EPWA 2017.02.09 Scandinavian retro

Yet another gloomy, dark, winter day in Warsaw. A sole exception the SAS retro A319. OY-KBO

OY-KBO

EPWA 2017.01.25 W6 A321 olympic bid

Wizzair based in Warsaw for some time its A321 painted in the Budapest Olympic bid livery. Not the best weather for spotting on the day I've chosen to catch it.
HA-LXJ

HA-LXJ

HA-LXJ

EasyJet A319 experience, 2017.01.08

08 January 2017
U24479 (1325-1540) LYS-KRK
G-EZEG Airbus A319

Returning home via Cracow. Easyjet to KRK and then LOT back to Warsaw. From the second sector there will be no entry. Checked-in well ahead, got some decent seats. After arriving at the airport with the tram I head to the furthest terminal, terminal 3 which at that time was under some reconstruction work to make all work better. Thus you have to walk quite a lot to get to the check-in area and later back to the gates area. Beside the gates there is a very small choice of shops and accessories in them. You can see that it's a rather low-cost terminal. The gates have a waiting area for passengers after they've been boarded. So we stand there like cattle waiting for the plane to be ready to take us on-board. An aspect I really detest when flying low-cost airlines in Europe. On board I get positively surprised that the seats do recline. Not much, but still. Legroom is as I expected. The better views (alps) are unfortunately on the other side. On the other hand we get a nice view of Cracow city on approach.
Overall, a low-cost flight - a low-cost experience. Not too comfy but gets you from A to B. Still, the reclining seat was a plus, one of the few... I did get what I expected, not much more, and a little less at Terminal 3 in Lyon.

HOP! for Air France operated by Brit Air CRJ700 experience, 2017.01.06

06 January 2017
A54527 (1755-1920) VCE-LYS
F-GRZH CRJ700

During a intra-european trip I chose to test HOP! for Air France operated by Brit Air and the CRJ700. As the flight departs after sunset, there will not be too much, well in fact none, photos from the flight itself. The flight is operated by Brit Air for HOP! for Air France. The seats are rather soft, with enough legroom. Engines being mounted at the rear make the last rows significantly louder comparing to the front ones. A good thing for most on the CRJs is that there is plenty of rows from which the views down on earth are not obstructed by the wing, engine or exhaust gases. The flight passes quickly, service is brief and small (but included) and we land on time in Lyon. A positive experience.

LO92 PEK-WAW 2017.01.02

The last segment of the Taiwanese journey. The final flight home.

02 January 2017
LO92 (0845-1130) PEK-WAW
SP-LRB Boeing 787 Dreamliner

After arriving the previous day from Taipei via Fuzhou I get a sleep at a local hotel, where I catch the shuttle to the airport at 6. That means I have plenty of time to check my bag in (luckily no queue and I am able to change my seat to one that suits me better) pass all the necessary controls and browse the shops. Then, when the sun rises I still have time to take some photos through the windows in the scenery of a rising sun. After using Beijing Terminal 3 yet another time I must say that it really is decent and rather hassle free. Spacious, various shops and restaurants, benches to rest, get a nap, lie down, quiet areas. and the air condition works quite well.
But back to the flight. We depart with a slight delay which, due to winds will grown a little bit during the flight. I'm lucky to get the seat next to me empty (seated in row 24). The service comes right in time. Around an hour after take-off. The food is pretty nice. The crew walks around offering a top-up. For a minus, the windows have been blocked in a dimmed configuration for most of the flight. On a day flight... not a red-eye one, a day one. C'mon! Anyway. Time passes by slowly, movies, reading, music, small naps and finally we arrive in cloudy Warsaw with around 30 minutes of delay.
Summing up, I am content of the flight in total. Of the entire trip as well.

MF8119 FOC-PEK 2017.01.01

Time to return home. Again via Fuzhou and Beijing (a night stop at PEK) with Xiamen Airlines.

01 January 2017
MF8119 (1600-1850) FOC-PEK
B-2992 Boeing 737-700

Transfer at Fuzhou. Easy, or not? At first, pick up your bag, enter China, get a stamp on your visa (one of the few airports that you need a visa to transfer at), pass customs, go to the check-in area, check your bag in, go through security, find something to do as no place accepts Visa cards. So I walked around, took some photos and waited for my flight. Unfortunately a swap occurred. They changed the planned 787 for a 737-700. Bad but could be worse, could be another 737-800 flight :P This is going to be a full flight, very few vacant seats. I get a family next to me. Lucky to have my earphones and the window so I can fly in relative peace. The food is the same, the views differ a bit as the sun hides and we land in dark Beijing. After arriving all I need to do is get to my hotel where I'll rest before taking my last flight the next morning.

Xiamen Boeing 737 experience MF880, 2017.01.01

Time to return home. Again via Fuzhou and Beijing (a night stop at PEK) with Xiamen Airlines.

01 January 2017
MF880 (1125-1300) TPE-FOC
B-1966 Boeing 737-800

For the flight from Taipei Taoyuan airport I get a pretty new 737 with the Boeing Sky Interior. This time I'm seated in row 62, but before I get to the plane I walk around the general area a little bit. Eva Air really has a thing with Hello Kitty :D There ain't much opportunities for spotting from the terminal so I do some small duty free shopping and head for my gate. The seats on this new plane don't differ much from the ones on the older sibling. While we taxi we pass by some nice planes, unfortunately on the other side so I only get a chance to catch them when on the runway. The flight is smooth, the food exactly same as on the inbound journey. On the approach we are able to see some nice lens-like clouds over the hill tops. And that would be it, yet another transfer at Fuzhou. Unluckily they swapped the planned 787 for a 737 on the next flight. But that in a separate post.