Hi guys, welcome to the first flight report covering our trip to California! This is only a positioning flight which we had to take to get to Barcelona where all the fun begins. To explain, let me remind you of Alitalia business class "special fare" from BCN to LAX which was on sale in January. We hopped on this offer and went to enjoy the beauty of two European cities as well as California national parks.
Upgrade offer
Exactly one week before the flight I received an email offering the option to buy an upgrade I did not take part in this "lottery" as far as I have already purchased meals which are even better than those served in J class in CSA but for those of you who would like to consider the offer, it started on 80 EUR per passenger in the lowest section going up to 220 EUR per pax and 150 EUR was marked as a great possibility of getting upgraded.
Prague Airport
I covered this airport in previous reports so refer there if you require more information. I just want to repeat that this is my favorite airport as it is very clean, organized and not so big so you can leisurely arrive not more than an hour before departure and you still have time for everything.
OK688: PRG - BCN
Czech Airlines is going down a bit every single day. First of all, a few years ago they were nearly bankrupt because of the socialist management board than were partly sold to Korean Air. Maybe if they were taken over by Qatar (as they were also one of the interested buyers), we could see the strong airline like Qatar wanted from Air Italy. But the time went with nothing happening in ČSA. Their fleet and destinations were at the minimum and their reputation was ruined. Sad for one of the oldest carriers which previously provided flights all over the world including Asia, North America or Cuba. A few months ago the government sold whole their stake as well as Korean Air sold their stake to Czech low-cost carrier Smart Wings (previously Travel Service). That was the end of Czech Airlines. Many routes were taken over by them, the nice fitted Arbus A319 with very comfortable seats were sold or returned to leasing companies and nowadays the flights are operated by SmartWings awful fleet. Sad. This flight was no exception. We started boarding at the time of scheduled departure although the airplane stood at the gate for at least 30 minutes. After boarding, they told us that they were not able to refuel so we have to wait another time. This is a brilliant showcase of how bad the handling of Menzies is. ČSA switched from Czech Airlines Handling to Menzies after they were sold to Samrtwings and the staff is so bad. They are not able to deal with loyal or high paying customers, they are just for low-cost Czech carrier. And now they are not able to fuel the airplane in time? The captain spoke only Spanish and Eglish so the crew translated every his word to the Czech people who did not understand. No problem to me but might be for the others that their pilots do not speak Czech on Czech Airlines flight. But that is not the end of the OK horror story. The legroom was awful. I was not able to even put my hand luggage under the seat in front of me! And a guy sitting in next row must to have his knees up for the whole flight as he did not fitted in! This aircraft is leased from some company located in Romania or somewhere there so…I have never experienced anything like this before!
But let's be more positive! What I really like about flying Czech Airlines is their onboard meal service. In previous reports, you could see a catastrophic Buy on board Menu but that is not what I am talking about. Every passenger has the option of purchasing a full meal for the flights starting at 10 EUR. For shorter flights there are at least 4 cold options, for longer flights over 2 hours, there are 6 hot options including vegetarian, fish, beef, duck, chicken, etc. The meals come with the selection of one alcoholic beverage, non-alcoholic as well as a hot drink at the end of your meal. I love this opportunity of dining aboard and I recommend it to everyone!
Great view of Nice and Marseille
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Verdict
CSA
3.9/10
Cabin0.0
Cabin crew6.5
Entertainment/wifi0.0
Meal/catering9.0
Prague - PRG
6.9/10
Efficiency7.0
Access5.0
Services6.5
Cleanliness9.0
Barcelona - BCN
5.0/10
Efficiency5.0
Access5.0
Services5.0
Cleanliness5.0
Conclusion
Forget about flying Czech Airlines! And if you have to, make sure you at least order your meal in advance to get fantastic food for a bargain of their inflight purchases as it helps you to survive the OK hell.
3 LIKESLIKE TO THANK THE AUTHORTHANKS ! FLIGHT-REPORT LIKED
Hi Tulakpohvezdach You certainly do know your national airline. It’s too bad they are in the situation they are, at least for now. Are you able to describe a little bit more the meals you ordered ? I can tell it’s beef and duck ... but how did CSA present it, online, for example. Was there a printed paper that came on the tray at all ? Did the crew confirm with you that you pre-ordered ? Was the tray brought out before drinks, after ? Sorry for all the silly questions, just curious! I look forward to reading the continuation!
You can find all details at here: https://www.csa.cz/cz-en/travel-information/list-all-services/gourmet-on-board/ The service is different on every flight. This was very pleasant offering as much drinks as you wanted
The captain spoke only Spanish and Eglish so the crew translated every his word to the Czech people who did not understand. No problem to me but might be for the others that their pilots do not speak Czech on Czech Airlines flight.
I personally never understood why people are making such a fuss about having a non-native pilot on the flight deck (not saying that you made a fuss about it) if he is better qualified that is of course. Though to be fair, the quality of those announcements are often in a very poor condition that you can barely hear or understand what the captain is even saying. --
But that is not the end of the OK horror story. The legroom was awful. I was not able to even put my hand luggage under the seat in front of me! And a guy sitting in next row must to have his knees up for the whole flight as he did not fitted in!
This seems to become more common for all European airlines. A very very poor legroom issue in which some people can't even fit in it. I had it on my flight with British Airways to London Heathrow too about a month ago in one of their Neo's -- On the side note, the pre-ordered meal you've ordered seems to be in good quality indeed. But out of curiosity, were there a lot of passengers that opted for this in your flight? -- Thanks for your flight report.!
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45 reviews
4 Comments
You certainly do know your national airline. It’s too bad they are in the situation they are, at least for now.
Are you able to describe a little bit more the meals you ordered ? I can tell it’s beef and duck ... but how did CSA present it, online, for example. Was there a printed paper that came on the tray at all ? Did the crew confirm with you that you pre-ordered ? Was the tray brought out before drinks, after ?
Sorry for all the silly questions, just curious! I look forward to reading the continuation!
The service is different on every flight. This was very pleasant offering as much drinks as you wanted
--
I personally never understood why people are making such a fuss about having a non-native pilot on the flight deck (not saying that you made a fuss about it) if he is better qualified that is of course. Though to be fair, the quality of those announcements are often in a very poor condition that you can barely hear or understand what the captain is even saying.
--
This seems to become more common for all European airlines. A very very poor legroom issue in which some people can't even fit in it. I had it on my flight with British Airways to London Heathrow too about a month ago in one of their Neo's
--
On the side note, the pre-ordered meal you've ordered seems to be in good quality indeed. But out of curiosity, were there a lot of passengers that opted for this in your flight?
--
Thanks for your flight report.!
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