mikeology From United States of America, joined Mar 2012, 103 posts, RR: 0 Posted (7 months 1 week 3 days 8 hours ago) and read 12359 times:
Intro: Earlier in 2012 my friend and I were at SFO about to catch out UA flight to ICN. Whilst walking through the airport we noticed a sign for Air Berlin. We both said "they fly here"? Turns out they do. I guess what you could consider summer service. They fly their A330-200 3x weekly (Mon/Wed/Fri) from Mid April to mid October. Immediately thought i'd like to try them out when the opportunity presents itself. So later on in the year when I decided I wanted to go to the Faroe Islands (seperate trip report) I needed a way to get from San Francisco to Copenhagen. Having flown LH and LX previously in my life I thought i'd give AB a try if prices were the same. Turns out they were all within a $100 of each other. So on to booking it was. Flight was booked at www.airberlin.com Booking was easy. Selected my seats and was good to go. Also turns out that all of their A330's were getting a new interior with new seats and IFE. But would I get to experience it? We'll see later. On to the report!
Routing for the flight
As most of my reports will always start. SFO. Never get tired of this place.
Bags in hand time to find the check in counter
After about 5 mins my boading passes were in hand. Bag checked and ready to start the journey.
They have a lot of displays/exhibits at SFO. This one featuring various types of bicycles
I had some Colombia Pesos from my last trip so after exchanging those it was on to security
Quick look at the FIDS. Looks to be on time
Passing a small engine display on my way to security. 4pm was peak time on A-Side so about 45 minutes to geth through. No body scan either
Finally airside I had a good 2 hours before departure.
Peeking out the window. Not too much activity
The EK flight to Dubai. 7th or 8th longest commercial flight?
EK lounge here at SFO. No access for me
Come 5:30 PM it was time to board my flight.
SFO - DUS
AB 7393
D-ALPF
Airbus A330-200
Seat 22k
Load - Maybe 75%
Down the jetway
And then my heart sank. All this build up and looking at pics of the new AB interior and IFE and what do I get? Old interior! Argh! Needless to say I was upset. Reading on other forums I was lead to believe the whole fleet was updated but apparently not. But oh well what can I do. At least the seats are comfy. Legroom is tight though. Me being 6'0
A look out the window hoping I make it through the 10 hour journey in comfort
Nice winglet
The climb out over Castro Valley
Soon after ammenity kits were handed out. Socks, toothbrush, eye mask
Meal service started after. Chicken or pasta was the choice. I went pasta
Since I had no IFE the trusty iPad helped me through
Crossing into Canada
Cabin view
About 2 hours before landing and somewhere over England breakfast was started. Cold cuts and a muffin
I since moved seats to stretch out a little. Notice the incorrect safety cards
AB Magazine
After touchdown I was my way to B terminal for my connecting flight
Nice here at DUS
View of our plane from SFO
The AB flight to Cancun I believe
Everywhere you go EK
Now at B-Side I decide to have myself a beer
When in Germany Dub-Techno
Activity outside
Sweet smoking room. Probably none of these in the US
6:00 PM rolled around and it was soon time to board
Settled in and ready for the 1hr hop to CPH. Legroom is ok
As you can tell it was a rainy day in DUS
Climbing out of DUS. One of my favorite pics
View of the cabin
Winglet
Touchdown in CPH
Pulled up to gate. Looking forward to my few days in Copenhagen
On to baggage claim
With bags in hand it was into town. Quick hop on the metro
Opera house
Nyahvn
Did you know Lego's come from Denmark?
After a great trip to the Faroes and Copenhagen it was time to head home
Self check-in for SAS/ Star Alliance
Terminal 2 for Air Berlin
After I grabbed my boarding pass it was through security and time to wait. All the planes I dont see back in the states
Oh my. Old livery. No winglet. AB doesn't want me flying anything new
Good to know
Old seats too
Leg room is meh
A view out the window. Never heard of NEOS but it looks cool
Showing signs of wear
Coming into DUS
Touchdown. Weather looks better than a week ago
Make my way through B to A Side
I like the look of this Ethiad plane
Another beer before I say good bye to Germany
Thats me!
DUS - SFO
AB 7392
D-ALPh
Airbus A330-200
Seat 22A
Load - Maybe 80%
Since I was looking forward to going home I just assumed i'd get another plane with old interior which I did. Oddly this one felt roomier. Also I had nobody sitting next to me so even better
Hey look they put the correct safety card
Bye Germany!
BA A319 taking off before us
Climb out
Once again meal was chicken or pasta. I went pasta
Of course Baileys. My flying drink of choice
Lavatory shot
Later on second meal came around. Some kind of beef thing with a curry potato salad. Actually really good. And the Office. Love Michael Scott
Somewhere over Sacramento. Nice Pratt & Whitney engine
On final to 28R passing my home town Foster City
Then it was through immigration and baggage claim
Home sweet home!
Conclusion:
AB was great. Although a huge let down in getting the older interior I had no complaints. All flights were on time. Seats were comfy. Service was great. And first time on an A330 was nice. For the same price would I have rather flown LH or LX? Yeah maybe. But it was nice to sample something different and a rare flight for SFO. Hopefully next year their plane to San Francsico will be updated as I may be tempted to fly them again. Thanks for reading. Comments welcome as always
gjunnar From Germany, joined Sep 2001, 155 posts, RR: 0 Reply 1, posted (7 months 1 week 2 days 12 hours ago) and read 10867 times:
Great trip report. Love your succinct writing style.
Always interesting to read about AB's longhaul services, especially from someone not from Europe/Germany. Always thought AB doesn't attract too many customers at their destinations. Great bummer you got the old interior though. Then again kinda surprising you still rated your experience great. The service of the crew must have been really good then huh?!
nethkt From Thailand, joined Apr 2001, 985 posts, RR: 3 Reply 2, posted (7 months 1 week 2 days 11 hours ago) and read 10758 times:
Totally agree, love your succinct trip report style. I don't really want to know the whole conversations that occurred during check-in until baggage claim lol
Not often that I see AB longhaul service. Living in Phuket, AB is operating code-share flight HKT-AUH on behalf of EY.
Maybe next summer you can try SAS with their new service SFO-CPH? Their 340-300 interior ain't bad giving that the products are out for a long while. Just remember the BOB concept on their intra-Europe flights lol
Anyway, thank you so much, enjoy your trip report for a quick European fun!!
Cheers,
net-hkt
Don't be annoyed knowing the passengers around you are non-revs and op-upgraders, be grateful for them. Life is beautifu
debonair From Germany, joined Jan 2004, 2098 posts, RR: 4 Reply 3, posted (7 months 1 week 2 days 10 hours ago) and read 10514 times:
Quoting mikeology (Thread starter): Whilst walking through the airport we noticed a sign for Air Berlin. We both said "they fly here"? Turns out they do. I guess what you could consider summer service. They fly their A330-200 3x weekly (Mon/Wed/Fri) from Mid April to mid October.
WOW, San Francisco seems the place to be- also Arkefly started their new S.F./Oakland-Amsterdam service this year: http://www.arkefly.nl/ustravelers.aspx
Quoting mikeology (Thread starter): Having flown LH and LX previously in my life I thought i'd give AB a try if prices were the same.
OMG! LX is a totally different league, how can you compare AB/LH & LX?!
Quoting mikeology (Thread starter): And then my heart sank. All this build up and looking at pics of the new AB interior and IFE and what do I get? Old interior! Argh! Needless to say I was upset.
Very sad to see, but a huge problem with AB. This summer was total chaos, sometimes the new A330 flew intra-European runs, leaving the "old" A330's on the long haul to the US- despite being PREMIUM routes (OneWorld & ETIHAD code-share which MUST be op. by the refurbished A330's).
mikeology From United States of America, joined Mar 2012, 103 posts, RR: 0 Reply 5, posted (7 months 1 week 1 day 9 hours ago) and read 9207 times:
Quoting gjunnar (Reply 1): Great trip report. Love your succinct writing style.
Thank you. And yes I try and keep it simple
Quoting gjunnar (Reply 1): Always interesting to read about AB's longhaul services, especially from someone not from Europe/Germany. Always thought AB doesn't attract too many customers at their destinations. Great bummer you got the old interior though. Then again kinda surprising you still rated your experience great. The service of the crew must have been really good then huh?!
I agree that they probably don't. Never seen advertising for them in the states, let alone SFO. I felt like one of the few americans on the flight. The service was very good. Just wanted that new interior
Quoting nethkt (Reply 2): Totally agree, love your succinct trip report style. I don't really want to know the whole conversations that occurred during check-in until baggage claim lol
Haha yeah thank you. Never been one myself to car about the conversations had between passenger and airport worker
Quoting nethkt (Reply 2): Maybe next summer you can try SAS with their new service SFO-CPH? Their 340-300 interior ain't bad giving that the products are out for a long while. Just remember the BOB concept on their intra-Europe flights lol
Most definitely. I'd love to go back to Copenhagen and Faroe Islands. Will be nice to have a stright shot from SFO to CPH
You think so? Haven't seen too many reports from SFO recently but it does come up in discussion quite a but. I'd love to see a trip report on Arkefly from Oakland. Haven't talked to anyone that has flown it. Mostly dutch I assume
Quoting debonair (Reply 3): OMG! LX is a totally different league, how can you compare AB/LH & LX?!
Hope it doesn't come off as a comparison. Just trying something different. Of course LX and LH are above AB. I guess i'm fortunate that I can sample different offerings to mainland Europe from SFO. If I go back LX for sure
Quoting debonair (Reply 3): Very sad to see, but a huge problem with AB. This summer was total chaos, sometimes the new A330 flew intra-European runs, leaving the "old" A330's on the long haul to the US- despite being PREMIUM routes (OneWorld & ETIHAD code-share which MUST be op. by the refurbished A330's).
Yeah it was weird. You would think International long-haul would get the new planes. Call me crazy but I guess not. If anything in their defense the loads weren't at or near 100% so maybe they don't see SF as a premium route. Even though they've been flying it 3 years now
Quoting IrishAyes (Reply 4): Smoking rooms do exist in the US, on the air-side. The design of that building is cool, but its purpose turns me off as I am very anti-smoking.
Thanks. I had no idea they had em in the states. I'm also anti smoking myself so high five to that
cgnnrw From Germany, joined May 2005, 1077 posts, RR: 2 Reply 6, posted (7 months 1 week 14 hours ago) and read 8626 times:
Nice report. I've been tempted to try AB for several years but have always been reluctant due to their inconsistent onboard product. I've become spoiled with PTVs on other airlines such as AF, KL and LH. Now that they are in Oneworld more people States-side will take notice and give them a try. Their loyalty in Germany is quite high.
adamspotter From Netherlands, joined Feb 2011, 784 posts, RR: 2 Reply 8, posted (7 months 6 days 9 hours ago) and read 8084 times:
Hi Mikeology,
Nice to see your TATL flights online now too. Nice and entertaining report, well done!
Unlucky that you moestly got old AB interiors, especially with no PTVs that would have been an looong flight without your ipad
ABs service looks quite ok overall, have had a couple of enjoyable flights with them myself too!
mikeology From United States of America, joined Mar 2012, 103 posts, RR: 0 Reply 9, posted (7 months 5 days 23 hours ago) and read 7879 times:
Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 7): Nice review, AB long-haul reports are quire rare here. The product looks decent, but the lack of PTVs is certainly annoying.
Thank you. PTV's would have been nice. Hopefully by yeas end all the A330's are updated
Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 7): Why do you complain? You got a rather new 73G on the other flight.
I'm not. Just funny how both A330's were of the older type and then I see that. My sarcastic sense of humor I guess
Quoting adamspotter (Reply 8): Nice to see your TATL flights online now too. Nice and entertaining report, well done!
Unlucky that you moestly got old AB interiors, especially with no PTVs that would have been an looong flight without your ipad
ABs service looks quite ok overall, have had a couple of enjoyable flights with them myself too!
Thanks adamsotter. Yeah I was hoping for the new ones but hey what can I do. Service was good which helped and don't know what i would have done without the ipad
flightsimboy From Canada, joined Sep 2005, 849 posts, RR: 4 Reply 10, posted (7 months 5 days 22 hours ago) and read 7771 times:
Hi Mikeology!!
Quoting mikeology (Thread starter): Having flown LH and LX previously in my life I thought i'd give AB a try if prices were the same. Turns out they were all within a $100 of each other
I would have never thought AB prices would be the same as LH and LX.....those are the more expensive carriers, are they not?
Very confusing FIDS, as it shows the Air China flight from presumably the next morning. Yes it is better to locate a flight by it's destination but listing by time makes more sense I guess.
Quoting mikeology (Thread starter): Meal service started after. Chicken or pasta was the choice. I went pasta
Quoting mikeology (Thread starter): About 2 hours before landing and somewhere over England breakfast was started. Cold cuts and a muffin
Quoting mikeology (Thread starter): Later on second meal came around. Some kind of beef thing with a curry potato salad
Very trifle offerings for such a long haul flight. I guess I'm just pampered with Etihad offering three seperate runs each of sandwhiches, ice cream and popcorn in between two full meals on a 14 hour flight. Maybe you should have gone with the chicken for the return flight just to see how it tasted.
Yes they are everywhere...but don't underestimate the little Turkish jet close by who is slowly spreading her wings across the globe, and about to take on the likes of the giant EK, QR and EY
Quoting IrishAyes (Reply 4): Smoking rooms do exist in the US, on the air-side. The design of that building is cool, but its purpose turns me off as I am very anti-smoking
Quoting mikeology (Thread starter): Thanks. I had no idea they had em in the states. I'm also anti smoking myself so high five to that
And proudly sponsored by Camel themselves. Add me to the club of anti smoking...High five guys!!!
mikeology From United States of America, joined Mar 2012, 103 posts, RR: 0 Reply 11, posted (6 months 3 weeks 5 days 8 hours ago) and read 6744 times:
Quoting flightsimboy (Reply 10): I would have never thought AB prices would be the same as LH and LX.....those are the more expensive carriers, are they not?
At the time or purchase and dates I was flying they were all within $100 US of eachother
Quoting flightsimboy (Reply 10): Very trifle offerings for such a long haul flight. I guess I'm just pampered with Etihad offering three seperate runs each of sandwhiches, ice cream and popcorn in between two full meals on a 14 hour flight. Maybe you should have gone with the chicken for the return flight just to see how it tasted.
Lucky you And yeah I somewhat regret not switching it up
CoachClass From United States of America, joined Jan 2010, 357 posts, RR: 0 Reply 12, posted (6 months 3 weeks 3 days 21 hours ago) and read 6265 times:
Great report. Wonderful pictures.
Did AB charge for alcoholic drinks and headsets? Did you have to pay to reserve your seats? I've wanted to fly AB MIA to TXL since they started a while ago, but the 30" pitch and all the extra charges have dissuaded me. LH's usual 31"pitch is difficult enough. And, I concur that LH/Swiss give no amenity kits. With such a tight pitch now days it would be difficult to take off your shoes and put on the socks anyway!
mikeology From United States of America, joined Mar 2012, 103 posts, RR: 0 Reply 13, posted (6 months 3 weeks 3 days 10 hours ago) and read 6102 times:
Did AB charge for alcoholic drinks and headsets? Did you have to pay to reserve your seats? I've wanted to fly AB MIA to TXL since they started a while ago, but the 30" pitch and all the extra charges have dissuaded me. LH's usual 31"pitch is difficult enough. And, I concur that LH/Swiss give no amenity kits. With such a tight pitch now days it would be difficult to take off your shoes and put on the socks anyway!
Thank you!
Alcoholic drinks were free and they were very generous about bringing more when asked. I did pay to reserve seats on the long haul portion of my flights. If I recall it was around $15 for the seat selection but looking back wish I hadn't since the loads were so low. I've heard with the new interior and slim seats its "roomier" but I got the old config so that remains to be seen.
pwm2txlhopper From United States of America, joined Jan 2004, 1218 posts, RR: 1 Reply 14, posted (6 months 3 weeks 3 days 7 hours ago) and read 5914 times:
Nice read.
I love Air Berlin! I used them domestically in Europe several times before I started using their JFK-DUS flight to connect to to TXL when I go to Germany. I haven't had to go over since they started non-stop JFK-TXL, but would definitely use them next time I go to Berlin. Especially, now that DL has suspended JFK-TXL.
I'm not really picky bout having modern IFE, etc. Just want a cheap seat and AB has provided that. The last two times I used them to get to Berlin, their airfares were 50-60% lower than all the competitors during peak season.. Also, their fees for other services are very reasonable. When I moved to Berlin for a year, I brought my cat and a bicycle. The charge to bring the cat was only about $30, and the bike was less than $100! Pretty damn cheap compared to bringing pets/over-sized checked items on another airline!
Quoting IrishAyes (Reply 4): Smoking rooms do exist in the US, on the air-side. The design of that building is cool, but its purpose turns me off as I am very anti-smoking.
The only flight I've ever been on in my life where I was allowed to smoke was an Air Berlin flight from TXL-PMI in November 2003. (It was banned shortly thereafter) Germany is a very smoker friendly country.
mikeology From United States of America, joined Mar 2012, 103 posts, RR: 0 Reply 15, posted (6 months 3 weeks 2 days 10 hours ago) and read 5494 times:
Quoting pwm2txlhopper (Reply 14): I love Air Berlin! I used them domestically in Europe several times before I started using their JFK-DUS flight to connect to to TXL when I go to Germany. I haven't had to go over since they started non-stop JFK-TXL, but would definitely use them next time I go to Berlin. Especially, now that DL has suspended JFK-TXL.
Seeing how they haven't been in the states that long you prefer them over LH? Any major downsides between the two German carriers?
Quoting pwm2txlhopper (Reply 14): I'm not really picky bout having modern IFE, etc. Just want a cheap seat and AB has provided that. The last two times I used them to get to Berlin, their airfares were 50-60% lower than all the competitors during peak season.. Also, their fees for other services are very reasonable. When I moved to Berlin for a year, I brought my cat and a bicycle. The charge to bring the cat was only about $30, and the bike was less than $100! Pretty damn cheap compared to bringing pets/over-sized checked items on another airline!
Thats actually really cheap. Having just flown jet blue an LCC I believe they wanted more than that for a cross country flight to fly a dog
Quoting pwm2txlhopper (Reply 14): The only flight I've ever been on in my life where I was allowed to smoke was an Air Berlin flight from TXL-PMI in November 2003. (It was banned shortly thereafter) Germany is a very smoker friendly country.
Haha that awesome. My travel buddy who is a smoker would have appreciated that
photoshooter From Belgium, joined Feb 2010, 353 posts, RR: 20 Reply 16, posted (6 months 3 weeks 2 days 7 hours ago) and read 5278 times:
AIRLINERS.NET CREW CHAT OPERATOR
Hello
that's a nice trip report you've got here! Sad to see you didn't log the new interior A330... I hear good things about the new interior. Better luck next time. I really like DUS airport, I hope you've had a nice experience transferring there.
Thanks again and keep the TRs coming!
Photoshooter
'A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.' - Winston Churchill
that's a nice trip report you've got here! Sad to see you didn't log the new interior A330... I hear good things about the new interior. Better luck next time. I really like DUS airport, I hope you've had a nice experience transferring there.
Thanks again and keep the TRs coming!
Yeah it was a bummer. But I guess better I got to even fly the route now that AB dropped it. And yes DUS was amazing. Very underrated imo
pwm2txlhopper From United States of America, joined Jan 2004, 1218 posts, RR: 1 Reply 18, posted (6 months 4 days 7 hours ago) and read 4220 times:
Quoting mikeology (Reply 15):
Seeing how they haven't been in the states that long you prefer them over LH? Any major downsides between the two German carriers?
I've only flown LH long-haul on one occasion. To me, a coach seat is a coach seat! Doesn't really matter which airline I'm on. Or whether that airline has the most modern seating, PTV's/IFE, or whatever other amenities. These days a coach seat on one airline is really no different than one on any other airline. I get on the plane, read the paper or a magazine and sleep. It's all the same.
I'm a leisure traveler who flies maybe a half dozen times per year? All I want to do is get from Point A to B for the cheapest fare possible. Air Berlin has consistently provided that for me, so I'm happy with them. Particularly when it comes to their fees for oversize checked items or bringing animals in the cabin. It's just greed when an airline charges something like $200 just because you have a small 5 Kilo dog or cat in your carry-on bag. (depending on the flight, that could be more than the actual fare paid for the ticket!)
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