easyJet EZS1493 Geneva Airport – Birmingham Airport
Birthday Adventures to Geneva
- Where the heck do I want to go?
- Off to Elmdom International Airport
- EasyJet EZS1498 Birmingham Airport to Geneva Airport
- Into Switzerland and Geneva
- Crowne Plaza Geneva
- A Morning Walk Around a Quiet City
- Back to Geneva Airport
- EasyJet EZS1493 Geneva Airport to Birmingham Airport
- Through to the coffee shop…or not…
- To New and Old Adventures
EZS1493 Birmingham Airport to Geneva Airport
Airbus A319-100 (dual exit configuration), Seat 11F
Operated by EasyJet Switzerland
556 miles flown
Crouching tiger, hidden easyJet.
I headed down the jetbridge and was welcomed aboard by the crew.
Boarding this aircraft, the A319-100 was a bit older, but at least it was clean- which is a welcome thing to see.
easyJet configures their Airbus A319 aircraft in a 156-seat configuration. To achieve the exit times that are needed for evacuation (as this A319 is at the top-end of the seat count), the aircraft is installed with two sets of emergency aircraft over the wing (as opposed to the usual one).
In this case, I chose the rear set of emergency exit seats for the most legroom.
Again, the joy of paying for Standard Plus seating.
Settling into the seat, it is a slightly older slimline seat – this time fitted with a fabric cover installed as opposed to the leather cover of A320neo. Nonetheless, there was plenty of space, even though it has an older design language with a full tray table, as opposed to one integrated flush into the seat back.
And space increased – as the plane filled up with about 40 people boarding. It was to the point that boarding was completed in under 10 minutes.
A whole row to myself.
With everyone aboard, there was a wait to ensure that our aircraft did not require de-icing.
With the captain satisfied, our A319 began to depart. It was also time for the safety briefing too. This was presented manually.
With ease, our aircraft set off for the runway, which had a mixture of both commercial and private traffic going through it.
Lots of EasyJet A320 aircraft
And a couple of private aircraft too.
To fly, to land (British Airways A320)
Swiss Airbus A220-300
After a short wait, our A319 turned onto the runway and headed into the sky.
With the aircraft in the sky, the crew were released for cabin service. In addition, the AirFi Service was activated.
The AirFi service was the same as the outbound flight – offering access to the onboard menu, the Duty-Free catalogue, games and the moving map.
It’s a useful service – and it’s also good to see this is being expanded out across the easyJet fleet after the trial with the Swiss division.
The crew only ran one trolley on this service for the food and beverage service, with only a few takers on this flight, due to the distinct lack of people – it was clear this aircraft was heading to Birmingham to pick up passengers for the snow slopes, rather than weekend trippers.
They then followed the food and beverage sale with duty-free sales, with the extra push of 20% off. Sadly, it had little effect on anyone on board, with the crew making a duty-free pass and nearly zero takers.
Meanwhile, the cloud level continued to lower, but also thicken.
That wasn’t a good sign in the least.
One thing that I did need to do was to pop into the small room to see how orange the room was.
It was very orange, to put it mildly.
Going back down the cabin, it was clear that space was not at a premium on this flight – although I suspect the plane back would be pretty solid – given that a smaller A319 was deployed, compared to the A320neo I took on the way out.
I took my seat as I tracked the aircraft on the map. It is a great feature of the Air-Fi system and on this server, reasonably well implemented (or that not many other people were using it).
With the aircraft descending, the crew did a clean-up run and ensured that the cabin was secure.
Dropping into the low cloud, it was more than a little bumpy, to put it mildly.
Normally, I have a good sense of how low to the ground an aircraft is, even listening for when the undercarriage was deployed. It gives me a few minutes to set up the phone to record the landing video.
In this weather, I had no idea – so I was surprised to see the M5 come into view and then land with ease – even in the low visibility.
What the…
Oh. The runway at Birmingham Airport. Good luck making it out.
The A319 taxied off the runway and made its way back to the terminal area, not letting up on its trip and being directed to a gate at Birmingham Airport.
There is an airport somewhere around here. Honest…
Arriving at the gate, there was a short wait before the engines powered down. Then the ground crew spent more than a few minutes working out what to do next before a jetbridge was attached.
It seems that rear boarding and disembarkation were not to be a feature on this trip.
With the doors opened, everyone filed out. I thanked the crew and started to make the short journey home.
Overall: With a light load, the crew were helpful and reasonably friendly. Once again, easyJet got me from A to B safely whilst being on time.
As for the interior, the A319 was showing its age and could probably do with a cabin refit if the airline intends to hang onto the type (and for some missions – it is the right-sized aircraft, with the larger A320 families able to carry 30 more passengers. That payload might not be needed on every flight).
But as an A to B experience, it was fine. And having no scratchcard sales is a bonus.
Next: To the Coffee Shop. Or Not, as the case may be.
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