Last day I told you about flight Bucharest - Vienna with FlyNiki, a segment to the final destination Berlin. In the continuation of the story, I present below flight Vienna - Berlin with AirBerlin.
The stopover in Vienna lasted about 45 minutes, during which time I ran through the airport and passed through the control system. Vienna International Airport it is large, stretched out, and you must have some physical condition to hurry up. FlyNiki was late and we were really wondering if we could catch the one who was to take us to the German capital. We breathed in relief when we saw ourselves at the boarding gate, all in the chart.
I threw my eyes on the window and saw the plane, an Airbus A321 AirBerlin. My expectations were far below what I would have to live on board the aircraft. I checked another premiere, I flew with the biggest plane in the A320 family. This includes the models A318, A319, A320 and A321. All are dedicated to short and medium flights.
The A321 can carry up to 220 people when configured in a single class. It flies at speeds up to 870 km / h, at a maximum ceiling of 12 000 meters. The A320 family has single-aisle airplanes, and the seats are seated 6 at a time (3-3).
The plane is spacious, you get to move quickly with luggage, the seats are comfortable and quite large compared to those on the Embraer E-190 FlyNiki where I got a bit stuck. My seat was a little further back from the middle of the plane, somewhere just behind the wing. The security doors are no longer locked by the seats. At A321 there is enough space in their area and I think it is a good thing.
The cabin crew is normally made up of 2 flight attendants, but they can also be 3 if practical. They have full uniforms and always have a smile on their lips, which makes the flight more enjoyable and safe. Serving aboard the plane was ok, they moved quickly, without much ado. I refused the snack, but I took my dose of caffeine. On an hour-long flight and 20 minutes, you can't have too many meal-related claims, and the soft drinks were plenty.
The interesting part now follows. The plane was equipped with TVs attached to the ceiling at a certain number of rows. On boarding and landing, there was music on the AirBerlin, something pleasant in silence. During the flight, different movies, videos and route information run on the TVs - weather conditions, time estimates to the destination, route, speed, altitude, etc. All of this was set by the cabin crew.
I liked it the most when they put cartoons while we were in a turbulent area. Most of the passengers were disconnected from the "shaking" and laughing at the TV animations. I thought it was a very good thing, an original method by which passengers could be distracted from what was happening around them.
I liked flying with AirBerlin, but I think that pleasure was also influenced by the aircraft. We arrived on Tegel in time, and the landing was done on the front and rear doors.
What I didn't like about Tegel Airport was the way the luggage was handled. Even from our race they dropped a few from the plane, from a considerable height. Then I waited quite a lot for the luggage to arrive at the airport. I didn't have the hold, but I waited for my fellow travelers. It is not the fault of the airline operators, but I think it should intervene at the airport if the services are not very good.
Unfortunately, AirBerlin no longer operates direct flights to Romania. But FlyNiki offers 3 daily flights between Vienna and Bucharest, and from the Austrian capital you can fly with AirBerlin to other destinations in Europe, North America, North Africa, etc. I wish you well in the planning of the next trips!
(We apologize for not having photos of the aircraft, the crew and the menu. Hopefully we will be forgiven and we promise to take revenge in the future :))