Sykes

Air Berlin just sent out notice that they're going to offer Business Class for US->Europe starting at $1,799 roundtrip all-in. The sale starts on Monday, April 25th and runs through May 2nd. They haven't actually published the fares yet so I don't know the exact restrictions, but flyer indicates that the following rates are all-in:

Ticketing Dates: April 25, 2016 to May 2, 2016
Travel Dates: July 1, 2016 to August 31, 2016
Booking Class: I
Fare Basis: INNPUS

BOS->Europe: $1,799 roundtrip
SFO/LAX/ORD/MIA/JFK->Europe (mostly Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and Scandinavia): $2,099 roundtrip
ORD->TXL $2,199 roundtrip

The European cities listed are all of Germany (that AB serves), FCO, VCE, FLR, BLQ, VIE, SZG, ZRH, HEL, CPH, PMI, LIN, ARN, PRG, OTP, WAW, GOT. It notes that the intra-Europe flights are in Economy, and not all of the destinations are available from all origins.

I was a little bit hesitant to post before it's bookable, but I figured it doesn't hurt to mention in case anyone is about to buy something.

CokeandTaco

Thank you Sykes.

This has potential and will likely lead to reaction (matching/counter action) by other carriers. It is not guaranteed but seems possible.

Great to see you posting in this forum!

grandgourmand

Hopefully the OW has a little competition between friends and the AARP discount can be used.

IWontRegretThis

This^

UAPremierGuy

Anecdotally, just flew Air Berlin Business between TXL-AUH and had a great experience soft-product wise. Service was excellent as was the food. Seat, however, was way too short for this 6'1" individual, and despite being lie-flat, I wasn't able to really sleep on this flight.

Bonaventure

Good prices, no need to fly ex-Canada.

cesco.g

Thanks for sharing, as I was just wondering about their product.
Are there any TRs, pix out there?

Dieuwer

I'm flying BOS-DUS in June on a J award.

shonky

Thanks for this - will keep an eye on the pricing. Have been looking for a reasonable J fare to Europe (was hoping for June though) from the West Coast. I did SFO-LHR-ATH-LHR-ATH-SFO a month ago for < $2k so this one looks good.

arkangel

I flew them in J, TXL-ORD, last October. The cabin, and seat, were fine but a bit dated. Food/drinks were very good. The only real downside was TXL, and the gate area for AB. Somewhat of a third world experience.

geezersrule

shonky
was your sfo-lhr-ath-lhr-sfo on BA? booked on BA?

shonky

Yes - all on BA metal. There was a deal on here to either ATH or BUD. I chose the ATH option. Off the top of my head, it was around $2.2k less the $400 AARP discount = ~$1800.

geezersrule

thanks shonky. i'll keep checking and hope another similar deal comes along.

pmanchuk

I might be in a bit of a minority here, but I find AB's business class pretty decent. Of course there are some pros and cons, just as every other airline has... case in point, yes the beds are a bit short for those of us over 6 feet in height, but truth be told, I've come to (sadly) expect inability to stretch out when I fly because I'm 6'3". Whether AB, BA, VS, etc., I don't remember the last time I didn't end up with knees bent to catch some sleep. Specific to the seat, it's all aisle access which is more than what some other carriers can claim and is your typical staggered layout (similar to IB, AZ, etc). In terms of the soft product, I've been pleasantly surprised both in terms of the cabin crew and likewise catering - sure, some of the meal choices aren't "typical", but I'd venture to say it's nice to have a change from what one finds normally on most US based carriers.

Regarding TXL, it's an airport that you either love or hate... personally, I enjoy it - there are no mile long terminals that never end, no 2 hour security lines, and you can easily be from plane to curb in literally minutes. I'd take those positives over better lounges and another "mega shopping mall which happens to have planes" any day! Many will tell you that TXL lacks in areas such as dining and lounges but considering the time savings that you enjoy (in comparison to the crazy amount of time you need to be at places such as LHR, etc before your flight), you can just as easily grab a great meal (at half the price) in the city before going to the airport.

I'll be honest, my biggest hesitation with AB is that of their financial situation/future - I'm by no means an expert and haven't any idea what will happen to them in the future (I do hope they survive AND grow). Also, because most of my TATL trips are a weekend or so in length, I typically try to avoid airlines where the risk of a flight cancellation one day could cause me to lose multiple days if they don't fly a route 7 days a week... But again, that's a personal quirk of mine.

Anyway, just wanted to throw in my 2 cents so to speak.

Specially in response to cesco.g, I had written up a TR on one of my trips on AB two years ago in J (with pics) in the event you want to take a quick read:
http://www.airliners.net/aviation-fo...ad.main/257949

cesco.g

Thanks for the TR link, Paul.
Meanwhile, I found another one:
http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.c...mi-dusseldorf/