"Air Berlin show it is possible to be low cost & treat passengers like humans."
I flew four sectors on Tuesday gone as a birthday present with AB, and three of those were late - by a minimum of 30 minutes, a maximum of 1 hour. The cabin crew were OK: they did their job. The inclusive - not free - refreshments were pointless and served no real value: I had lukewarm, flavourless tea and, depending on the route, a packet of crisps or a small bagel. The only redeeming features were the relatively low fares (for flying into TXL, MUC and DUS) and the assigned seating. Interestingly, AB is making a loss - which is increasing. Anyway, I had a very good day, but I'd only give AB 6/10.
I can't wait for my wee daytrip with FR in Nov, routing STN-OPO-MAD-CIA-STN for 4p all-in with no charges whatever. Oh, and our trip in 2 1/2 weeks BRS-DUB-BRS, which cost 2p all-in for a return with no charges whatever. Oh, and our trip in 5 weeks STN-SVQ-STN, which cost 2p all-in for a return with no charges whatever. And from my large amount of previous flights on FR, I expect those to be on-time and deliver precisely what I expect and not one bit more, rather than with AB, where you expect a lot but they don't deliver, just like my experiences on so-called full-frills airlines, like BA.