BCN - BRU VY8988 Y / AIRBUS A320-200 - 08/10/2015: http://flight-report.com/en/report-11897.html
AMS - BCN HV5133 Y / BOEING 737-800 - 10/10/2015: HERE
Preface: I wanted to visit a couple of universities in the Netherlands where I am considering continue my further studies. Maastricht was one of the places we had to go so we had three options to get there, fly to Düsseldorf, Brussels or Eindhoven. Vueling seemed a good choice too and fares to Brussels were quite good. Additionally, by booking this flight we would be able to have nearly a full day in Maastricht which was a plus taking into consideration we had an appointment the following day and we were not actually expecting to have a full day in Maastricht. Therefore, we booked this flight to Brussels as one way. On Saturday 10th, an Open Day was held in Rotterdam so for our return flight we would have to fly either from Rotterdam itself or Amsterdam. The only available flight from Rotterdam to Barcelona was an early departure so we ruled out this option. Thus, our only option was to fly out of Amsterdam which left us with three possible airlines: KLM, Vueling or Transavia. There was a good-priced Transavia flight that departed AMS at 19:00, this timetable would work for us so we'd be able to spend the morning in Rotterdam so we decided to go for it. Our routing was then completed.
We tried to check-in online 24h before our departure flight time but couldn't do it as there were some technical problems and flights out of AMS were affected by these. Therefore, as we wanted to be seated together and towards the front of the plane, we decided to head to the airport early as the Open Day was over at around 14h. We got to Rotterdam Centraal Station using tram nº7 from Erasmus University at around 14:40.
We bought our tickets to Schiphol at the Station. I believe the price was around 15 euros per person as we booked the fast-train ticket that would bring us to AMS in twenty-five minutes.
This is it, our train for Amsterdam Centraal with just one stop at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport.
The ride was about 25 minutes and we got to the airport at 15:20.
I headed outside as I wanted to see the big Amsterdam Schiphol sign in the building.
We then went to the check-in counter as we were given an error message by the auto check-in machine, I suppose it was because of the technical problems HV had had the day before.
A very kind HV worker offered us seats in the Emergency Exit Row which we obviously accepted. Therefore, my seat was going to be 16F.
As we had a lot of time to spare, we decided to head to the Panorama Terrace which I had always wanted to go. It was a long walk from Transavia's check-in counters.
First impressions of the Terrace, it is a great place, especially for aviation enthusiats like us!
Views of the tarmac with KLM 737s.
Time to visit the interior of the Fokker 100.
The beautiful cockpit of the Fokker 100.
More pictures of the Fokker.
The Terrace was pretty full but I still managed to take some pictures. KLMs mostly, Delta 767-400 and Kenya Airways 787 which was a rare sight for me.
I also tried to the simulator game located just before entering the Terrace, it was very fun! We then went back to the Terminal in order to clear security controls. Our flight was supposed to be on-time.
Security controls were very efficiently organized by the workers at Schiphol, there was a long line but a lot of workers so I didn't wait for more than 5-10 minutes which is fine considering Schiphol is an European hub.
The Terminal building looks modern and clean.
We decided to have a meal as we hadn't had lunch so we were pretty hungry. We went upstairs where most of the restaurants are located. Our idea was to have something at Burger King but an Asian fast-food place caught our attention and we decided to give it a try. We ordered two curries which were extremely flavorful and decently priced.
After charging my phone at the restaurant, we went to the free internet area for Amercian Express card holders, my dad holds an AMEX card so I enjoyed free Internet.
Before heading to our gate area, we bought some cheese to bring to our family as a gift
Time to head to C Gate area.
Transavia Boeing 737-800 for Nice.
We got to our gate which wasn't too far from the shopping/food area. Boarding started half an hour before our scheduled departure time so we were technically supposed to leave on-time.
First impressions of the legroom, what a difference in comparison to my outbound flight on Vueling! Royal legroom!
Views of the old Boeing 737-800 cabin.
We pushed back at 19:00.
Taxiing to the runway. It was one of the longest taxis I have experienced in my life! Schiphol is a really big airport!
Lining up with the runway. Takeoff at 19:25.
V1, rotate.
Positive climb, gear up.
We reached our cruise altitude which was 36000 feet.
Again, a picture of the great legroom!
Transavia's magazine Enjoy!.
Views of the cabin.
After 1 hour and 20 minutes, we started our descent into Barcelona. Views of the city shortly before landing.
Touchdown at 21:20, 10 minutes of delay. Last views of the Emergency Exit row.
And the green Transavia seats.
Barcelona's old Terminal 2.
Thanks for sharing! I haven't seen too many reports on Transavia Holland, just a few on Transavia France (in French). It definitely seems like a better in flight experience than other European LCCs, especially Vueling, like you say. I've heard a lot of negative opinions on Vueling from many different people, so it is not really an airline I'd be excited to try.
First impressions of the legroom, what a difference in comparison to my outbound flight on Vueling! Royal legroom!
- Of course, you're in the Exit Row! haha...but I'm sure even in normal rows that legroom is better than Vueling--VY is notorious for tight seat pitch.
I'm not sure how I feel about those green seats---kind of a eye sore. It probably looks ok in real life.
Thanks for sharing ! I've been thinking of taking Transavia Holland in January for a weekend trip to Amsterdam from Nice. Looks like I won't be squished up like I was on my last trip, which was with Vueling (FCO-NCE). Also love AMS' terrace for AVgeeks ;-)
Thanks for sharing this look at Transavia Holland with us.
Getting the exit row sure helps the L out of LCC :)
Vintage 737 with the rectangle windows, but at least it had winglets. Good crew and good on-time performance are all you need with a LCC flight.