Table of Contents
Airlines
Air Berlin – who didn’t know it – once the second largest airline in Germany, filed for insolvency proceedings on 15 August 2017. Flight operations continued until 27 October 2017. Parts of the company were sold to Lufthansa and easyJet.
Our flights from Stuttgart via Düsseldorf to Miami and back were operated by Air Berlin. 2008
The aircraft were clean and you felt well looked after.
Air Canada, based in Montreal, is Canada’s largest airline and a founding member of the Star Alliance airline alliance.
Apart from the hoax ‘Active Shooter on the Airport’ at Galgary Airport and the delay of about 5 hours, the flight with Air Canada and the landing in Frankfurt were very pleasant. 2017
Air China is a state-owned airline of the People’s Republic of China and a member of the Star Alliance. The airline is based in Beijing and Beijing Airport. Air China operates long-haul flights to well-known destinations on all continents. It also serves the entire Asian region.
Air China was our means of transport on our 2016 Asia tour on the routes from Dubai to Tokyo, Tokyo Seoul, Seoul Hong Kong and back to Dubai.
The aircraft were very well maintained and the service was very pleasant. We can definitely recommend Air China.
Air Namibia is Namibia’s state-owned airline based in Windhoek and has its base at Hosea Kutako International Airport.
Our journey from Frankfurt to Cape Town with a stopover in Windhoek, back to Windhoek and then back to Frankfurt was operated by Namib Airlines. 2013
The aircraft were clean, well-maintained and of a good standard. Due to the flight monopoly at the time, the fares were relatively high, otherwise Airl Namibia can be recommended.
British Airways (BA for short) is the national airline of the United Kingdom, headquartered in London and based at London Heathrow Airport. It is one of the world’s largest airlines and a founding member of the oneworld airline alliance.
The outbound flight to San Francisco from Stuttgart with a stopover in London. On the approach to Heathrow we were lucky enough to be able to do a few loops over the city of London with a magnificent view of the city.
The flight home was from Denver to Frankfurt with a stopover in London with BA. 2015
Apart from the constant chaos at London Heathrow Airport, the aircraft were clean and we felt safe.
Condor Flugdienst GmbH is a German airline with its base at Frankfurt Airport. Condor has undergone a number of organisational changes in the past. The co-operation and joint branding with Thomas Cook is certainly well known. After the insolvency of Thomas Cook, PGL (Polska Grupa Lotnicza) was interested in acquiring a stake in Condor. Due to problems during the corona pandemic, PGL had to refrain from taking a stake.
In 2021, a British investor acquired a majority stake in Condor. Together with the newly founded Estonian airline Marabu, Condor currently operates several short, medium and long-haul routes. The future remains exciting.
Our experience with Condor goes back a long way. In the 90s and early 2000s, Condor took us to several destinations in Europe. The flights were all pleasant and the service was satisfactory.
Emirates is a state-owned airline of the Emirate of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. It was founded in 1985 and is based in Dubai. It is based at Dubai Airport and is one of the world’s largest airlines.
We were able to enjoy two flights to and from Dubai with the A380. The flights with the A380 were very quiet and pleasant. We had never experienced such quiet flights before. The space in Economy Class was very generous and the Emirates service was exemplary.
We felt very comfortable in the aircraft throughout the flight. The airline is absolutely recommendable.
Eurowings GmbH has been a subsidiary of Lufthansa based in Düsseldorf since 2011. The main base of Eurowings is Düsseldorf Airport. Eurowings has been offering direct flights on short and medium-haul routes within Europe since 2015. The flights previously marketed by Germanwings were taken over. Eurowings operates away from the Lufthansa hubs in Frankfurt and Munich.
We travelled with Eurowings on several flights within Europe. Our overall experience was positive. The aircraft were in good condition, although some of them were older.
The service was consistently satisfactory. We can recommend Eurowings.
Our return flight from Rome to Stuttgart in 2018 was operated by Eurowings on an aircraft with Air Berlin branding. Incredible but true!
LATAM Airlines is a Chilean airline and the largest South American airline. LATAM was formed from the merger of LAN Airlines with the Brazilian airline TAM Linhas Aéreas.
On our journey from Frankfurt to Peru – Brazil and back to Frankfurt, we were able to enjoy the airline on 8 flights. The aircraft made a very well-maintained impression and conveyed a high level of safety. 2018
The LATAM app on the Android smartphone showed us all the flight segments. Necessary information such as departure, arrival time and delays, which only occurred once, were displayed perfectly.
The airline can be recommended without hesitation.
Lufthansa is the largest German airline and part of the Lufthansa Group, the largest aviation group in Europe. Lufthansa was a founding member of Star Alliance, the world’s largest aviation alliance. Due to the company logo, Lufthansa is often referred to as the ‘crane airline’.
Our flights with Lufthansa on various aircraft:
A Lufthansa Boeing 747 brought us punctually from Frankfurt to Mexico City. 2019
Flight LH 490 brought us safely and punctually from Frankfurt to Seattle International Airport with a 747/400. 2017
For both visits to New York, we booked flights from Frankfurt to New York and back to Frankfurt with Lufthansa. 2005/2007
We have had nothing but good experiences with Lufthansa. We can recommend the airline without hesitation.
SAS Scandinavian Airlines is a Scandinavian airline. Under the umbrella of the SAS Group, the company is a member of the Star Alliance airline alliance and has hubs in Copenhagen-Kastrup, Oslo-Gardermoen and Stockholm/Arlanda.
Our flights from Frankfurt with a stopover in Copenhagen to Chicago and from Chicago back to Frankfurt via Copenhagen were operated by SAS. 2011
Scandinavian standard. No complaints. Highly recommended.
Swiss International Air Lines is the national airline of Switzerland and part of the Lufthansa Group and a member of the Star Alliance airline alliance. Its headquarters and hub is Zurich Airport.
Edelweiss Air is a subsidiary of Swiss International Air Lines, a sister company of Lufthansa and part of the Lufthansa Group and a member of the Star Alliance.
A Boeing 777 from Edelweiss Air brought us from Cancun to Zurich on time. Two hours later, a Boeing 737 from Swiss International Air Lines took us to Stuttgart. 2019
The Edelweis Air plane was immaculately maintained, the non plus ultra of our flight experience so far!
The Swiss International Air Lines aircraft is only slightly inferior to Edelweis Air.
Turkish Airlines is a partly state-owned airline in Turkey and a member of Star Alliance. Its headquarters and base is Istanbul Airport.
The airline transported us there and back to a total of three destinations in Turkey. The aircraft used were standard short and medium-haul aircraft, often of an older design. The planes were clean and the service was pleasant.
We can recommend Turkish Airlines with a clear conscience.
Vietnam Airlines is the state-owned airline of Vietnam and a member of the SkyTeam airline alliance. It is based at Hanoi International Airport.
A Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner took us from Frankfurt to Hanoi in around 11 hours. The return flight on a plane of the same type from Ho Chi Minh City to Frankfurt took just over 13 hours. A Boeing A321 neo was used for the flight from Da Nang and the subsequent onward flight to Siem Rep (Cambodia).
The cabins looked very well maintained, the flight attendants were very friendly and the service was very good. We can recommend Vietnam Airlines without hesitation.
Speciality: On our flights from Da Nang to Siem Rep we had to change planes at Hi Chi Minh Airport. Although the planes were parked only about 100 metres apart on the tarmac, we had to walk what felt like 2km. It was necessary to change from the domestic to the international terminal. In addition, time-consuming passport and security checks were necessary.
Rental Car
We always made our car hire bookings for the USA and other countries via German providers. The reason for this was the insurance conditions, which were consistently better with the German providers than with the local providers on site.
For example, CDW/LDW cover is not included with providers in the USA or can be booked at high prices. Here are the most important insurance benefits:
CDW (Collision Damage Waiver) is fully comprehensive insurance with reduced or no liability
LDW (Loss Damage Waiver) includes comprehensive cover in the event of loss/damage
LIS (Liability Insurance Supplement) is a supplementary insurance to increase the sum insured or sum insured
PAI (Personal Accident Insurance) is the passenger accident insurance we are familiar with
What do you do if you are abroad and want to book a vehicle?
We made the booking via the German ADAC website. We were able to select the local rental station and the appropriate vehicle category. With the email in hand or on our smartphone, we walked into the rental station and had our vehicle covered with the appropriate insurance benefits.
You can save considerable costs if the rental station is the same as the return station. Return transport can be expensive.
We mainly rented vehicles from the rental companies listed below:
Europcar is represented with many rental stations, particularly in Europe. For us, Europcar is one of the top addresses in Europe. The prices are moderate and the service is OK. We have had no complaints with Europcar so far.
Sixt is well represented in Europe, the rental stations are often in better locations close to the city centre. The prices are slightly more expensive than with Europcar, the service is OK. We have had no complaints so far.
We often booked Alamo in connection with a package holiday for the provision of a vehicle on site. Prices and services were consistently OK and we had no complaints.
Hertz is well represented internationally. We often booked vehicles for the USA with Herz. Prices and service were consistently OK. We had no complaints.
International health insurance
Taking out private international health insurance is a MUST when travelling abroad.
Many benefits are covered when travelling to destinations in the EU. Here it is important to check what additional services may be necessary, e.g. repatriation in the event of serious injuries.
When travelling outside the EU, additional international health insurance is highly recommended.
Otherwise it can be expensive. An ambulance transport e.g. due to an attack of weakness with an overnight stay in hospital can easily cost $2000 in the USA.
Miscellaneous
Coming soon.
