My first flight of 2016 I chose one from a more local airport to me. I arrived at the airport at about 08:30 in the morning with departure scheduled for 09:55. I entered into a very empty check-in area and made my way to security which was very quiet and I was through to the departures lounge in less than 5 minutes from the moment I entered the terminal. Unfortunately there was not much to see on the apron and so I bought a magazine from a newsagent. Other than the newsagent, the departure lounge also has a bar/restaurant, a duty free shop and apparently a business lounge. The airport does have an extension to the departure lounge with more seating and another restaurant but it is only open during peak season.
Lanside at Doncaster Sheffield Airport The Check-in area The departure lounge
My aircraft arrived at 09:06 ahead of schedule. It quickly taxied to a stand in front of where I was sitting. Within 10 minutes boarding had begun for the return trip. Boarding took no time due to there only being about 20-30 passengers onboard our flight. We pushed back at 09:33am. We taxied very quickly to Runway 20 for takeoff and began what was a very short takeoff run partly due to how full our flight was. As we took off the ATR propellers made a great loud roar during takeoff which was a surprise as I hadn't been on an ATR before. We climbed out of Doncaster heading West over the Pennines. Our Cruising altitude was 22,000ft. There was some minor turbulence during our flight. As we continued on we passed by Holyhead before travelling across the Irish Sea.
EI-FCZ landing at Doncaster Sheffield Airport Taxiing in Just before boarding EI-FCZ The view from seat 3F
The interior was clean, light and pretty comfortable. The seats were extremely slim and towards the end of the flight my seat was starting to become uncomfortable. There is also no seat pocket to fit personal items such as iPads. Legroom was ok (I am 5ft 4) but the length of the flight would probably make it bearable. There was a more limited drinks and snacks service (non-complimentary) than compared with the mainline Aer Lingus service. I had a small sized can of Diet Coke and Walkers Shortbread. There was also a short duty free service offered but some of the products such as a plastic Aer Lingus ATR model were not available on the flight. Legroom was alright, storage underneath the seats was ok. The seats are quite slim Climbing out of Doncaster My small can of diet Coke and Walkers Shortbread Bia is the name of the drinks and snacks sevice The range of products was more limited to small drinks and snacks.
As we flew closer to the Irish Coast we banked left beginning our descent towards Dublin. We then banked right to line up with Runway 28. Both our descent and finals into Dublin were very steep. The plane was also battling some strong gusts during its approach. We touched down on runway 28 and vacated the runway. We taxied to a remote stand near the T1 low cost pier. Disembarking took some time with passengers at the front being held back until the cabin crew informed us to get off. We were taken by bus to Terminal 2 where I transitted through to Terminal 2 departure lounge for my return journey.
Pulling up alongside ATR42 EI-EHH Cargo door open Onboard a bus to take me to the terminal
Below is the onboard video from the day
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Verdict
Aer Lingus
6.4/10
Cabin7.0
Cabin crew8.0
Entertainment/wifi5.0
Meal/catering5.5
Doncaster - DSA
7.9/10
Efficiency9.5
Access7.0
Services7.0
Cleanliness8.0
Dublin - DUB
8.1/10
Efficiency8.5
Access8.0
Services8.0
Cleanliness8.0
Conclusion
Doncaster Sheffield Airport is a small airport, but that does make it very easy to get through, no hassle and queues are very unlikely. I will be using Doncaster again in the near future. The flight was very enjoyable with very good weather during my trip. The cost of this leg of the trip was pretty cheap at around £38. My first time onboard one and I quite liked the ATR. The seats were not the best part but they were good enough for a short trip. The service onboard Aer Lingus was what could be expected for a low cost regional route.
The next leg of my journey takes me from Dublin to London Heathrow onboard EI168.
If there is anything I could improve on then your comments would be appreciated.
1 LIKESLIKE TO THANK THE AUTHORTHANKS ! FLIGHT-REPORT LIKED
Congratulations for posting the first report on DSL ! (I did not even know about the existence of this airport) This is an ATR72-600, I found this type quieter than the earlier ATR72-500, but yes, you do hear the engines at take-off.
Nice lighting on the tarmac in DSL !
Having the text below the pictures (like in books and magazines) is less reader-friendly than the other way round - I suggest you change to the text above picture layout next time.
Man Doncaster gives me so much Déjà vu from Liverpool Airport. I guess it's to be expected since they're both owned by the same group. Peel Airports or something
Really like the Robin Hood name on the Doncaster Sheffield Airport. The airport itself has a grand facade, but not much inside as you would expect for a small regional airport.
Great shots of your ATR arriving. I really like the ATRs compared to Dash8s. The cabin on this plane looks really good (benefit of a new turboprop), seat pitch looks shorter than on the Dash8s (but this might be carrier dependent).
The robin hood association I believe is that from history the local area was part of the area that he was seen around. The facade is quite grand. The ATR was very nice and it was nice to experience a turboprop other than a Dash 8.
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102 reviews
8 Comments
This is an ATR72-600, I found this type quieter than the earlier ATR72-500, but yes, you do hear the engines at take-off.
Nice lighting on the tarmac in DSL !
Having the text below the pictures (like in books and magazines) is less reader-friendly than the other way round - I suggest you change to the text above picture layout next time.
Thanks for sharing !
Really like the Robin Hood name on the Doncaster Sheffield Airport. The airport itself has a grand facade, but not much inside as you would expect for a small regional airport.
Great shots of your ATR arriving. I really like the ATRs compared to Dash8s. The cabin on this plane looks really good (benefit of a new turboprop), seat pitch looks shorter than on the Dash8s (but this might be carrier dependent).
BOB looks a little expensive.
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