FR661 Birmingham Airport to Dublin Airport
Doughnuts on the Mound 4
In this feeble excuse for a day out to Dublin:
- Cheap flights, Cheap flights, Could have gone by sea…
- The joy of Birmingham Airport at 6 am in the morning
- FR661 Birmingham Airport to Dublin Airport
- The Wonder of Dublin T1 Arrivals
- Doughnuts, Friends and Plane Spotting – Airplane Art Extra
- Back to Dublin Airport Terminal 1 – Retail, Retail, Everywhere…
- FR666 Dublin Airport to Birmingham Airport
- To the buses. Wait… buses?
- It’s about friends
FR661 Birmingham Airport to Dublin Airport
FR661 Birmingham Airport to Dublin Airport
Ryanair, Boeing 737-800
Seat 25F
200 Miles Flown.
Exiting the steps, I was greeted with a 14-year-old Ryanair Boeing 737-800 waiting for me on the tarmac.
I would be boarding the aircraft from the rear of the aircraft – which seemed to move quicker than the front of the aircraft boarding.
I was welcomed aboard the 737 and headed down the aisle to row 25. With the alise seat occupied, there was little seat shuffling, and soon I was sat down.
The seat is the classic one for the older Ryanair aircraft – they were padded well, but at the cost of knee space – a vast difference for some of the seating that is out there. Whilst my backside might be fine, my knees would suffer.
Thankfully, with a 40-minute flight, this is not overly a problem. Heck, I’ve done two-hour flights in these seats in the past. Whilst not the best, they do provide comfort – even if the padding is broken in… to put it mildly.
Just a reminder: Your life vests are in the ceiling. NOT UNDER YOUR SEAT.
I popped my backpack on the floor, as that’s where my ticket allowed me to stow my small bag. Given the gate incident, I was more than aware that some people were playing some games, and the crew wasn’t in the mood for it.
With Ryanair keeping its 25-minute turnaround tight, the Boeing 737-800 was set to go. Thankfully, there didn’t seem to be any seat arguments on the plane – a welcome thing, especially in this peak travel season. Luckily, the middle seat remained free – even though it was taken on the seat map on the way out.
I won’t moan with a free middle seat. Ryanair would charge for that if they could at that moment in time.
A new Ryanair Boeing 737-8 200 is parked next door.
Cue Jess Gylnn’s songs.
The safety demonstration was carried out manually (as if Ryanair would invest in screens for safety demonstrations). Whilst it was a pre-recorded demonstration, with more than a few addendums at the end.
With that, our 737 pushed back and began its taxi around Birmingham Airport until reaching the City-facing part of the runway.
With a roar, the engines propelled the Boeing 737 into the sky. And yes, there’s video footage.
With the aircraft pushing through the cloud layers and into the sky, it was time for the crew to start their cabin service.
This would use two trolleys to cover the aircraft – and they were working hard too, as they combined the duty-free and catering service as one.
On a 40-minute flight (including the time to take off and land), there’s no option but to hurry. For those looking for the classic Ryanair tropes (e.g., the Scratchcard sale), the flight was remarkably peaceful – well, except for the hen party on the row across.
That’s the joy of a Dublin flight- you never know what you’ll see.
For me, my eyes turned to the window – which was mainly cloud cover, until we started the approach to Dublin Airport.
As the aircraft descended, we got glimpses of the Irish Sea, followed by the land – indicating that we were on an approach for the Southern Runway.
Considering the last time I was here, they were still commissioning the new runway, it’s been too long.
The aircraft made a safe landing with the usual three bumps to get on the ground.
With the aircraft on the ground, the 737 peeled off the runway, and onto the taxiway. It gave way to a few aircraft on the ground before being allowed to taxi towards the 100 Gates,
Widebodies at the 400 Gates
United Airlines Boeing 777 letting us pass.
Eurowings A320
Iberia Express A320
There was a short delay getting to the gate, as we waited for another aircraft to depart, but eventually, we taxied onto the stand. And yes, the heavens opened a little.
Welcome to Dublin.
After a short wait, passengers were allowed to disembark. I took my time, as some we rushing off, whilst others were in a rush.
Even the bridal group was given a shout-out as they disembarked. I followed behind them and off to the wonderful world of Dublin Airport.
Overall:
A quick enough (and my first on-time flight of the year), with less of the usual Ryanair pita-patter.
The seating does this aircraft no favours, with this 14-year-old example showing its age, compared to some aircraft in the fleet, which sometimes surprises me why they don’t refit (or in this case, sell the aircraft on).
I guess the supply chain delays that have dealt with the 737 MAX programme (as well as other issues the programme has had) are impacting the airline’s renewal cycle.
But in terms of on-time performance, unable to fault the airline on this flight – something that some airlines have struggled with this year.
Next: The Wonder of Dublin T1 arrivals. And there’s the sun.
Yes, sun.
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