SAS CRJ900

After the one way flight to Geneva I had to get back home somehow. LOT flies nonstop but the OW price was high for my date. After all the best combination was with SAS via Copenhagen. Both flights on the CRJ900 operated by Cimber. First flight in the evening of the same day that I've flown on to GVA and spotted later on at the airport. SK618. Scheduled departure time at 20:10 and a two hour flight time. Second flight the next day in the morning at 08:30 and a 1h20min flight time. Why the sleepover? Well, if all would go according to schedule I should make it for the last flight to WAW that departs at 22:55 from CPH but I needed a backup in case of a delay because the flights were on separate tickets. Luckily for, I ended out being right, my flight to CPH was delayed by over an hour on departure thus I would have no chance to make it for me second flight. But now, back to the flight experience. Overall the CRJ is a small plane with not much space for the passenger. The toilet is cramped, the overhead baggage compartments also are small (in my opinion this is a feature of all Bombardier made airplanes). What makes up for those problems is the friendliness of Cimber crews. As in every plane with tail mounted engines, the more to the front, the quieter. Unluckily the CRJ doesn't give you the opportunity to look into the engine (what is possible on the Fokker or the T134/T154/IL62). More details about the the flight experience, the seat and the interior itself in a video at the end of the entry. What I did like about the two flights is the check-in at Copenhagen where you firstly print your boarding pass (if needed) at a kiosk together with the baggage sticker and later you drop your bag on to the belt by yourself. That was cool! And fast.

OY-KFI

Geneva spotting, LSGG/GVA 2015.05.29

After my flight on the Belavia Tupolev 154 from Minsk, I have decided, together with a friend of mine, to go spotting and catch the departure back to Minsk before we go to to city. And so we did. Using the spotterguide for Geneva we directed ourselves to spot #4 which was already had a couple of visitors. The departure itself got delayed by over two hours. All in all it was a good thing. Thanks to the delay we've manged to catch a couple of planes we would surely miss if the plane would have departed on time, like a Islamic Republic of Iran A321, or the 200th Easyjet Airbus. Between them there was a Swiss A319 performing a go-around, a United 767, a Swiss A333, a MEA and Royal Jordanian alliance liveries plus something I've been looking out for a little bit: the Etihad Regional Saab 2000.
Later that day I had to return to the airport to catch my next flight. This time it was to Copenhagen on a SAS CRJ900.

I-PBRA

HB-JXC

Flying the Belavia Tupolev 154

Arrived in Minsk two days earlier just for this day. Early morning wake-up, I take the first train from the center to the airport and am the only passenger on it :) . At the airport I have over two hours to my flight, I check my bag in and go for a short walk around the terminal. There is a couple of old planes in front of the terminal building, a Il-76, a T154, a T134, a An-24, a An-2 and a Yak-40. Later I go through the security and passport control and walk around the interior.

29 May 2015
B2871 (0820-1010) MSQ-GVA
EW-85748 T154

After a short walk around the area of the terminal and one shot of a aircraft standing near the terminal it is time to board. We take the bus to the plane. Total of around 30 people on board (the return flight was full). We are just about to get on board (some even do) but well, the authorities tell us that we can walk around a bit and many do. It looks like if we wouldn't want to fly the T154 and preferred the standing nearby 737. Boarding completed. Engine start-up is accompanied by a majestic hum of the engine. A short taxi to the runway and off we are in the air. Flat climb. 2 hours later we reached Geneva but before that we could experience the plane in all it's majesty. Walk around the cabin, chat. Plenty of room for everybody. There was even a cameraman from a Belarusian TV station making a material about those last commercial flights. Sometime during the flight a meal was served. Cold turkey (or so I think) with  cucumbers, a bun, ketchup and a sweet waffle bar as dessert.
A picturesque approach to Geneva airport with view on the Alps to the left, and a bit to the right. Deboarding, picking-up baggage and together with a fellow traveler we headed to one of many spotting locations in order to catch the departure back to Minsk (which got delayed due to a slot loss due to enthusiasts activity while boarding :D ) and later on to the city for some sightseeing. Later that evening I had my first leg of the return flight back to Warsaw. GVA-CPH with SAS.

Slowly boarding todays ride