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Old Mar 8, 12, 3:44 pm   #1
 
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New new J coming to airberlin

So, the current new J (ex-LX) is outdated right now, even not all planes are fitted with it yet.

Etihad forced AB to use new, lie-flat seats which will be installed at the end of 2012.



The AB spokeswoman today wondered how this picture leaked from their internal sources, but she confirmed the fact that this will be the new seat
As you see on the picture, the configuration will be 1-2-1 which is even better than the new LH J seat. It seems that this will be the same seat EY uses right now in their Business Class.
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Old Mar 9, 12, 4:24 am   #2
 
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This is GREAT. Lie-flat seat makes AB my first choice on longhaul when flying in F.
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Old Mar 9, 12, 4:38 am   #3
 
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no F on AB

this config (EY seats) will only be used on AUH connections in J.

Last edited by bobberle101; Mar 9, 12 at 5:20 am.. Reason: wrong Airport code... credit to nomad1974. thx.
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Old Mar 9, 12, 5:09 am   #4
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bobberle101 View Post
no F on AB

this config (EY seats) will only be used on ABU connections in J.
Presume of course you mean AUH

ABU: Atambua (Indonesia)
AUH: Abu Dhabi (UAE)
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Old Mar 9, 12, 5:18 am   #5
 
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thx!
havent been there yet. will try next month.
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Old Mar 9, 12, 5:51 am   #6
 
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This is very good news - they should position their product higher than LH is to be able to seriously compete for the corporate segment. They could then introduce a premium eco for the more price sensitive customers.

LH's appalling product management (NEK, new business class) actually provides an excellent window of opportunity for AB. Let's see if they'll be able to use it...
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Old Mar 9, 12, 10:46 am   #7
 
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Sorry, I meant C not F. But I hoped it will be fleet-wide C
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Old Mar 10, 12, 3:45 pm   #8
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Felixberlin View Post
This is very good news - they should position their product higher than LH is to be able to seriously compete for the corporate segment. They could then introduce a premium eco for the more price sensitive customers.

LH's appalling product management (NEK, new business class) actually provides an excellent window of opportunity for AB. Let's see if they'll be able to use it...
At the moment they really suck with their customer support. I don't get it. They knew, that this year will be hard (Etihad, BER, OW) and everyone will have a close look at them - especially new international flyer which are OW-customers.

But instead of preparing themselves by upscaling their hotline capacities and finding solutions for apologizing if something goes wrong (what always happens during a big change) they are practically unavailable for significant periods of time and you should not think about a real apology and a customer orientated reaction.
These things would cost AB some money but it wouldn't actively drive away customers who are upset about ABs behaviour.

At the moment I have four flights booked during the next two months and these fligths will show if AB has become a real network carrier.

S.
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Old Mar 10, 12, 4:46 pm   #9
 
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Question

Quote:
Originally Posted by bobberle101 View Post
no F on AB

this config (EY seats) will only be used on AUH connections in J.
I don't think they could sustain F to DUS from YVR anyways.
From what I hear the plane is filled with kettles.
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Old Mar 11, 12, 12:36 am   #10
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AA_EXP09 View Post
I don't think they could sustain F to DUS from YVR anyways.
From what I hear the plane is filled with kettles.
J/C only, but I'd second that. Not only SFO-DUS but also other long hauls they tend to upgrade Y. Sometimes even having to serve Y food to the lucky ones.

BTW: AB seems not to be able to book C on AA feeders. Personally I dont care for 2-3h on coach, but want my pampering on the x-atalantic. Last time I booked separate BER-JFK with AB in C and JFK-AUS with AA in Y. After 4hr delay I ended up in NYC, having missed my (once a day) flight. AB didnt care at all, even i was top tier customer. Only AA was helpful and apologized on AB's behalf. Expect a crowded C and lousy CRM.
...wondering how I should book BER-YUL next month.
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Old Mar 11, 12, 10:13 am   #11
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Biz seat hardware is extremely expensive so I think it would not be reasonable to expect another upgrade after the just introduced 2nd hand LX biz seats. But it would have been a good move to have better biz seats available than LH can offer and introduce those quickly fleet-wide instead of the roulette that customers play with LHs new seat for the next 4-5 years.

At least offering a real good quality seat to AUH is a very welcome choice now for my flights towards asia on AB/EY.
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Old Mar 11, 12, 11:27 am   #12
 
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Quote:
At least offering a real good quality seat to AUH is a very welcome choice now for my flights towards asia on AB/EY.
just booked TXL-AUH feeder. kepping in mind its a 1-2-1 config, it seems like the new config is already in use, as the seat next to mine is blocked right after booking. I booked 1A, immediatly 1C was blocked as well. Maybe they dont have the seat map of the new config?

Last edited by bobberle101; Mar 11, 12 at 10:27 pm..
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Old Mar 13, 12, 9:10 am   #13
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bobberle101 View Post
J/C only, but I'd second that. Not only SFO-DUS but also other long hauls they tend to upgrade Y. Sometimes even having to serve Y food to the lucky ones.

BTW: AB seems not to be able to book C on AA feeders. Personally I dont care for 2-3h on coach, but want my pampering on the x-atalantic. Last time I booked separate BER-JFK with AB in C and JFK-AUS with AA in Y. After 4hr delay I ended up in NYC, having missed my (once a day) flight. AB didnt care at all, even i was top tier customer. Only AA was helpful and apologized on AB's behalf. Expect a crowded C and lousy CRM.
...wondering how I should book BER-YUL next month.
Are you based in BER?
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Old Mar 13, 12, 12:21 pm   #14
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AA_EXP09 View Post
Are you based in BER?
...most of my time.
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Old Mar 14, 12, 1:10 pm   #15
 
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All I can say is wow! Finally Air Berlin has become a real threat to Lufthansa with a cabin product that is far better in business and AT LEAST on pair in the economy class. I hope that the new new lie-flat business seat will not only be available on the AUH route - this would be a shame as there would be MANY customers willing to try it.

The only thing I'm hoping for at the moment are flights from Berlin to Amsterdam!!!
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