hesitate to fly with them again, both with long haul flights and domestically!

Several years ago, I booked a direct flight within Europe, and a few weeks before the flight, Air Berlin notified me that my direct flight had changed to a flight with a layover. They didn’t offer a partial refund or compensation but they did offer to refund the entire ticket, so I decided to cancel the trip and get the refund. (It was a short trip and not worth it with a layover.)
They said they had processed my refund, but I saw only a partial refund on my credit card. I emailed to ask about the remainder, and they claimed that it had been processed in full. This is where the story gets ridiculous, and why I will never again fly with Air Berlin.
After their email, I kept checking my credit card statement, and no refund (of the remainder) ever appeared. I kept emailing them and leaving messages on their customer service voicemail, and they ignored me entirely. No replies, no return phone calls. I started appending a redacted copy of my credit card statement to the emails to prove that they in fact never processed the remaining part of the refund. No response. This went on for SIX MONTHS. I must have emailed them (always politely) 10 – 15 times and left 10 or so messages on their voicemail. It was just absurd. Finally, I found the email address of one of their executives somewhere (can’t remember where — a press release or notice for their shareholders or something of that sort). I emailed him (again, very politely) and explained the situation. Two weeks later, I received a reply from the generic email address I had been hounding for half a year, and they explained that their system had incorrectly shown a full refund. (Well, of course! That’s what I had been telling them from day 1!) I can’t remember whether they apologized, but the refund was processed within a few days.
This is much more aggravation than I sign up for when I book a quick trip, and I’m definitely not flying with Air Berlin ever again. (I can’t give less than 1 star, but they do hand out nice little candies when you board their planes, so maybe they deserve 1 star for that.)

If I could leave zero stars I absolutely would. Flew from JFK-​TXL-​FCO on my honeymoon and air Berlin lost both my luggage and my husbands. It’s now been 12 days and we are back in NY, still with no luggage. I was told my luggage was found a week ago, yet it still hasn’t been delivered. I’ve called the lost&found claim desk in Italy several times and have gotten the busy tone each time. I’ve called the JFK lost baggage service relentlessly trying to receive any information and my calls have gone unanswered. The times theyve been answered I was told I would receive a call back, that has yet to happen. Emailed air Berlin customer service, no answer. I will NEVER fly with air Berlin again. Ruined my honeymoon. The cheaper airfare is NOT worth the stress and amount you end up spending trying to replace your belongings.

A month after returning from my trip — the luggage was found and delivered to my home. I have given it up for lost given I’ve heard nothing back from the airline. The only issue was the wheel on my luggage was broken.

I had booked a trip from JFK to Berlin with Air Berlin. Prior to leaving, I looked on Unilocal and saw such awful reviews, I was a bit nervous about flying with them but I wasn’t going to cancel or switch airlines so close to when I was departing. I decided then, that if I had a good experience with them, that I would review them. I have never reviewed an airline before.
I had a great experience with Air Berlin. First off, shortly after taking off, they gave everyone little bags filled with earplugs, gum, socks, an eye mask and a toothbrush. I have NEVER seen an airline do this before in my life. I thought that was so cute! & so fun, it was like going to a birthday and getting a party favor. The girl next to me was very happy to have the socks as her feet were cold.
Each seat had a TV.
Everyone got free headphones.
AND they gave everyone a bottle of water! Full sized! I also have never seen an airline do this before.
On the way back, we didn’t get any «goodie bags» but still had a pleasant experience.
The con was that I called to request a vegan meal several days before and when it was time for dinner, they had a «vegan meal» down but it was vegetarian. the flight attendant said it must be a mess up from the caterer. She offered me extra fruit if I wanted but I had actually eaten prior and I had some snacks so it wasn’t the end of the world, but she said if I changed my mind and wanted more fruit to let her know. Breakfast, sadly was also just some fruit and a roll (but who says planes are known for having good meals?)
On the way back, again I had a problem with my meal, my name wasn’t on the «list» for vegan meals, but they had a vegan meal and happily gave it to me and it was pretty good.
I didn’t check bags going to Berlin, but I did coming home and after all the stories on here of lost luggage, I crossed my fingers. and luckily my luggage did come out in JFK.
The only quite strange thing was, leaving JFK to Berlin, they didn’t have the safety video and the flight attendants didn’t say anything about it. going back there was a video on the screen. but very strange (& I do wonder if it’s illegal?) that they didn’t have the safety information leaving.
Despite that, I would definitely fly with Air Berlin again, next time I would confirm my meal again before departing.

How to rate zero stars?
I flew with them for a wedding and they lost my suitcase, which had all of my essentials plus the bridesmaids dress that I had custom made specifically for the wedding and was unfortunately unable to wear — I spent her first day of what could have been a lovely vacation frantically searching for another dress and when I called airberlin’s customer service for details, they were not only unhelpful, but completely unapologetic. The airline took several days to locate and deliver my suitcase (it arrived on the last night of mytrip) and then, wait for it, lost it AGAIN on my return trip. Today, I waited for them to deliver it to me and, low and behold, the WRONG suitcase showed up at my door. Moral of the story, if you value your possessions and your time, do not fly airberlin, unless you can successfully stuff everything into your carryon.

Beware ! They will steal your luggage!
Air Berlin lost /​stole? my luggage on Sept 1 2013 when I returned home after 2 months travel 50lb luggage was full of new clothes and gifts for friends and family. 6 months later after filing all required docs, no calls are ever answered in JFK luggage dep. no replies. no reimbursement. The rudest, most ignorant, disgusting service, Never Again!

I will not being flying AirBerlin ever again. I’m not sure what American Airlines/​One World alliance were thinking when adding this airline to their partnership.
We were flying from Barcelona through Dusseldorf to JFK. Our first flight was delayed, but with a large layover window (3.5 hours) it wasn’t that big of a deal. The problem came once we were in Dusseldorf. It started with a 1 hour delay, and as boarding time came close after that delay, it was bumped to a 2 hour delay, then 3, then 3.5, then 4, then 4.5, then 5, then 6… etc. We finally ended up leaving about 8 hours late. The constant pushes of the schedule are what made this maddening. If they had just told us it would have been 6 hour delay up front, we could have escaped the airport for a bit.
Since we now arrived at JFK after every last flight back to the Baltiimore/​DC area had left, they had already arranged a hotel for us. They also provided meal vouchers for the hotel for dinner and lunch. Unfortunately, we didn’t arrive at the hotel until after 11pm, and had to leave before 6am for our new flight home. As you would expect, the hotel restaurant where the vouchers were accepted weren’t open.
I emailed AirBerlin the next week asking for reimbursement for breakfast the next morning, food purchased while in Dusseldorf, and for the extra day of dog boarding we were forced to pay for thanks to their delay. 3 months later, I received a response explaining that they didn’t have to provide anything because the delay was caused by an aviation agency inspection, not an operational issue… But they would reimburse my meals if I would provide them my full name, my bank account number, routing number, and the bank’s SWIFT number…
I don’t think I’m going to send that information through an unsecure channel (email) and risk identity theft over $ 70.

After reading the horror stories, I want to assuage anyone feeling the dread of «oh no… I just bought my tickets for airberlin and now I’m on a one-​way trip to sucksville.»
We flew from JFK to Berlin, nonstop. And it was fine! The plane was on the newer side, each seat had it’s own TV screen with free movies, music and television. They served two meals (yes, actual meals). Our flight seemed to be mostly Germans, but the flight attendants spoke English well.
The only downside is that the seats are very close together. When the person in front of you reclines, you feel like your TV screen is right in your lap. There’s also very little leg room. I’m only 5’7″ and felt bad for the taller folks.
You can check one bag for free, but if you want to pick your seat ahead of time, you have to pay a $ 30 fee when you buy your ticket. Or if you want to upgrade to Business Class, it’s an extra $ 1,000 per person.
Luggage was fine — arrived without hassle.
Safe travels!

I have enjoyed flying Air Berlin for the past few years. Planes good, on board service good, food good (airline standards), entertainment good, value good. But you really learn what a company is all about when you have a problem and you get to experience how they handle that problem.
Air Berlin lost my luggage 5 days ago in Europe. I have followed up daily with the airport lost and found. My luggage was located after 24 hours as I was told. But for some reason no one is delivery it.
Here is a summary if what you can expect if you have a problem at Air Berlin:
1. When you call the airport lost and found they don’t know much info since Air Berlin and their professional luggage service is not communicating with them.
2. The luggage service (BaggageExpress) will not answer your phone calls. Though you can email them and they will give you unreliable information.
3. Air Berlin — you can only email customer service — no one to talk to. You will be lucky if you get a reply.
Very unhappy with the customer service this airline provides. I will be spreading the work.