Welcome to this FR covering the flight form Warsaw Modlin (WMI) to Trapani (TPS) in western Sicily where I spent a fabulous week of my late summer holidays. Originally my plan was to go to Naples with a charter flight of Enter Air, but as I saw the prices increasing to an unacceptable level, I turned my attention towards Sicily and flights of Alitalia via FCO. The only problem here was… Alitalia and its completely unstable situation which could end up in flight cancellation if the airline suddenly went bankrupt. That's why I did what I wasn't really willing to do: bought a Ryanair flight to Trapani departing from Warsaw's second airport - Modlin that is situated 50 km north from the city and is used only by Ryanair.
If you don't wish to get to Modlin with your own car or taxi that in this case is not the cheapest, there are two possibilities: either a 50 minutes ride by so called Modlinbus or a trip by train and shuttle bus from the train station to the airport that for the moment hasn't got its own station and it doesn't seem it will change soon.
We chose the bus that wouldn't be that bad if it wasn't for the weather that in the day of our departure was more than terrible with very low temperature as for the mid September (approximately 15 degrees Celsius) and pouring rain. We got totally wet while boarding the bus but it wasn't the end of this rainy day yet as we still had to board the plane in the same (or even worse) rain with no jetbridge or even bus.
The airport looks very low cost style. There is nothing to do here, sometimes there is hardly any space to stand (forget about sitting) if more than 2 flights depart at the same time.
Check - in area (it was the first time I've checked in my luggage with Ryanair but I found it rather impossible to make it with a small hand luggage for one week). I must say the check-in process was very fast and nice.
All Ryanair departures board. In the summer season, that was almost ending at the day of my flight, Ryanair offers flights to many holiday destinations and the flights are mostly fully booked.
The gate area with my flight and delayed flight to CGN
The one and only duty free shop in WMI
And finally after standing for like 30 minutes one leg in a long queue the bording starts. It means nothing more than getting terribly wet again as the rain and wind only became stronger.
This picture with this guy in yellow raincoat says everything about this the worst ever boarding… Cold wind, heavy rain and a long run to the aircraft, then standing on the uncovered stairs and getting inside the aircraft almost completely wet and shaking. In that particular moment I hated myself for choosing this flight option.
What was a nice surprise was that the aircraft was new, equipped with sky interior and new seats.
The pitch was surprisingly good, I think it's mostly because of the seat being very thin. It wasn't the most comfortable seat I've travelled on so far, but despite being rather hard, it wasn't uncomfortable even on an almost 3 hours flight.
The overhead pannel and window. I'm wondering if the fact that Ryanair places the life vests in the overhead pannel is caused by the lack of space under the seat or rather not to loose some life vests that can sometimes be taken by the passengers.
Mood lighting for take off
I have to admit it was one of the worst take offs in my life with very strong wind and severe turbulence for approximately 10 minutes after leaving the ground. Sitting in the tail section made things only worse.
No to think too much of the shaking fuselage I started reading what Ryanair calls an onboard magazine being in fact very long sky bar menu and duty free catalogue with some totally uninteresting articles saying how wonderful the airline is and how happy the people who work for it are. At the same time more and more flights were cancelled due to lack of pilots. Pure propaganda. The so called on board magazine is the only thing you could, if it was worth it, take with you, so you can find on it the fameous sentence written usually on safety cards: do not remove from the airplaine. Don't worry Ryanair, I won't. I also won't buy anything as your prices are high.
I was my friend's first time with Ryanair so to celebrate this virgin flight we took a scratch card to leave some more money to Mr O'Leary. As always, we won nothing.
The flight was completely uneventful not counting the initial turbulence and the 2 or 3 rounds of duty free shop. The crew, even if seemed tired, was very active during whole flight.
Finally, after almost 3 hours, we landed in warm and dry Trapani. Hopefully there will be no rain for the next 7 days!
Our aircraft during deboarding
Some bonus pictures from the first part of my stay in Sicily, including Trapani, Erice and Palermo.
Trapani, usually underestimated as a city with nothing to see or do, surprised us with a very nice old town situated on the edge of a peninsula, some good restaurants and cafes and in general nice and relaxed atmosphere.
It also has a very good spot for observing sunsets at the very end of the old town
While being to Trapani a place not to miss is a medieval town Erice situated on the top of the mountain over Trapani and connected with the city by cable car that offers breathtaking views of the city and sea.
Erice itself is simply charming and as it occupies a peak of the highest mountain in the closests area, it offers some great views on Trapani and surroundings.
Our next stop, reached by a hired car that we took for a whole week, was my favourite Sicilian city - Palermo that I fell in love with 4 years ago during my first stay. It offers a mixture of styles, cultures and tastes you won't find anywhere else.
The first place we went to where the creepy Catacombe de Cappuccini with mumified bodies of the former city inhabitants. The most known is of course the 2-year old girl, Rosalia Lombardo, that used to look as if she was asleep (now her body isn't in such a good condition anymore, so she was put in a special glass trunk filled with gas that protects it from further deterioration).
Palermo has a great old town with huge cathedral, many cosy narrow streets and squares
and a great Ballaro market, full of fresh fruit and vegetables
Thanks for reading, to be continued soon :)
See more
Verdict
Ryanair
4.5/10
Cabin8.5
Cabin crew8.5
Entertainment/wifi0.5
Buy-on-board menu0.5
Warsaw - WMI
1.5/10
Efficiency1.5
Access1.5
Services1.5
Cleanliness1.5
Trapani - TPS
6.3/10
Efficiency8.0
Access5.0
Services5.0
Cleanliness7.0
Conclusion
The strongest part of this flight was no doubt a new aircraft and a friendly cabin crew. Modlin airport, especially in bad weather conditions, is a disaster much worse than Ryanair itself. If you fly to or from Warsaw and have a choice, always choose WAW!
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Haha, a report about TPS ! I took the risk to fly Alitalia last summer and landed in PMO (sorry, my Flight Reports are in French) I love boarding from the tarmac, but I admit it must be awful in such conditions. I did not know about Ryanair's life jackets being in the overhead compartments; thanks for the information. It seems that your vacation in Sicily was as wonderful as mine :) Thanks for sharing !
Hi Marathon, thanks for stopping by. Oh, I speak French and I read your reports, must have missed this one, but I will find it. Sicily is great and I've had a wonderful time there for the second and no doubt not the last time. Merci et a bientot! :)
“sometimes there is hardly any space to stand“ - Despite that, a car for marketing purposes I suppose, has been placed in the middle of the check-in area.
Sorry to hear about the wet and cold boarding experience. Despite all of that, you did manage to snap excellent night shots of your ride.
Good to hear the legroom was not terrible.
Wonderful bonus pictures at the end, seemed like a grea holiday :).
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5 Comments
I love boarding from the tarmac, but I admit it must be awful in such conditions.
I did not know about Ryanair's life jackets being in the overhead compartments; thanks for the information.
It seems that your vacation in Sicily was as wonderful as mine :)
Thanks for sharing !
Modlin is definitly a bad airport:
Too far from Warsaw
Too small
And badly connected to train with this shuttle bus to Modlin station.
Concerning Rynanair, I like the new cabin but there is nothing else interesting onboard :-(
Beautiful bonus, Sicilia is a really nice place to visit!
Milego dnia i do zobaczenia
“sometimes there is hardly any space to stand“
- Despite that, a car for marketing purposes I suppose, has been placed in the middle of the check-in area.
Sorry to hear about the wet and cold boarding experience. Despite all of that, you did manage to snap excellent night shots of your ride.
Good to hear the legroom was not terrible.
Wonderful bonus pictures at the end, seemed like a grea holiday :).
Have a good one, see you!
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