Easyjet, Aer Arran & Ryanair in 1 day!!

A few weeks ago, we decided to visit Dublin. After searching for flights, it turned out that going via Cork was only a few quid more expensive than going direct. Here’s the report. Enjoy.

FLIGHT 1
Gatwick – Cork
EZY783
G-EZNC A319
Passengers: 85

Sched. Time of Departure – 0710
Actual Time of Departure – 0811

Sched. Time of Arrival – 0835
Actual Time of Arrivall – 0910

Check in as you’ll all probably know opens 2 hours before flight. We arrived at this time (5.10) , to be greeted by an enormous queue at Easyjet, whose desks where spread over 2 areas of the terminal. The area in between the section with 1 row of desks and another, was packed and no-one could move. There were no signs as to what destinations were being checked-in where, and besides you couldn’t read them anyway given the huge distance of the line. Time passed and flights were started to be called to the Late Check In desk and loads of passengers rushed to there as the lines moved frustratingly slow. I think they were caught unaware as to how many passengers would be travelling, as it seemed every passenger for the 17 or so departures between 0600 and 0800 arrived at the same time.

After an hour of agonisingly slow progress, we reached the front of check in desk # 279 and the most frustrating thing was that she checked us in withing about 30 seconds, as we had no baggage to check-in. Bearing in mind it was less than an hour before departure, we were still only #16 and #17 to check in. Either it was a light load today, or there were loads of passengers in the queue.

After thinking that our troubles were over, our hopes were dashed by another long queue for Security. Although this queue did move more than the EZY one, it still took 25 minutes to clear and by this time the Gate Was called as “BOARD GATE 10”. After a toilet break, Gate 10 seemed a very long walk but a familiar one, as I went from gate 1 in October to Manchester. Gate 10 is the furthest away from the terminal on Pier 1 and after another 10 minute walk, we arrived and saw about 10 other passengers – this was about 0650!! There were lots of planes parked up still, probably Delayed, including a Thomsonfly 737-300, numerous Easyjets and a FlyBe BAe 146.

The 3 gate staff chatted and I heard that the crew had only just arrived at the plane, so it would be unlikely that we would board early. Soon enough we boarded and EasyJet’s Boarding Policy of ‘Kids & A’ first followed by ‘B’. ‘C’ etc.. was put into action. We were in Group ‘A’, so were only nice and early. A short walk out to G-EZNC followed and the pilot was obviously finishing off the pre-flight checks. The cabin on the 319 is far better than the 737s – much lighter and pleasant to the eye and I chose a seat on the left hand side at Row 18A.

Gradually the plane began to fill up and by the time the doors shut at 0725, there were 85 PAX on-board. The Captain came on an loud and clearly and said that we were delayed due to trouble in the terminal and congestion on the airfield as a result. We waited for another 15 minutes – we still hadn’t moved. He came on again and said we were Number 7 to start the engines and that ATC would have to call us back soon – this was 0740. Another 10 minutes later he apologised again and gave some good news that after another EZY A319 that we would push back.

The cabin-crew took that opportunity to do the safety drill. Soon after, we began the push and start sequence. We were pushed back and stopped by a Thomsonfly 757, that was preparing for it’s flight. The Flaps were set during the pushback and after disconnecting with the tug, power was applied as we edged forward, stopping just infront of Stand 9, where an EZY pushed back as we passed it. We waited a little more time and an Aurigny ATR72 arrived at Stand 9. The Checker Vehicle drove under our wing and did a check of a short bit of runway, before we taxied on to it after a BA 777 arrival and before a BA 737 departure.

An Air France A32X was parked up a the Maintenance Area as the power was applied. It seemed like a long take off run but eventually we did lift off and the gears were retracted, heard by a ‘Ding’ in the cabin as they were stowed away. Climb out was practically straight ahead with a small right turn, as we set about following the M4 corridor towards the Bristol Channel. The views were fantastic and the Isle Of Wight was clearly visable. The in flight service was efficient and quite popular as many people bought drinks, which compared to Ryanair are CHEAP!

Isle of Wight in distance

The weather changed into Wales as it became cloudier and as we descended at 0850, there was slight turbulence as we entered it. The clouds were low and it was drizzling a bit as we landed onto Runway 35 very smoothly. I hardly felt it. We rolled on down to near the end of the runway, taxied off, and parked up within 2 minutes of landing. Disembarkation was made using the front and rear steps to try and get a fast turnaround to make up some delay. In fact, the Cabin Crew said they had 7 minutes to turn it around.

A short walk followed to the old fashioned terminal building where a flash of the passports was required before we made for the exit.The exit brought us into the main area of the Airport with the check in just in front of us. We went upstairs because we had an hour or so spare before Check In opened for the Dublin Flight, and while there we saw the Gatwick flight boarding just as we arrived – VERY QUICK!! Everyone was onboard it by about 0930 but it didn’t take off until 0945 – even so that’s still a good turnaround and I imagine it landed at LGW only 25 minutes late.

OVERALL – EASYJET
Comfort – 8/10
Punctuality – 5/10
Service – 9/10
Cost – 8/10
Overall – 8/10 – not my best experience with them, but very enjoyable and will definately fly with them again

FLIGHT 2
Cork – Dublin
RE616
EI-RED ATR72
Passengers: 60

Sched. Time of Departure – 1200
Actual Time of Departure – 1205

Sched. Time of Arrival – 1255
Actual Time of Arrivall – 1245

After spending an hour eating a croissant in the Cafe, watching absolutely nothing happen on the airfield, we went to check in for RE616 – my first ATR flight.

2 Check In desks were open and were checking in for ‘All Destinations’ – there were only 2 though (Bristol & Dublin). We were assigned the very back row – 18A and 18C and these, she said, had bigger legroom. Departures was upstairs near the Cafe and it was practically empty at the time. There was a nice shop there selling all sorts of Guinness merchandise so we took the opportunity to buy some gifts for Christmas. It was a case now of waiting for the plane to arrive from Birmingham, from where it continues on to Dublin. An announcement was made at 1110 to announce delays to the Aer Lingus & Ryanair flights due to previous delays. Sure enough, the ATR 72 landed on Runway 17 i think, followed by a rush of aircraft – an Air France F100, 2x Aer Lingus A320s, 1 x Ryanair 737-800. We were all told to ‘assemble in the the departure lounge’ at 1125 and Boarding started from Gate 2 at 1130. The procedure was to walk down a staircase and walk out to the plane, which was on Stand 4. It was chucking it down with rain and I was soaked as we waited outside as people boarded ahead of us. The friendly Irish cabin crew member at the front showed us to the seat which was fairly nice, if a tad uncomfortable. In front of us were sat 2 Aer Arran pilots who were off duty, who were obviously going to Dublin to fly later on. There were about 60 passengers on board which is quite a high load.

I loved the way how some baggage goes in behind a little curtain at the back galley – reminds me of the Fokker 50 where the entire back panel swings open to give the baggage compartment .The door was literally slammed shut which jolted the plane at 1150 as the crew performed the safety briefing. Taxi out took a short while as we waited for a helicopter to arrive, but as we backtracked to the threshold we taxied quickly and soon we turned around and took off @ 1205, only 5 minutes late. I loved the sound that it made and enjoyed the flight a lot. I can clearly see why Aer Arran have won awards, as the service was excellent and they gave us a complementary newspaper each, which passed the 40 minutes nicely. No sooner had we reached cruising altitude, we started to descend fast into Dublin and followed the coastline before turning onto an ILS for Rwy 28. It was quite windy outside and the plane was taken by it now and then but it was still a lovely landing. Another fast taxi followed and we passed a Ryanair 737-200 (couldn’t see the reg) that had probably seen its last flight and another one that was being used for spairs. A BA 777 was there also – doing what I don’t know.

We parked up next to Ei-CSH of Ryanair and after waiting for the Ground Power Supply to be turned on, we disembarked using the rear steps and were led the short walk to the terminal building. It’s quite strange as arrivals are directed into the departure area?!?

Dublin seemed to be a nice airport – nicely planned out and pleasant in the terminal. We walked straight through and caught the 747 Airport Bus that took us directly into the City (20 mins away) for €5. That also included the return journey so was well priced.

We left the airport at about 1310 and check in didn’t open until 1710, so we had a bit of time in the City first, where we did a bit of shopping and site-seeing although i was chilly so we left early and went back to the airport ready for the Ryanair Flight.

OVERALL – AER ARRAN
Comfort – 7/10
Punctuality – 9/10
Service – 9/10
Cost – 6/10
Overall – 8/10 – a very friendly and successful airline. Would have no hesitation in flying with them again.

FLIGHT 3
Dublin – Gatwick
FR118
EI-DAR B737-800
Passengers: 65

Sched. Time of Departure – 1910
Actual Time of Departure – 1916

Sched. Time of Arrival – 2025
Actual Time of Arrival – 2008

After waiting around for a while in the Cafe at Dublin Airport, the time arrived for the Check In for FR118. This happened much quicker than with easyJet and we went through to departures, which is a long corridor with a few shops down it. I knew that the plane would probably be ontime, as the previous Gatwick service departed Dublin early, and it was a good job that it was as there was not a lot to do at all, so we went and sat down at gate A17, which was shown on the departures board as being our gate.

A number of Ryanair aircraft turned up at the same time (no 732s) and a 737-800 arrived on our stand. The passengers disembarked and an announcement was made that boarding would begin shortly and Passengers with Boarding Cards 1-65 should stand by the window and everyone else in the middle of the corridor. The time now was 1825, so I knew that we were definately going to go ontime. The plane was turned round and the crew were refuelled with cups of coffee. The gate attendant arrived at about 1840 and announced that Pre-Boards for those with kids was happening, with 1 couple coming forward. There were only 50 people at the gate – I realised that this was going to be it, or practically it. Then the rest of the passengers boarded and we walked into the freezing conditions outside and boarded the aircraft using the front stairs to be greeted by a bright yellow and blue cabin, which certainly is very distinctive and I liked it. The Eastern European sounding cabin-crew said we could sit anyway we wanted except forward of Row 6.

At about 1855, the last few passengers ran on-board and the crew counted the numbers many times, before the doors were shut, and after a quick refuelling job we pushed back at 1908.Ryanair start the engines up very quickly and the quick taxi started straight away as we taxied past some parked up planes, such as a DHL 757.The safety breifing was done and the cabin lights dimmed, forming near total darkness in the cabin, which was no good for taking any pictures!

We waited at the holding point for about 2 minutes before taxiing on and departing straight away from Runway 28, turning left after takeoff and climbing out over Dublin city. The seatbelt sign was switched off soon after and it was a smooth flight, except a bit of light chop over Wales. The captain came on and told us that the route eas to be down the ‘M4 Corridor’ and then turn south of Gatwick, then turning left for an approach onto 26L.

The rest of the flight (at 29000 feet) was fine, and copies of the magazine were brought around – i was surprised that i didn’t have to pay for one!! £1.45 for a small tub of Pringles is ridiculous and was the most expensive of all the carriers. For this reason I didn’t buy anything from the trolley, as to not give them the satisfaction of taking my money for a ridiculous profit! I think many people thought the same.

The descent started at 1945 and took quite a long time as we flew past the airport to our left before turning back, to arrive on the runway at 2009, 16 minutes early. Gatwick was very empty and there was only 4 aircraft in at the South Terminal’s Pier 1 & 2 – an EasyJet A319 & 3 x Ryanair 737-800s. The pilot shut down the engines back where I started at Gate 10 as we walked the short distance to the terminal. The passenger load in the gate waiting to board seemed light again, although Ryanair do have 2 departures to Dublin within 20 minutes – at 2035 & 2055.

The EZY A319 on gate 2 pushed back as we reached it and after reaching passport control, where our boarding passes were collected back in ‘?’, we exited the terminal and my day was done. I was shattered but had had 3 good experiences and willk fly with all of them again.

OVERALL – RYANAIR
Comfort – 8/10
Punctuality – 9/10
Service – 8/10
Cost – 9/10
Overall – 9/10 – you get what you pay for. Not a lot, but it’s really all want.

Lastly, I’m going to compare some prices of the 3 companies from their on-board trolley – seems strange how Aer Arran can offer coffee for 60p less, and Easyjet can offer pringles for 45p less :confused: :
CUP OF COFFEE
Aer Arran – £1.00
Easyjet – £1.60
Ryanair – £1.80

TUB OF SMALL PRINGLES
Easyjet – £1.00
Ryanair – £1.45
Aer Arran – £1.50

CHOCOLATE MUFFIN
Ryanair – £1.45
Aer Arran – £1.50
Easyjet – £1.60

Hope you enjoyed

Tom