The Veneto Region with Ryanair BRU-TSF and VRN-BRU

[sn26567]

1. Introduction

I had never visited Verona before, and I wanted to do so on a day trip, but since no airline flies from Brussels to Verona twice a day, I decided to try the combination of Ryanair flights already described by airazurxtror (see report: https://www.aviation24.be/forums/viewtopic ... 98#p319030) and Stij (see report: https://www.aviation24.be/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=56398).

Hence I booked the two separate trips on the Ryanair web page and I paid respectively €39.76 and €40.78, including €5.99 each for seat reservations (I was dismayed to see that the seat reservation fee jumped 20% from €5.00 to €5.99 since the beginning of the year). On the recommendation of airazurxtror I selected seat 31A in the back of the airplane: the window is ideally located, but too low as on every Boeing 737. And the legroom seamed smaller than on seats in row 6-8 which I used previously. An impression only?

With light traffic on the road, I arrived at Brussels airport at 05:30. The flight to Treviso was announced on-time (I see that Brussels Airport, as well as Ryanair, call this airport Venice TSF or Venice Treviso, whereas Treviso airport itself never mentions Venice in its name).

To Venice (Treviso TSF) with Ryanair FR 2935

No queues at boarding pass or hand baggage control. I passed smoothly with the electronic boarding pass downloaded on the Ryanair app of my smartphone. I only had one hand bag, from which a tube of solar cream was confiscated. Too bad for a day which was announced sunny and hot (37°C).

The new water stand at €1.00 for a half litre was very successful, even if I saw two young boys taking their bottle without paying (there is no control).

The water at 1€ (or free of charge if you prefer)

Through the Connector to Gate A33, where there was already a long queue of standing people waiting. I cannot understand that: I sat down quietly down until the flight was boarding. But when I tried to photograph the panel indicating the destination, a Swissport gate agent lady forbade me to do so. Incredible! I had to hide to take this very bad picture.

I had to cheat at Gate A33 to take this forbidden picture. Incredible!

Boarding started 25 minutes before departure time. It was the first light of the day for this Brussels-based Ryanair plane.

2. Brussels - Treviso

Flight: Ryanair FR 2935
Date : 07 August 2015
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800 EI-EKX
From-To: Brussels - Treviso (BRU-TSF)
Seat: 31A (window left side, two rows before the last one)
Scheduled/Effective Time of Departure: 06:45/06:45 (GMT+2)
Scheduled/Effective Time of Arrival: 08:25/08:17 (GMT+2)
Scheduled/Effective Duration of the flight: 1 hr 40 min/1 hr 32 min

Boarding through the back door:

Embarking onto Boeing 737-800 registered ...

... EI-EKX

Registration confirmed. Let's go now!

While climbing the stairs, I could spot this nice visitor:

While embarking, a rare view of this Jordan Aviation Boeing 737-400 JY-JAP

Friendly welcome by three stewardesses and one stewards. The load factor was close to 97%, but strangely, if the last row (33) was fully occupied, I was the only passenger in row 31, and row 32 was empty.

A whole row for me alone!

The pilot also made a welcome speech in Dutch, French and English.

Push-back on time, taxi to Runway 25R (which was also used for landings, hence some delay) and mighty take-off for a flight at FL370, later FL350 and finally FL340. As soon as breakfast service started, I ordered an orange juice (from concentrate: improvement possible!), a chocolate croissant and the now famous Lavazza coffee. All for €7.00 paid with my Brussels Airlines Amex for some Miles & More points.

Not much to see above the Eastern Alps without snow.

Flying to the sun (it would be 37 °C that day!)

The Eastern Alps

Closing in on Treviso

The itinerary was straightforward:

Itinerary of FR2935 BRU-TSF on 7/08/2015

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Early landing on runway 07 at Treviso (I cannot call it Venice) with the trumpets of glory through the cabin. During the taxi I observed this hangar at the glory of a famous Italian garments factory having its own airline Benair (= Benetton Air)

The Benetton hangar at Treviso

3. Treviso

With its single runway and tiny airport building, Treviso is a small airport used only by Ryanair and Wizz Air. There was only one other aircraft (Ryanair) present when we landed.

Antonio Canova was a famous Italian sculptor

Only two planes at Treviso: ours and another Ryanair (the airport is used only by Ryanair and Wizz Air)

It took only 5 minutes from the plane to outside the airport where I took a bus to Mestre (for a small visit), and then a train to Verona.

A short walk from the plane to outside the airport

4. Verona

After an interesting, but exhausting visit to Verona under a terrible heat (37°C), I took a bus to the airport of that city. It has two terminals, one for arrivals (T1) and one for departures (T2).

Verona Airport Terminal 2 (Departures). Valerius Catullus was a Roman poet from Verona

Verona Airport Terminal 1 (Arrivals) with the Aerobus to/from the City

Quite bigger than Treviso, it also has a large variety of airlines, including majors such as Air France and Lufthansa. There was only one Ryanair flight on the board this evening (to Brussels), and it was announced on time.

A nice variety of airlines in Verona, but only one Ryanair flight...

Our flight to Brussels is announced on time! 24 °C in Brussels will be a nice change from the 37 °C endured here today

All aircraft are served by buses, and during the ride I enjoyed the sunset over the airport, as well as some spotting: Verona is a Neos place (this charter airline, former member of the TUI Group, still sports the TUI blue colour; it registers its plane in Italy, unlike flag carrier Alitalia which uses Ireland...)

Sunset over Verona Airport

Verona is Neos country

5. Verona - Brussels

The incoming plane was early, hence boarding started 40 minutes before the scheduled departure time.

Boarding in Boeing 737-800 registered EI-EMP

Flight: Ryanair FR7221
Date : 07 August 2015
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800 EI-EMP
From-To: Verona - Brussels (VRN-BRU)
Seat: 31A
Scheduled/Effective Time of Departure: 21:00/21:19 (GMT+2)
Scheduled/Effective Time of Arrival: 22:55/22:49 (GMT+2)
Scheduled/Effective Duration of the flight: 1 hr 55 min/1 hr 30 min

Friendly welcome by three stewardesses and one steward. This time the load factor was 100%.

Full (yellow) house on board

Boarding was completed at 20:40, 20 minutes before STD, but the captain announced that due to traffic restrictions we should wait 30-40 minutes on the ground. Many passengers were nervous (the heat?) and loud, even yelling, which prevented people to hear the announcements and even the safety demonstration. The outside temperature was still high at 34 °C.

Finally the flight departed 20 minutes late, without the need for push-back, and took off from runway 04. I tried to sleep a little bit, but it was impossible: lack of space, too much noise around me.

Through a very strange itinerary (probably justifying the ATC restrictions), we still managed to reach Brussels on-time (trumpets!!!) at FL380 and briefly FL320 with a lot of changes in direction, landing on 25R (the shortest way to the Ryanair stands.

Itinerary of FR7221 on 7/08/2015

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Arrival in Brussels shortly before 23:00 and end of a nice, but tiring day

[Stij]

Great trip report!

In september I ll fly it as well, but for work!

Cheers,

Stij

[jan_olieslagers]

used only by Ryanair and Wizz Air

Hm. Except for a handful (?) of holiday charters, and a fair deal of (mostly high end) G/A ? Probably adding the Protezione Civile and other government operators. Not to forget the Italian and French Air Forces.

Check http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.s ... 2j751592j9 to get an idea.

[sean1982]

On the recommendation of airazurxtror I selected seat 31A in the back of the airplane: the window is ideally located, but too low as on every Boeing 737. And the legroom seamed smaller than on seats in row 6-8 which I used previously. An impression only?

same impression I have, I would not recommend these rows :p (with the upcoming sky interior this should be fixed by the way)

Friendly welcome by three stewardesses and one stewards. The load factor was close to 97%, but strangely, if the last row (33) was fully occupied, I was the only passenger in row 31, and row 32 was empty.

These rows are usually the last to be filled in by the auto assign system due to weight and balance reasons

I ordered an orange juice (from concentrate: improvement possible!), a chocolate croissant and the now famous Lavazza coffee. All for €7.00 paid with my Brussels Airlines Amex for some Miles & More points.

It's a low cost airline, you can hardly expect the crew to squeeze the oranges freshly in front of your nose. I think FR actually has one of the most varied menu in the sky for order on board type of service

[airazurxtror]

On the recommendation of airazurxtror I selected seat 31A in the back of the airplane: the window is ideally located, but too low as on every Boeing 737. And the legroom seamed smaller than on seats in row 6-8 which I used previously. An impression only?

same impression I have, I would not recommend these rows

31A (or F according to the position of the sun) is my preferred seat because the window is at the right location and the row is conveniently near the door, making for a fast exit at destination.
I have not noticed a difference in legroom with the other rows - save for rows 1ABC, 2DEF (but you must put your hand luggage in the overhead bin at take-off and landing) and the emergency exits rows ( which I never use because they are on the wings which hinder the view below).

[Established02]

But when I tried to photograph the panel indicating the destination, a Swissport gate agent lady forbade me to do so. Incredible! I had to hide to take this very bad picture.

Did she give any explanation as to why that would be forbidden?

I'm glad you did take that picture after all.

[sn26567]

Thanks for all the comments, which reward me for the 2-3 hours of work to write the report.

Thanks to sean1982 for his insider explanations on how I ended up being alone in my row.

used only by Ryanair and Wizz Air

Hm. Except for a handful (?) of holiday charters, and a fair deal of (mostly high end) G/A ? Probably adding the Protezione Civile and other government operators. Not to forget the Italian and French Air Forces.

I was mentioning only the scheduled airlines using the airport. Bit indeed there are charters, government planes, private planes and other aircraft using it, although I didn't see any of them as far as I could look.

It's a low cost airline, you can hardly expect the crew to squeeze the oranges freshly in front of your nose. I think FR actually has one of the most varied menu in the sky for order on board type of service

I didn't expect that, but fresh orange juice in a cardboard box like the one I buy at Delhaize would have sufficed.

31A (or F according to the position of the sun) is my preferred seat because the window is at the right location and the row is conveniently near the door, making for a fast exit at destination.
I have not noticed a difference in legroom with the other rows - save for rows 1ABC, 2DEF (but you must put your hand luggage in the overhead bin at take-off and landing) and the emergency exits rows ( which I never use because they are on the wings which hinder the view below).

These rows with better legroom now command a higher reservation fee. I also saw that previously, only the 5 first rows 'and the emergency exit rows) had a higher reservation fee of €10.00. Now it's the first 8 rows for which you have to pay more.

Did she give any explanation as to why that would be forbidden?

I'm glad you did take that picture after all.

She was probably afraid that I would photograph her, as she was in the same direction as the sign when she told me

[sean1982]

It's a low cost airline, you can hardly expect the crew to squeeze the oranges freshly in front of your nose. I think FR actually has one of the most varied menu in the sky for order on board type of service

I didn't expect that, but fresh orange juice in a cardboard box like the one I buy at Delhaize would have sufficed.

They have to be stored cold and there are no refrigirators onboard. Concentrate doesnt have to be stored cold and can be served with ice

[turbopilot]

Nice trip report André ! 37 °C degrees to visit a city is a bit too much, I remember some years ago visiting Murcia with a thermometer indicating 40,5 °C !
Still doing such one day trip is very tiring, I did several trips to Bergamo which is a nice city to discover.

Keep travelling !

Cheers,

Christian

[Comet]

Nice report and photos. Those damned trumpets would drive me mad though, I couldn't fly on an airline like that.

[airazurxtror]

Those damned trumpets would drive me mad though, I couldn't fly on an airline like that.

What is wrong with trumpets ? It's a lovely instrument, part of every philarmonic orchestra; many of the best composers have written concertos or sonatas for trumpets, particularly in the baroque age : Telemann, Richter, Albinoni, Hummel ...

[TheFlyingSultan]

Hi André, nice to see this report of yours - it seems like reports from Ryanair flights are the standard here I’m a bit surprised to learn that both flights were nearly full - don’t understand me wrong, it’s a good thing for Ryanair of course. Allow me to share some thoughts with you:

Hence I booked the two separate trips on the Ryanair web page and I paid respectively €39.76 and €40.78, including €5.99 each for seat reservations

Good deal!

the window is ideally located, but too low as on every Boeing 737.

Exactly my feeling as well, for window views I prefer the Airbus of rather Embraer with its large windows.

I only had one hand bag, from which a tube of solar cream was confiscated.

Come one André, you should’ve know as a seasoned traveler: no more than 100 ml

The new water stand at €1.00 for a half litre was very successful, even if I saw two young boys taking their bottle without paying (there is no control).

A good initiative of BRU, I do wonder how many bottles are actually paid for.

But when I tried to photograph the panel indicating the destination, a Swissport gate agent lady forbade me to do so. Incredible! I had to hide to take this very bad picture.

Huh? This happened at BRU? Although I always try to be very discrete in filming and photographing I never had any issue with in at the airport. Perhaps the staff member didn’t want to be on the photo or it might be generally forbidden...?

Quite bigger than Treviso, it also has a large variety of airlines, including majors such as Air France and Lufthansa.

Isn’t it a base for Air Dolomiti?

Thanks for all the comments, which reward me for the 2-3 hours of work to write the report.

Your work is much appreciated - I know what it takes to produce a (short) report like this. Well done!

TheFlyingSultan

[sn26567]

the window is ideally located, but too low as on every Boeing 737.

Exactly my feeling as well, for window views I prefer the Airbus of rather Embraer with its large windows.

Same here. The Airbus A320 is also a little wider than the Boeing 737, which generally provides for wider, more comfortable seats.

I only had one hand bag, from which a tube of solar cream was confiscated.

Come one André, you should’ve know as a seasoned traveler: no more than 100 ml

But then the duty free shop sells you large bottles or tubes of solar cream right after the same has been taken away from you. I call that extortion:

The new water stand at €1.00 for a half litre was very successful, even if I saw two young boys taking their bottle without paying (there is no control).

A good initiative of BRU, I do wonder how many bottles are actually paid for.

I've read the statistic somewhere: 75% are duly paid for. The whole operation remains profitable for Sky Shops...

But when I tried to photograph the panel indicating the destination, a Swissport gate agent lady forbade me to do so. Incredible! I had to hide to take this very bad picture.

Huh? This happened at BRU? Although I always try to be very discrete in filming and photographing I never had any issue with in at the airport. Perhaps the staff member didn’t want to be on the photo or it might be generally forbidden...?

Exactly: my camera was pointed in her direction and maybe she feared for her privacy.

Quite bigger than Treviso, it also has a large variety of airlines, including majors such as Air France and Lufthansa.

Isn’t it a base for Air Dolomiti?

Air Dolomiti was barely present... (not at all during my time at the airport).

Well done!

TheFlyingSultan

Thanks!