V-Flyer

Booked a late holiday to Fuertaventura in the Canary Islands with First Choice - had a wierd happening on the way out...

Departure from Gatwick North scheduled at 13:05; arrived at checkin at around 11:00 to a reasonably small 'snake' feeding about 6 check in desks, which moved quickly, so checked in in around 5 minutes.

Then a 30 minute queue for security, where there was nearly a riot when they opened a new security gate, but then diverted the 'back half' of one of the queues into it - the people in the front half were not happy...!

North Terminal is much more spacious and less crowded than South, and my wife and I had had a small snack before heading off to the gate; as usual with FCA it was at the far end of the pier...

Everyone boarded quickly, onto a reasonably clean and smart 757, so we pushed back at 12:50 or so, and made our way to the runway. There had been a small commotion at the rear of the plane, with a couple of stewards moving back and forth.... we made it to the start of the runway, where we trundled down and turned off again, _nd parked up.

It turned out one passenger was too 'frightened to fly', and insisted on deplaning.... you would have thought 30 minutes to get through security would have been been enough to change your mind...!

So we had to wait for
- steps so the couple could deplane
- baggage handlers to find and remove their bags
- and (because they kept the engine running for the a/c) fuel to top us off again. (I suppose that if the Canary Islands aren't landable it's a long way to anywhere else...)

It took 2 hours(!) for the fuel handler to arrive, and we eventually set off 2h20m late.

The flight itself was uneventful, with adequate leg room. In flight service was OK, with a movie to watch on flip down screens in the aisle if you paid 2.50 for headphones.

FUE was very busy - we landed in the middle of 5 charters, so had to wait for buses and luggage. Shame, as our original arrival time was at a very quiet time.

A warm and breezy 7 days followed, with lots of sun for the first 4, and then cloudy mornings after that.

The return was uneventful - on time, reasonable service, and early arrival at LGW with quick baggage delivery.

Overall, good flights, and execellent value. But I can't understand why you would book a 4 hour flight if you are a very nervous flier.I hate to think how much the delay cost FCA - I wonder if they would charge the passanger for it?