My one-way trip took me from BRU to BCN in a SNBA A319
I did my booking in March ; I found myself lucky as the only reasonably priced seat was available at € 127 one way. (student/youth). Some 10 days later I got the ticket in my mailbox
At May 20th, I took the train from my hometown (Genk) at 9h50 to be sure to be well in advance at the airport, for spotting. I arrived at the airport around 12h00, and to my surprise it was calm, despite May 20th being a holiday (Hemelvaart). Maybe the lack of business passengers could explain this.
There were no queues at all at the SN check-in counters, so in less than 2 minutes I got my boarding pass.
Gate was A53, and I was assigned seat 6D. Before going to the gate-area, I went to the Wingtips restaurant, where I of course didn't buy anything, everything being overpriced and not of very good quality
. The airport seemed deserted at noon, with only one SNBA Avro at the A-pier, a TUI 737-400 and -800 and a United 767-300 at the B-pier. As I entered the A-pier, I noticed it was even more deserted than the main terminal building. As there wasn't much traffic, I read a magazine 
. Boarding started at 14h20 and was hassle free, it seemed that the flight was nearly fully booked, with very few empty seats. As a contrast, at the gate next to mine (A51), less than 10 passengers were boarding a company Avro for a flight to Gothenburg. While taxiing, there was the usual safety demonstration on the overhead screens. The SN-logo picture in the beginning and end of the tape seemed of very bad quality.
Take-off on 25R was very smooth, as the wind was calm. Right turn at 700 ft, then to the left around the City, to Paris, Lyon, Perpignan, and finally Barcelona. Weather above Paris was very clear, so I had a beautiful view over CDG, ORY, and of course the City. Cruising level was FL390, average speed was 800 km/h (430 kts). Inflight service was my nicest experience in Europe: a welcome drink soon after take-off (fresh orange juice), then the main drink service, where I chose red wine (nice wine!
).The Brussels Bistro meal followed soon after, with rough rice with some kind of sweet dressing, hot tortellini's (very fresh tasting), some crackers and a Mars bar. During the meal there was the coffee/tea service. Soon after the meal we got the Neuhauss chocolates (small!). We started our descent near Avignon, and then went straight south, to the sea. As I was seated at the right side of the aircaft, I had a beautiful view over the Costa Brava coast and the city of Mataró/Barcelona, before turning final for RWY25. After deboarding, I followed the exit signs as I had no luggage, and ended up in the A-arrivals. This was inconvenient, as my parents who were picking me up expected me to arrive at B, as was shown on the screens. BTW, Barcelona airport is very nice, just long walks without walkways (should not be a problem for a young dude like me, but very inconvenient for the elderly)
