I went to the Diners Club lounge in Terminal A to drink an orange juice and a cup of coffee. At 6:35 I was at gate A51, where boarding had already started. The plane was an Airbus A320 EC-HYC "Ciudad de Ceuta". I was welcomed by an aged purser and the 2 stewardesses and went to my seat.
Although boarding was completed on time, notwithstanding a load factor of 100%, the fog made that we missed our slot. Pushback started at 7:05, five minutes behind schedule, but take-off was only at 7:25. Flight was without problems, although mostly in the clouds. Announcements were made in Spanish and a fairly good English, with tapes in Flemish and French. The safety instructions, also in Spanish and English, were made on the screens placed under the baggage bins. Those same screens showed touristic films about Spain during the whole flights.
Half an hour after take-off, breakfast was served. Here came the first disappointment. I thought IB was a full-service airline, but in fact you have to pay for everything from a cup of coffee to a glass of water. I selected the "full" breakfast at €6.50: a muffin (magdalena in Spanish), a 33 cl bottle of Granini orange juice, a capuccino and a coconut yogurt. It was OK and I made this picture.
Landing was also 25 minutes late (9:20 instead of 8:55). The plane had been put on a holding pattern that took us at least 100 km South of Barcelona. I thus had the opportunity to see a very long strip of the Spanish coastline.
The report of my return flight on an SN A319 (SN3702/IB7796) will be posted after I come back tomorrow.
From Barcelona with love,
Does passengers with an SN Brussels Airlines ticket need to pay too on codeshared Iberia-flights?
Joost
