#237489 by Guest
21 Aug 2005, 10:34
21 Aug 2005, 10:34
For a long weekend my partner and I had decided to go to Gothenburg in Sweden. Why you ask? Well Why not? Ryanair seems to have some random destinations, and this was one of them I suppose.
The flight was cheap, as it was booked early in advance, and we got a great deal on a stunning 4* hotel with breakfast. (Booked on lastminute.com)
OUTBOUND FLIGHT
August 05th 2005
FR7892
PIK-GSE
Scheduled / Actual Departure: 09:20 / 9:50
Boeing 737-8AS, EI-DCF
Seat 8A
We arrived at PIK very early and parked at Watsons Ayr car park just behind the airport. We checked our car in no problems and were transferred by their complimentary minibus to the airport terminal. The check in queue was minimal for our flight, and we were soon checked in.
After a quick purchase from WH Smith we headed through passport control and security to the departure lounge. I have to say PIK is quite a depressing airport, with very little life. We had a snack at the Deli France place (not brilliant) and watched the clock tick. Our plane was delayed on its inbound flight, so we were delayed by about 30 minutes.
I have never flown with Ryanair before, however my partner warned me about the mad dash for the best seats. Shortly before we knew we were going to be called, we got into the queue and made it to nearly the front.
After priority boarding we soon moved the boarding pass check area to a holding area that seemed like a doctors waiting room or school corridor. It wasnt long before we were called onto the plane.
We boarded through the front door only to learn that rows 1 & 2 were out of bounds please can somebody tell me why the crew do this? We took our seats in row 8, seat A & B respectively. On this flight nobody was sat next to us.
We were soon boarded and headed on our way to GSE. We watched the cabin safety demonstration, and sat back to enjoy our flight.
I have to say I was quite impressed by the aircraft. It was very clean and in excellent condition. The cabin itself was very bright and fresh looking, and not as gaudy as some of the photos on a.net make it look.
The trolley service, scratch card and duty free service came round. I had a coffee and biscuit and two scratch cards.
About an hour and a half later (I think) we landed at GSE. Landing was heavy, certainly not the best landing Ive had. The aircraft followed a little truck which had a Follow Me flashing sign on it. We soon disembarked from the aircraft and headed into the sad little terminal and through passport control and collected our bag which seemed to take ages to arrive. In true Ryanair style GSE is not the main airport, however, it is the closest to the city centre. The transfer bus is arranged around the Ryanair flights so it was waiting for us outside the terminal. It cost approx 3.60 each to the city centre.
INBOUND FLIGHT
August 08th 2005
FR7893
GSE-PIK
Scheduled / Actual Departure: 12:35 / 12:35
Boeing 737-8AS, EI-DHB
Seat 2F (Bulkhead)
We had been told where to meet our bus and at what time when we were dropped off. We met it 2hrs 20mins before our departure time at the Central Bus Station. About 20 minutes later we arrived at the airport, check in wasnt open, and yet there was quite a queue forming. About 5 minutes later the desk opened and we were soon checked in and given one of the laminated reusable boarding cards.
We headed through security and passport control into the departure lounge which quite frankly is too small for a 737-800 worth of passengers. As we were some of the first people through, we took a seat near the gate.
The inbound flight landed on time, and no sooner were the passengers off, we were called for boarding. Again priority boarding, then us. This time we were right at the front of the queue. As we crossed the tarmac two people (who were very tall) were trying to cut us up. We increased our step and made sure we boarded the plane before them, I understand there need for front seats, but there is no need to be rude and cut someone up who had been in the queue.
We sat right at the front not by the exit but the bulkhead. I actually prefer this to an exit. Tall man took the exit seat!
The plane soon filled up, fuller than the outbound. The doors were closed and armed, and ready for the safety demonstration. The one perk of the bulkhead or exit seat is you actually get a real safety card to look at, rather than the back of the seat. #61514;
The flight was quite uneventful, smooth take off, the cabin service was the same as the outbound, I took a coffee as I had bought some sweet treats with my left over Kroner in the airport.
We landed a little earlier than scheduled at PIK, however, we had to wait a few minutes to disembark as another aircraft had the air stairs for the rear door Im not sure why we couldnt just use the front.
We went through passport control and to baggage reclaim. Our bag was one of the first. We headed outside to meet our complimentary minibus transfer back to our car.
To Conclude.
As mentioned this was my first FR flight. I have to say, I was quite impressed. The aircraft was clean, bright and comfortable, sure the seat didnt recline, but hey the ticket was cheap. Was there free food & drink? No. But the ticket was cheap. You catch my drift. Ryanair has a very young fleet of 738s, and its growing. I just hope they are kept in a good condition. The one area where cost cutting went too far was the lack of soap in the bathroom maybe I was unlucky and it was missing, but on both the outbound and inbound flight I couldnt see any soap.
I couldn' fault the crew, they were great on both flights.
I highly recommend flying Ryanair if the fare is cheap. Remember however, they fly to random airports so its important to factor in extra travel costs. A colleague of mine flew from Prestwick to Paris Beauvais, it ended up costing more than BA from GLA-CDG once she had factored in the extra travel costs, and extra time.
The one thing I cant understand is why does not allocating a seat save money? Surely its quicker to get to your allocated seat than fight for them. Maybe someone can answer that?
For anyone flying from PIK, I must recommended Watsons Ayr car park, it was very reasonable, and the service couldnt be faulted.
Please feel free to leave any comments, add questions or make suggestions to how I could improve my trip reports. Ill have a monster report to write in October when Ill be flying GLA-LHR, LGW-LAS -SFO, SNA-LAS-LGW-GLA. On BA, VS and HP.