Easyjet – LGW – TOL

A very early start on Thursday 11th November – leaving home at 3am to pick up 3 friends for the drive to Gatwick to catch the 7am flight to Toulouse.

After checking in and going through to departures we waited for the gate to be shown and enjoyed a hot drink. (yes there were people on beer at that time of the morning) Gate 13 was shown as being our gate where new Easyjet A319 G-EZEW was waiting. As there are no allocated seats with Easyjet were were boarded in check in order and our group were in the first batch to be called (usually 1-30) and we made our way to the back of the aircraft. The cabin was clean and still looked very new. Leg room was ok considering the high density layout and the seats were comfortable.

Pushed back a couple of minutes early and taxied towards the runway where we held for about 15 minutes as there were several aircraft arriving.

Take off was rapid with a good rate of climb but with some turbulence as we climbed to a cruising altitude of 37000ft and a ground speed of over 600knots as we had a tailwind of 100+ knots. The crew began the service promptly and handed out the flight magazines containing the items for sale etc. I chose a BLT sandwich which was ok (£3) & a Pepsi (£0.60)

All too soon the power was reduced and we began the descent into Toulouse through thick cloud (with lumps) and only saw the ground a couple of minutes before touchdown. The crew were very attentive, polite and friendly.

On the roll out we could see the Airbus facility which was the main reason for the visit.

The Airbus tour was booked for the Friday so the rest of the day was spent at the airport, trying to identify the aircraft at the Airbus facility. There was little activity on account of it being 11/11 and this is a public holiday in France.

We stayed at the Ibis hotel which was a 15 minute walk away.

After breakfast on Friday we booked a taxi to take us to the Airbus facilty and ‘Taxiway’ – the company that organise the tours. The Friday tour was in French only but as we were only really interested in the aircraft this was not a problem. First stop was Concorde F-WTSB which we were allowed in. This was the first test aircraft and is looking a little untidy. We then had a brief drive around part of the ramp followed by a film show in another building. The highlight was a visit to the A340/A330 line and a high level viewing platform which offered a view of the entire hall. We then made our way to the Airbus shop and left the tour. One point to mention is that no photography is allowed in the facility and equipment will have to be left as the reception building (along with passports) The tour lasted about 2.5 hours and cost 13.5 euro’s and my main dissapointment was that we were not shown anything of the A380 production which was a shame.

We had booked a taxi back to the hotel to get our bags and made our way back to the airport for the evening flight back to Gatwick.

The flight to Gatwick was due to depart at 9pm and the aircraft G-EZED arrived at 8.15pm so an on time departure was likely. We began to board at 8.35 although did wait a few minutes on the jetway as the aircraft had not been fully prepared. Once on board we headed to the back of the aircraft and again the cabin was clean and tidy.

Pushed back on time and taxied to the departure runway – the male cabin crew member was a comedian and made a series of funny comments (introduced other cabin crew as Monica, Rachel and Phoebe, “we made be dressed in orange but we do not work in Sainsbury’s etc)

Take off was not delayed and we climbed out headinig north towards Paris. We crossed the UK coast over the Isle of Wight and as it was a clear night the lights below were visible, from altitude the lights of Plymouth and Dover could be seen with the more familiar south coast cities of Southampton & Portsmouth being easily identified until we turned inland towards Gatwick.
There was a strong crosswind and this was evident during the final approach as we could feel the rudder inputs resulting in a firm touchdown.
As we had landed some 20 minutes ahead of schedule we had to wait for the jetway to be connected althoughthis meant that the baggage was off quickly with little waiting. After collecting the car we headed home arriving at 00.15 after a very good couple of days.

Easyjet were great with on time flights, good cabin crew and best of all was the price – flights were £33 return including taxes – a real bargin.

Hope you enjoy the brief report – any questions please ask and I will try to reply in the thread.