FR666 Dublin Airport to Birmingham Airport with Ryanair
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
FR666 Dublin Airport to Birmingham Airport
FR666 Dublin Airport to Birmingham Airport
Ryanair, Boeing 737-800
Seat 25A
200 Miles Flown.
Even though I was near the back of the queue to board, I headed out to the aircraft and headed for the rear boarding steps.
Honestly, as long as I could sit down, I’d be happy.
Well, it’s one guarantee I’ll be turning left when boarding an aircraft.
I joined the queue as a SAS CRJ passed. A different way to see the sights.
Heading aboard the aircraft I noticed this was a little different to the one I was on earlier, with different seating (based on the Safran/Zodiac seats), and the Boeing Sky Interior – or what Ryanar brought of it.
As these seats are semi-new to me, let us have a look at them.
These are a bit more modern and slimline, based on the Safran/Zodiac Z110 seat. I’ve seen this at trade shows before, so it’s nice to see it in the real world.
The seat itself is a lot less padded than the Webber seats previously used. However, there is a good chunk of legroom compared to the older seats. Even on a short segment like this, that is very welcome.
Even if the aircraft was as dirty as heck. Whilst Ryanair love a 25-minute turnaround, it does limit the opportunities for a good clean.
It is still a Ryanair seat, so the lifejackets are still stored overhead to provide more legroom, and the safety card is glued to the seat front – so no one steals it.
Even if cleaning the aircraft between flights didn’t seem to be on the agenda – there was a magazine on the floor, as well as some chocolates/sweets spread over with general debris.
With everyone aboard, the crew sealed up the aircraft and began the safety briefing. This was a repeat of the same safety briefing we had on the way out, along with the addendums at the end of the pre-recorded briefing.
Given that the aircraft would be departing from the North Runway, it was a very short taxi from the 100 Gates to the runway.
What do you call a collection of Ryanair jets?
Within minutes, we were lining up for departure and our climb into the evening sky
With the aircraft taking a little time to manoeuvre its way to a stable flight level (mainly as the aircraft had to turn towards the Irish Sea, it was a few minutes before the safety belt sign was released.
Although I did get a good view of Dublin Airport from the sky.
See you soon, Dublin Airport. Let’s not make it a three-year wait next time.
Once the seat belt signs were extinguished m the crew went into full sales mode – as expected. Meanwhile, it seems half of the airplane was heading to the toilets – something I noticed on both of these flights.
Are people holding it in for as long as possible for the queue space, then going when they get aboard?
For me, I had forgotten to get my earbuds out, so I would be enjoying this flight with all the sights and sounds. Thankfully, people were well-behaved, and the flight just pootled its way as it needed to.
Even though the passenger to me was working through a cheese and onion sandwich. It was… what’s the nicest term I can use… they got their value in onions in that sandwich.
For me, the views outside were a lot more interesting, as well as a round or two of CrossyRoad.
Yes, you can tell I’m in the air when I’m playing that – I hardly play it otherwise
Again – it seems the trope of the Scratchcard sale wasn’t happening on this flight – either I had been very lucky, or Ryanair reckons they can’t sell many in time on a 40-minute flight.
With the crew running a compressed service, the aircraft was served with two trolleys and cleaned up in double quick time, as our descent was announced.
It was closing in at 9 pm when we began our descent to Birmingham, so the light was failing as evening and sunset turned to dusk.
Bring on the blue LEDs
There were a few bumps on the way down as the 737 cleared the cloud levels, but soon enough, the twinkling lights of the city came into view.
With a traditional Ryanair thump, our Boeing 737-800 landed at its base at Birmingham Airport.
Pulling off the taxiway, the aircraft was directed to the International Pier and the Gate 56/57 complex at the airport – it seems we would be handled at these gates for the arrivals.
Air India Boeing 787-8
Emirates Boeing 777-300ER
Towards the International Pier
Freebird Airbus A320, with another Ryanair Boeing 737 of some sort
With a bong, we were allowed to take our seatbelts off, as it felt like the entire aircraft was racing to get off it. There was a short pause before disembarkation began, as Birmingham airport decided to send buses to meet us.
I guess they didn’t want passengers walking out on the apron in the evening.
I waited my turn, then made my way off the aircraft.
Overall
Again, Ryanair delivered in terms of providing a method of getting from A to B, on time and in some comfort – even if the aircraft could have done with time to be cleared before it flew its next flight.
And the lack of scratchcard sales was very pleasing.
Whilst the Z110 seats are a lot thinner than old Webber seats, they do give precious legroom, which on longer segments would be a very welcome thing to see.
Next: The next train is cancelled…
Wonderful.
Welcome to Economy Class and Beyond. Your no-nonsense guide to network news, honest reviews, in-depth coverage, unique research, as well as the humour and madness I only know how to deliver.
Our Social Media pool has expanded. You can find us across most networks as @economybeyond on Twitter, Mastodon, BlueSky, Threads, as well as Instagram!
Also, remember that we are part of the BoardingArea community, bringing you the latest frequent flyer news from around the world.
“What do you call a collection of Ryanair jets?”
I was going to say “an embarrassment”, but it turns out that’s already taken by pandas.
“A horror”? You’d think that by reputation, but virtually everybody I know who’s flown Ryanair has said something along the lines of “it’s kinda ugly, but gets the job done fine.”
It’s like Spirit here in the states, you’d think it was a literal dumpster by reputation, but I’ve flown them and they delivered what they said they would, with ancillary fees clearly stated. And the upgrade I had to the “Big Front Seat” on TPA-LAS was one of the best value-for-money propositions I’ve ever had flying.
An “O’Leary”? Nah. How about “a yellow”?
A Swarm probably is what came to mind as I was writing this.
Ryanair – and most of the LCC’s – are “fine”, They’ll get you from A to B safely and effectively. But you are playing that game and know what you might be charged for.
Although most of the majors are just as guilty of the baggage games and upcharging games these days.
A curse of aircraft? Maybe.