Hi everybody,
Welcome to this flight report that opens the series of the four following December flights:
FLIGHT A3 873 - WAW-ATH - A320
FLIGHT OA 910 - ATH-LCA - A320
FLIGHT OA 901 - LCA-ATH - A320
FLIGHT A3 870 - ATH-WAW - A320
BACKGROUND
Actually these 4 flights were not supposed to take place until almost the very last moment. I was already OK with the fact that my trip to Paris in late October would be the last air travel of the year and was already looking forward to my travel plans for 2019, when this sudden express business trip to Cyprus occured. I was not very happy about it first as it was two weeks before Christmas with all the preparations and craziness getting more intense every day. But a sudden trip to the Mediterranean and a possibility to fly my favourite European airline were a great treat. There is of course a direct LOT flight on this route, but in case of this trip it required in fact two sleepless nights that would make my job in this particular case (translating from Greek to Italian and Polish) a miserable task, so as I could, I chose with pleasure a combined flight with a very short (40 minutes) stop in ATH. It's been almost two years since my last flight with Aegean, so I was curious if anything changed in their fantastic service and how.
THE FLIGHT
Business trips are always a difficult task for me as an avgeek, unless I fly on my own. I'm being constantly asked by my colleagues why I take so many photos, is this my first flight (that's my favourite) and what is so fascinating in staring out of the window. This time I was travelling with a colleague that already knows my hobby, so I could just hear from time to time "Oh, you are taking a photo again!". If only she knew that on this occasion I took 3 times less pictures than I would normally have…
I came to the airport as always by taxi on this dark and rainy December afternoon
and after passing trough security we headed directly to the gates area with a stop for a coffee in on of these cafes where even a simple beer becomes one of the luxury goods… 17 PLN is more or less 4 euros and that's maybe not very much for a beer at the airport but a simple Zywiec or Heineken costs here normally not more than 4-5 PLN which is about 1 euro
Looking for my flight on the screen
The A320 that has just arrived and will soon take us to Athens
Boarding
I hate flying at dark as it makes taking decent photos a real nightmare and forces me to focus more on the somehow limited interior of the aircraft
A thing that draws my attention first is a new safety card type that, as I learn afterwards, has been introduced just a month or so before
The upper seat pocket content is very rich including the inflight magazine, duty free catalogue and some Christmas deals brochures
There's also a special card explaining how to connect with your own device to airline's IFE (a thing that I actully forgot to do being constantly involved in different dialogues with my talkative colleague)
A very elegant as always Aegean cabin
What I'm interested the most on this flight is the fameous service that arrives approximately 40 minutes after take off. It seems that A3 continues to fly high with a hot meal and full choice of beverages in economy on a 2:15 flight! Besides the main dish that appeared to be pasta in something like bolognese sauce, on a tray you may find a small pack of crackers, a bar, butter, cream cheese, a fresh roll distributed separately by flight attendants from the basket and a plastic cutlery with refreshing towel, a small bag of salt and pepper wrapped altoghether. My choice of beverages is a very good as always Greek red wine and water. Well Aegean, you are still my best european airline! My colleague who has never flown Aegean before is very much impressed.
There's not much to do or spot on an evening flight and as we talk a lot time passes quickly and soon we begin our descent. What I notice is there is no second beverage service that I saw on my last flight in March 2017 and the tea&coffee service that used to take place after the meal, is now a part of the main beverage service. So there are some small cuts in A3 service too, but let's be honest: comparing to other airlines, Aegean is a different league.
Just before touchdown with lights of Attica
And here we are, I'm back to Athens after almost 2 years break and it seems we are having a remote stand which makes me a little bit anxious about our connecting flight within 40 minutes from now. I don't know yet and I will leave it for the next report, what surprise has Athens airport for the passengers transferring from Schengen to non - Schengen zone….
That's all for now, the next part will follow soon! Thanks for reading!
Hi Loukas,
Thanks for this look at the details of a last-minute business trip. I’m fortunate that generally, when I’m traveling for business, I’m traveling alone — my peers and hosts are all from different companies than me, and most of them as sensible enough to fly AC or WS (mostly) direct, instead of being silly and insisting on connections on DL. But yeah, I can see it being somewhat awkward to be photographing the minutiae of a trip when traveling with people.
Heck, it’s often enough awkward when traveling alone… I find it sometimes uncomfortable to be shooting details around my seat when there’s someone sitting right next to me.
Too bad you didn’t get to test out the BYODIFE, but then, isn’t chatting with a colleague the original (and best?) IFE. Depends on the conversation, I suppose.
Impressive meal service for a two-hour Y flight, and wine on the house as well? Not bad indeed. You go, Agean!
Nice spotting opportunity to arrive at a remote stand, but as you suggest, not ideal when it’s already a tight connection.
I look forward to the cliffhanger second part… and I hope you made the connection with ease.
Thanks for sharing, and happy flying!
Hi, many thanks for your comment. It was ok taking to my colleague and in fact I prefer this kind of IFE but it's a pity I missed the airline's entertainment system. The next report will follow soon :) All the best!
Thanks for this FR.
Indeed A3 is a gem in Europe as far as service is concerned.
On my two flights with them last summer, service was different with no second drink service on the way out but one on the way back.
I guess it depends on the crew, the one that didn"t do a second service was unfriendly too.
Hi, you are right, it is a gem :) This particular crew was nice but it wasn't the same on the next flights, so it may be as you say that it depends on the crew if they make the second beverage service or not. All the best in the New Year!
If you don't feel like flying, I can volunteer to take your place next time! XD
You speak all those languages??!! Gee! I go green with envy. I have problems dealing with one!!
Waaaa ha ha ha. I feel soooo identified with your experience! When I travelled with my students, they hated me. When I travel with my mom, she quickly gets pissed off.
I love reading Greek words and finding out how they have influenced Spanish or English. I had no idea we have the word "psicagogía" in Spanish, but it has nothing to do with entertainment! And an apolaust is "a pleasure seeker" in English. Fascinating!
Impressive. Deliciously impressive!
Hopefully a nice surprise!! :O
Thanks for sharing, Loukas! :)
Oh yes, Greek is such a great language! I love it and I love to discover more and more Greek words in other languages! The surprise....well, you will see what one has to do to get from one zone to another having literally no time, it has a lot to do with a Greek city called Μαραθώνας ;) Thanks for stopping by!
Hi Loukas, thanks for sharing this new series of unexpected flights! Business trips can be a little awkward, but all my colleagues know I'm a huge AvGeek so I don't mind so much. It's worse travelling alone and sitting next to a stranger when taking pictures, lol. A last minute work trip around the Holidays isn't idea, but at least it was to the warm Mediterranean and on Aegean. This report is one of many showing that Aegean is one of the best European carriers for passenger experience in Economy on short/medium-haul. While many Legacy Euro carriers have tried to imitate LCCs, reducing seat pitch and introducing B.O.B, Aegean has maintained a high level of service. If A3 had actual business class seats in J, instead of the Euro-biz concept, they would the the best for short/medium-haul all around.
Thanks again for sharing and Happy New Year!
Hi Kevin! Maybe I'm strange but I don't care about strangers staring at me when I take pictures cause usually they don't dare to ask and leave "the freak" (i.e. me) in peace, while some of my colleagues like to ask endless questions... Yeah, Aegean is impressive. Even my mom who knows little about flying asked me after the trip: "did you fly this good airline that serves hot meals? The one that we flew with your dad in May to Athens?" She couldn't rememeber the name but she remembered the meal! :) Many thanks for your comment and Happy New Year!