We spent much of the day alternating between the two viewing points at either end of the terminal, and viewing much of the Germanwings, HLX, and DBA fleets. Also of interest were 3 IL76s, one Azerbaijan, on Uzbek, and one Volare. There was also an Iran Air A310, Turkish 738 and Hemus Air 146, along with a Blue Wings A330 stored around the corner. There were a few regional movements throughout the day including a Metro, a Saab 340 and a Dornier 228, and alos lots of Lufthansa and an EAE ATR. Sadly some of these departed from the cross runway and we couldn’t see them in great detail.
The German Air Force also had a fair amount of movements including a number of A310s, Transalls, Challengers and Helicopters. From one viewing area you could look out to where the IL76s were parked, alongside a number of stored 146s and Fokker 50s.
After enduring freezing weather conditions and even a small amount of snow we conceded and went inside to check in for our return flight. We managed to do this 3 hours before hand, as all Germanwings flights can be checked in from any desk. We went through security were Dan once again tried to expose himself in front of the entire airport, and after distancing myself from him we wandered around until finding a good spot for taking photos.
Various interesting aircraft taxiied past us including a Luftwaffe A310, and a Cirrus Dash 8 parked up right in front of us too. Additionally there was an Aeroflight A320 running some Germanwings services that day. After a while I checked the departure board, and we had an hour delay on our flight. Irritating, but then we thought it likely we would be getting the Aeroflight A320 which didn’t seem so bad.
After watching 2 LH MD11s and a UPS 741 arrive we went downstairs to the gate area, and waited around for them to call the flight. Once in the queue it was interesting to note a number of business travellers, including many who had high level BA executive club cards, which begs the question what are Germanwings doing right to get the business off BA, especially for such frequent flyers.
Young children were called forward first which we thought rather amusing as it was a bus gate, meaning they would get stuck at the back of the bus instead of being able to board first! Anyway we soon followed on, and kept a good look out for the Aeroflight. However it was not to be, and we were driven out to D-AIPD a normal Germanwings A320 parked on a very remote stand in the corner of the apron. Presumably this was one that had gone tech but was now working again.
We bordered through the rear steps and took seats quite near the back. This was clearly an ex Lufthansa aircraft with green leather seats, and some remnants of the name on various pieces of equipment, however it was not easy to tell that it was the 72nd A320 built and was over 16 years old, as it was in very good condition.
The flight was much more full this time, however boarding was carried out swiftly, and we started up and taxiied out in good time, although the taxi to 32R is a very long one. We had to wait for an HLX to arrive before departing, and once again they pulled the same trick with the thrust settings, although the acceleration was not quite as good as the 717!
Once airborne there was a lot of turbulence, until quite late in the climb, and once settled in the cruise we were quite surprised to hear the engines throttle back so soon. The Captain was really good on the flight, and gave us all lots of detailed information before we left, and came on soon after and explained that the TMA was very congested, and we had a speed restriction to keep. This got a few groans as we were already an hour late, but there was nothing anyone could do. About 30 minutes later the captain came on again to tell us we would have to hold for about 15 minutes which got a few more worried groans after he tried to explain where we were holding before confessing he didnt know and had to consult the FO!
After descending into the clouds it was very disorientating, especially as the turbulence was quite strong. The next thing we knew we were about 200ft looking down onto the industrial area to the south of Gatwicks 26L. The visability and cloud base were very bad, and the wind quite strong too and we got quite a high bounce on touchdown. No reverse was selected, instead autobrakes went from Low to Medium about half way down which was rather uncomfortable. We made the first exit however, and taxiied all the way round to the far corner of the satellite pier, before disembarking fairly rapdily. Both of us were rather knackered and we were well over an hour and a half late and os decided not to bother with a deck visit, and instead joined the long queues to get through passport control.
Overall Germanwings seemed OK, especially as we only paid £30 for the flights. No real explanation was given for the main cause of the delay, however I think I could have sufferred apalling service and still come back with a smile on my face as we managed to get on the 717, which was after all the prime reason for booking the trip!
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