I did some checking on the
Air Berlin website.
Quote:
Originally Posted by WorldIsMyHome
On 5/31/2008, I’ve bought an electronic ticket for the itinerary JFK – Dusseldorf – Moscow DME – Dusseldorf – JFK. I paid a full price for the ticket, around USD 1,400.
For no fault of my own, during this travel I was asked to pay additional fees under the threat of refusing the boarding.
1. When I was boarding the airplane in Moscow DME on August 15, 2008, I was forced to pay 50 EUR for what the agent called “extra luggage”. I specifically bought the ticket with the allowed baggage of 2 bags @ 23 kg. Because of that, I paid a higher price for the ticket. Yet, I was asked to pay additional 50 EUR even though my luggage weighed much less than 2 x 23 kg.
2. When I was boarding the airplane in Dusseldorf on August 18, 2008, I was forced to pay 25 EUR “for the lost paper ticket”. As you can see on the attached copy of my electronic ticket, I was issued an electronic ticket, and no-one ever asked me to bring any paper document. The customer service clerk at the customer service desk, D.Evers, was very rude and unprofessional. I had no choice but to pay EUR 25 because otherwise I wouldn’t be allowed to board the plane. Also, at that time, I called the Air Berlin customer service hotline, and the agent at the hotline, who gave her name as Lohram, assured me that I would be reimbursed this money. Yet when I later called the Air Berlin customer hotline, the agent refused any reimbursement and advised me to send you an e-mail complaint. The e-mail address she gave me is dysfunctional (kundenservice@airberlin.de), and there is no contact information, except phone numbers, which I've already unsuccessfully tried, on the Air Berlin web site.
I am very disappointed with my experience with Air Berlin - to the point of never flying with them again.
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Unfortunately the baggage fee was justified. As highlighted in your post you flew from the US (JFK) via Dusseldorf to Moscow, then from Moscow back to Dusseldorf where you remained for three days and then back to the US. The baggage allowance on the trans-Atlantic sector is 2 pieces up to 23kg (about 50 lbs.) each. On your return trip since you had the stopover the flight from DME to DUS would have been treated as intra-European since you were not immediately connecting back to JFK. As such Air Berlin's checked baggage policy only allows up to a maximum of 20kg per passenger.
There are higher allowances for business class tickets but $1400 USD for a rond-trip from JFK to DME with a stopover in DUS doesn't sound like a business class fare. I cannot say what the fares were a year ago but for the same ticket now it is over $2600 USD.
As for the "lost paper ticket" fee when you had an e-ticket, you should have initiated a dispute with your credit card issuer after 30 days if Air Berlin failed to reverse the charge. Of course it is too late to do so now as most banks and credit card companies have limits on when you can dispute charges.