[Trip Report] CRL-MAN-BHD-MAN-CRL

Hello everybody!

September being a busy flying month, welcome to my new trip report, destination Belfast!

Background

Having caught interest in the Titanic during the last months, thanks to all documentaries and publications around the 100^th Anniversary of this tragedy, I wanted to visit the museum that recently opened: Titanic Belfast. I came up with the following itinerary:

• 08/09/2012: Charleroi à Manchester à Belfast City Airport (respectively with Ryanair and FlyBe)
• 09/09/2012: Belfast City Airport à Manchester à Charleroi (FlyBe and Ryanair)

The cost for the 4 flights was around 117 €, not that bad.

This would allow several first entries in my flight log:

• First flights with FlyBe
• First time in a Bombardier Dash-8 series
• First time in Manchester
• First time in Belfast City

And also the first time in Northern Ireland!

This would also allow me to fly on a Boeing, something that did not happen since November 2010...

A final note before going further on: this trip report will be split in three different parts, due to the big number of pictures:

-          1) The flights (that you can read below)

-          2) The spotting at Manchester T3: available here

-          3) The visit of Belfast: will be published soon

CRL-MAN

Flight number: FR3223

Scheduled time of departure / Arrival: 09:55 – 10:55 local time (on time)

Plane: Boeing 737-800 (EI-EKM)

Seat: 24 F (window)

Load Factor: Y: 65%

After a drive without any issue, I arrived at Charleroi “Brussels South” airport around 08:30, and managed to find a parking spot in the rather full parking lot. Minutes later, I entered in the crowded terminal and directly proceeded through security, and after the ID check, went at my gate in the non-Schengen area. Few people where there, so it was very quiet, and therefore appreciated! There was not much to do but waiting, as there was not that much traffic to watch.

Finally, some movement went through the people, as the ground staff was approaching our gate. Everybody rushed in the queue (that is what I do not like with non allocated seating), while our plane was still taxiing to the gate.

Ryanair – Boeing 737-800 – EI-EKM

Call for boarding was made, and I soon went through the stairs, to be stopped by the door leading to the apron, as passengers were still disembarking.

Boarding now... well not immediately!

Finally, ten minutes later, the door opened, and so started the race towards the airplane, with a queue forming at the front stair, while the rear one was empty, as usual. So I walked down around the plane, and waited at the rear door for the young Spanish F.A. to finish preparing the rear galley before boarding.

EI-EKM – walking under the wing

EI-EKM – at the rear door, waiting to board

EI-EKM – tail logo

Enrico having finished his task, he apologized for the wait (no problem), and after a last check on my boarding pass, let me enter. I had all the time to choose a window seat with the window aligned with the row, and eventually picked-up 24F. And for those who read my trip report on the leg Firenze – Lyon with Airlinair’s ATR42, here is the answer: yes, the legroom was indeed worse than Ryanair’s. Here are two comparative shots:

Airlinair’s very uncomfortable legroom

Ryanair’s less uncomfortobale legroom

Load factor was approximately 65%, and I could enjoy a full row for myself. With such a load factor, boarding was soon completed, which did not prevent for pushing back 15 minutes later than scheduled. The safety demo was done, and soon after we lined up on runway 25 and performed a rolling take-off.

Lining up

Visibility was perfect that day, so I knew I would enjoy the IFE offered by Mother Nature.

Perfect visibility today

Port of Zeebrugge

Windmills farm in the Channel

Busy maritime traffic

Since Bleriot’s famous flight, UK is not an island anymore!

An airport in England, but which one? Answer given by some members of Luchtzak.be forum: London Stansted. Thank you!

Window shot: visibility still perfect

We are not alone in the sky

Another airport

Visibility is not perfect anymore ;-)

Like our Boeing, time had been flying, and  after a last round to sell the scratch cards (that followed, in order: the newspapers, the BoB food & drink, the duty free, and the electronic cigarettes... one has to acknowledge that Ryanair F/A have not the time to breathe with all these trips along the aisle! Respect!), the cabin crew prepared the cabin for the descent towards Manchester.

About to touch down... our shadow already on the ground ;-)

Taratadaaaaaa ! “Yet another Ryanair flight on time” blah blah!

Moments later, we reached our gate, and could disembark, 5 minutes ahead of schedule.

Bye bye EI-EKM!

At Manchester Airport T3

This was my first time in Manchester Airport, and I had 90 minutes before my next flight, both being in the same terminal, so I had all the time! I was happy to follow the “transfer” sign, and not to have to pass immigration, as there was a huuuuge queue! So, here I was, going trough corridor and stairs, to finally arrive in a waiting room to wait for a bus to go to the transfer zone... wait, what? Yes, even though I was already in T3, I had to take that bus. Ok, then. Minutes later, I was offered a private (only passenger) tour of the T3 apron, while chatting with a very friendly driver. At the transfer zone, I had to pass security, and the ID control, to be allowed to go back to T3.

Then, it happened: the immigration officer looked at my ID card, and after several questions on my trip, said, most seriously: “So Sir, you’ll have to go back to where you come from!” I was a bit puzzled, and surely got a worried look... I replied: “You mean, fly back to Belgium?” Then he had a big smile: “no Sir, going back toTerminal 3!” Ok, in the nervous context of ID control, I got a bit confused, I admit it! So, I passed immigration, and started a walk back to where I was indeed coming from, doing by foot what I did by bus shortly before! Strange setup, they could just have done an immigration desk for transferring pax in T3 itself!

But so is designed Manchester T3. Another thing is the typical UK airport waiting area, where the gates are announced on FIDS minutes before boarding. This area was very crowded, so I just grabbed a sandwich, then looked for a quieter place to eat, and also to spot some planes. I ended in the area of gates 46-49, where I was alone, and had a good (but backlit) view on all the traffic. The traffic was quite interesting, as you can see in the second part of this trip report.

There was even a screen with the info on all flights in this area, so I could monitor the announcement of my gate without having to go to the waiting lounge, which was very practical.

My personal FIDS... with, at that moment, my flight delayed to 12:45!

MAN – BHD

Flight number: BE476

Scheduled time of departure / Arrival: 12:25 – 13:20 (delayed by 40 minutes, landed at 14:00)

Plane: Bombardier Dash8 Q400 (G-JEDN)

Seat: 6C (aisle)

Load Factor: Y: 95%

When the gate was announced, I knew there would be some delay, as it was already 13:00 when my plane finally arrived.

FlyBe – Bombardier Dash8 Q400 – G-JEDN

Crop of the previous pic for the Thomson 767 with the new livery

G-JEDN – Engines just stopped

Deboarding took some time, I was impressed to see how many people could fit in this turboprop! The last passenger having left the airplane, the F/O immediately began the pre-flight check.

1,2,3,4,5,6... ok, all blades are still there.

G-JEDN

Finally, boarding started

Sorry for the quality, difficult to take a decent pic of a CRT

Queuing to board

Pointy nose. Note the “ecology graph” on the right: I’ve the same on my wash machine ;-)

Huge prop, wider than the fuselage...

When entering the plane, the first impression looked good, sober grey seats... But then I noticed that advertisement was well present!

Do they rent their planes at Avis?

Legroom was ok... but that ad was intrusive

Unfortunately, with a load factor of 95%, no window seat to be switched with mine, so no possibility to really enjoy the view outside. However, the glimpses I could get from behind my neighbour shoulder revealed nice landscapes. The flight was uneventful, and at 14:00, we touched down on Belfast City’s airport single runway. Ten minutes after deplaning, I was at the tourist info desk to receive all the necessary info for my Titatnic trip in Belfast. I just needed to hop in the bus toward Titanic quarter, and 20 minutes later I was standing next to her dry dock. Everything on the discovery of Belfast and Titanic exhibitions is described in the third part of this report (will be soon published).

BHD – MAN

Flight number: BE483

Scheduled time of departure / Arrival: 16:05 – 17:05 (on time)

Plane: Embraer E195 (G-FBEH)

Seat: 2A (window)

Load Factor: Y: 80%

After a wonderful week-end, it was time to fly back to Belgium. I got out of the bus (note that on Sundays, the buses run every 40 minutes, instead of 20) around 15:15, 50 minutes before scheduled take-off. It was more than enough for such a small airport, although there were several flights departing at that time.

On time this time!

Passing through security was fast, in a good atmosphere (very friendly agent), although the metal detector was very sensitive (still wondering what made it beep when I passed). The waiting area was quite crowded, and there was not much to do, except have a look at the traffic, consisting in FlyBe flights, and a private Pilatus.

FlyBe – Embraer 195 – G-FBEH (my ride)

FlyBe – Bombardier Dash8 Q400 – G-JEDT

FlyBe – Bombardier Dash8 Q400 – G-FLBE

G-FBEH

G-FBEH

G-FLBE

G-JEDT airborne

Private (Wells Fargo Bank) – Pilatus PC12 – N234RG

About to proceed through door C

After a last boarding pass check, I was allowed to walk to the E195 and climb the very steep stairs... the Dash 8 was close to the ground... but the E195 surely is not! I was met by a F/A with a commercial but not warm smile, like all FlyBe’s cabin crew I met that week-end. My seat 2A was not far, and I was soon installed.

Legroom is ok, and no ad this time.

Once boarding was completed (lots of people panting after the climb of the stairs... well, this is what happens when you bring a heavy suitcase as hand baggage ;-) ), pushback followed almost immediately, and we lined up on runway 22.

All clear ahead

Belfast City Airport

This time I had a window seat... but unfortunately, the weather was not as nice as the day before, and lots of clouds were present.

A sea of clouds

The flight went uneventful, and the more we were approaching Manchester, the less clouds there were.

Approaching Manchester area

On final

For the second time of the week-end I landed in Manchester, without trumpet this time, but with some people watching us.

Being on the good side of the plane, I could spot this decorated Thomson B757

... and this Aer Lingus Regional ATR72 (EI-REI)... the tail is missing something... a clover maybe?

We reached our gate, and I was quickly out of the plane, via a jetbridge this time. Fortunately, this flight being domestic, no need to play the transfer circus again, and I could directly proceed to the overcrowded waiting area, to yet again grab a sandwich, and go to the same quieter gates to do some spotting.

MAN – CRL

Flight number: FR3222

Scheduled time of departure / Arrival: 20:00 – 22:25 local time (on time)

Plane: Boeing 737-800 (EI-DWH)

Seat:  2F (window)

Load Factor: Y: 65%

After 2 hours of nice spotting (and discussions with gate agents), I went to the gate that would be announced for my Ryanair flight. Thanks to the gate agents, I knew which one would be used beforehand, and found a seat just in front of the gate desk. Moment later, the gate agents came and installed the Ryanair items for the boarding.

They did not lie to me: this was the right gate

They had just finished it when our plane stopped at the gate.

Ryanair – Boeing 737-800 – EI-DWH

15 minutes later, at 19:30, boarding process started, with only 40-50 people behind me. We had to wait again 10 minutes in the cold stairs of Manchester T3 basement, before the door to the apron opened. I was among the first to board, by the front door this time, as I wanted to be at the front of the plane to be out quickly in Charleroi, as we would land quite late in the evening. So, I took seat 2F.

Good legroom

We heard from several passengers that the queue at security was terrific, and that lots of passengers for our flight were still there. The friendly cabin crew reassured everybody: nobody would be left behind, boarding had started earlier only because the preceding flight arrived in advance.

Finally, the last passenger was in, and doors were closed. By then, night had almost fallen. We had a rolling take-off, and we headed directly south-east towards Belgium.

Mother Nature offered again some nice IFE

Entering Belgian airspace

After one hour of flight, we landed around 22:00 in Charleroi, with of course the annoying corrida trumpet. We reached our parking stand (not being a frequent traveller in Charleroi, I was surprised to see that many Ryanair’s 737 passing the night there), and I was quickly out of the plane.

Bye bye EI-WHF!

Eventually, being in front of the plane to be among the first out of it and thus pass immigration rapidly was worthless... Indeed, we arrived so early that the border control was closed! We had to wait 10 minutes before the desks opened, allowing us to enter in Belgium

Hey, is there anybody from Border Control around?

Back on Belgian soil, I just had to pay my parking ticket (a whopping 35 Euro, almost the same price as my Ryanair flights...), find back my car, and 1hour later I was in my bed, tired but happy after this excellent week-end!

Conclusion

This was an excellent week-end, with 4 good flights and no unpleasant experience.

Ryanair was as expected: flying from point A to point B, on time, with both friendly crew, and the annoying sounds / sellings, as well as the stress caused by the free seating. I also found the first 737 to be rather noisy (maybe because I was close to the engine): even with my iPod at maximum volume, I could barely hear my music (and I am not deaf J).

The flights with FlyBe were ok, nothing more, nothing less. The crews were professional, but seemed to miss a bit of warmth. I could not really enjoy the Dash8 due to the aisle sitting and this ad in front of me always attracting my eyes, however I’ll have the opportunity to fly this type again in several weeks, so I hope to get a window seat this time, and enjoy it fully. On the contrary, I really liked (again) the E195, a comfortable plane.

Manchester T3 left a mixed feeling. I had the chance to meet very friendly staff (bus driver, immigration officer, gates agents), but the setup of UK airport (big waiting area and gates communicated at last minute) is very annoying. And the fact the airport was more than crowded did not help. However, in the quieter area, it was ok, and there were good spotting opportunities (for photography, though, it depends on the time of the day).

Belfast City Airport is a very nice small city airport: efficient security processes, friendly staff, good location, and enough space to accommodate several flights at a time. However, there is room for improvement for the connection to the city centre on Sundays.

If you want more pictures on the planes I could spot at Manchester please click here, or if you want to know more about my visit of Belfast, please wait a few days, the last part of this report will be published very soon.

Thank you for reading and have a nice day!