Barcelona adventure in 20 hrs (lots of pics)

I planned this trip not so long time ago, which is a bit unusual for me because I always book my flights well ahead. Well this time I was quite spontaneous and I booked not more than 10 days before the date of the flights. I did this because I haven’t flown since mid April and also that the fares were reasonable low.

When it comes to trips I’m a bit, let’s say, maniac… like many people around here. I just fly for fun! And obviously I want to try new airlines and new places where I haven’t been before. Not being to Spain before and also that now I have quite a few choices to choose from, I booked myself 2 flights to Barcelona, on Clickair and MyAir. Clickair started this new route from Bucharest OTP (Henri Coanda / Otopeni) to Barcelona BCN on May 1, and MyAir would start its first flight on the same route on June 1, so I would be on their first flight. The time between these 2 flights would be roughly about 13 hours, enough time to get a glimpse of what Barcelona has to offer. So the whole trip would take less than 20 hours.



OTP (Bucharest Henri Coanda) - BCN (Barcelona El Prat)
31 May 2007
Clickair 1156
Aircraft type: Airbus 320-200
Registration: EC-GRH (16 y.o.)
Scheduled: 9:45 PM - 11:55 PM
Actual: 10:08 PM - 12:08 AM
Flight duration: 3hrs
Seat: 22B
Load factor: 63 % (114 / 180)
Gate: 9



I arrived at the airport in Bucharest about two hours before the flight, to have plenty of time to watch the activity at the airport, after checking in for the flight. Obviously I only had a backpack, so I just grabbed my boarding pass and headed to the terminal, not before going through security, which was really smooth, and through customs, which has become now only a formality, after Romania joined the European Union, on January 1, 2007.
The terminal has 2 levels, the main level, which has all the main gates used for traditional airlines and, a ground level, much smaller, used mainly for smaller airlines or low cost carriers, as you get bused to the aircraft. Since outside it started to rain and the visibility towards to the aircrafts on the tarmac was greatly reduced and also, more important, that the airport policy doesn’t allow passengers to take any pictures inside the airport, I didn’t try my luck so I didn’t get any photos. This absurd rule was constantly reminded with lots of signs everywhere. Such a stupid thing to do, I guess a reminiscence from the communist era, otherwise I cannot explain why you are not aloud to take pictures in a Romanian airport.

Boarding began a bit later than scheduled and we were transported to the aircraft in 2 buses. Since Clickair has a “free seating” policy, most of the people rushed inside the plane, to get the best seats, but anyway, since the load factor was quite low, 63 %, you could choose almost any seat you wanted to. As I entered the aircraft I was greeted by the Clickair FAs, wearing all light blue suits, a nice touch to the airline’s overall image.





After getting a seat I started taking some photos inside the plane, and just before the safety demo, I was spotted by one of the Spanish FAs, which came to me and told me that I’m not aloud to take pictures on the flight. As this never happened to me before, I was a bit astonished to what I heard, so I kindly asked if I’m not aloud on the whole flight or just at take off or landing. The reply came swiftly as she confirmed that I’m not aloud on the whole flight. This came as a shock, so I just turned off the camera and put it inside my backpack. The first impression of the airline wasn’t good at all, considering also the fact that the seat pitch was very small, not decent enough for middle sized person as I am. For one hour flight it is acceptable, but for a three hour flight, no way. Luckily I had plenty of room to stretch out my legs sideways, since there was nobody seated next to me.





The taxiing was short and we finally took off using runway 08R. Seconds away from taking off and we banked to the left, as we continued our flight going west. Being a late evening flight, I wasn’t hungry but I just wanted to see what the airline has to offer. I was disappointed to discover that they only had a poor selection of sandwiches, snacks and drinks, with higher prices than what you see at other low cost carriers. I was eager to buy something anyway, but one of the FAs announced on the speakers that the in flight service was going to be provided from the galley located in the back of the plane. This came as a new surprise for me, as I have never seen anything like it before. After the announcement was made, some people just headed for the back of the plane, to buy what they wanted for… Very, very awkward! Maybe they had their service cart broken, or maybe this happens on all Clickair’s flights, can anyone confirm me?!

This is the queue line, which obviously obstructed the aisle and the two toilets located in the back of the plane.


As I was seated on the left side, I could see the full moon to the south, which illuminated the Adriatic Sea, as we passed over Croatia’s coastline, with its beautiful islands. I obviously didn’t obey the stupid rule, so I took a picture.



The rest of the flight was uneventful, as many passengers were sleeping; I would have liked to do the same, but unfortunately I can sleep in a plane only if I’m very tired, which I wasn’t.
But I think this small girl behind me was tired, as she was sleeping with her head on the tray. Lucky her!



We finally spotted the lights of the Spanish coast.


We made our way towards the airport through the south, so we landed on runway 07L. The landing was one of the best I have experienced. The aircraft taxied to a remote area, and we boarded the buses to get us on the short trip to the terminal.







As I was one of the first to get through customs, and having only a carry on, I was the first to leave the baggage claim area. As I walked outside the airport, I instantly saw the Aerobus, the airport bus, my ride to Plaça de Catalunya.



I spent the whole night walking around Barcelona, on Rambla, at the beach, and of course Sagrada Familia.





At dawn, about 6 AM, I started my fast, but I mean really fast tour of the city, to get lots of pictures in Barcelona.

Collserola Tower (288 m / 946 ft) - Tibidabo Hill


Views of the city from the Güell Park, a masterpiece by Antonio Gaudi












Barceloneta Beach


Twin Towers




Vell Harbor


La Rambla


Plaça Reial


The Cathedral of Santa Eulàlia


Casa Milà / La Pedrera


Sagrada Familia




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At 10:30 PM I finished my race around the city, so I just boarded again the Aerobus, to get to airport in time for my flight. I got to El Prat Airport just minutes before check-in process to start at one of the many counters in terminal A. I was the first to wait in the queue line for the first flight on this new route from Barcelona to Bucharest, operated by MyAir. Usually MyAir lands in another airport in Bucharest, BBU - Aurel Vlaicu / Baneasa, but due to the fact the airport’s runway is undergoing repair work for most of the summer, now MyAir operates on the bigger airport, OTP.
I waited a few minutes to be called at the counter and then I handed my national ID, because now I can travel without my passport in the European Union. But when she saw the ID the check-in agent made a quick phone call to ask if that’s aloud. That’s what I understood from the conversation, with my basic knowledge of Spanish; of course the answer was yes, so she started the check-in and gave me the boarding pass. I quickly headed to the security, where there was a huge line. I patiently waited there about 30 minutes to get through.





I had more than an hour before my departure, so I walked in the very long terminal at El Prat Airport, which seemed endlessly, with lots of shops and restaurants around.







The ATC tower


The new terminal


Boarding was started through one of the gates located at the ground level, 48b. But arriving at this gate, I was puzzled by one thing: I didn’t get through customs! I don’t know why this happened; of course it would have been only a formal thing, a simple check of my ID, but even so, it should have been a check point… Well, there wasn’t.



I noticed that the seats in the waiting room next to the gate were quite empty so I asked myself where the rest of the passengers are. Only when boarding began I discovered, to my bug surprise, that there were only 20 passengers, including me, on this flight. I and my fellow travelers were bused to the aircraft, passing close to many aircrafts on the way.




















BCN (Barcelona El Prat) - OTP (Bucharest Henri Coanda)
1 June 2007
Myair 5511
Aircraft type: Airbus 320-200
Registration: EI-DJH (9 y.o.)
Scheduled: 1:15 PM - 5:30 PM
Actual: 1:57 PM - 5:34 AM
Flight duration: 2hrs 37min
Seat: 5 all
Load factor: 11 % (20 / 180)
Gate: 48b



I got off the bus and I let everyone else to board the aircraft, because I wanted to take some more pictures with the aircraft.







I finally boarded too and I occupied my assigned seat, as MyAir assigns seats at check-in. The plane looked so weird, with such a low load, at 11 %. I was in row 5 and the rest of the passengers were seated beginning from row 10 towards the back of the plane.







We were greeted on the speakers by the captain, which told us that the departure would be delayed because the luggage was not loaded onto the aircraft.





Meanwhile I got some more photos of the airport’s activity.























When the luggage was brought and loaded, the door closed and the safety instructions were presented. Then the aircraft started to move on the taxiways and I could tell right away that we were going to take off from runway 25L. In front of us there was another aircraft, which took off right away, so there it was out turn for departure. A very short take off roll, about 20 seconds long, and we were already airborne.





We immediately turned south for a few minutes before heading eastbound, over the Mediterranean Sea.





I checked the menu card and I bought 2 sandwiches with ham and cheese, a lemon tea and a can of soft drink. The price was decent.



Asinara Island.


View over Sardinia.


The city of Sassari.


Olbia and its airport.


Corsica


We continued out flight passing exactly over Fiumicino Airport and Rome; I recognized them right away, having been there on two occasions this year, in February and in April.
For the rest of the flight my view underneath was obstructed by a compact layer of clouds, so nothing to see anymore. I did see some aircrafts in the air, passing very close to us, but only for a few seconds, not enough time to turn my camera on and take some shots.

Strange to see such an empty cabin.


Somewhere over Italy.




As we flew over Serbia, I saw Sava River, which runs into Danube.


Belgrade, the capital of Serbia.


Not long after entering the Romanian airspace, the seat belt signs were on, as we began our decent towards Bucharest. We made a big loop around the airport, through the north part, and we landed shortly on runway 26L.





Romavia fleet, with its old Boeing 707, used by the Romanian presidency.






After getting out from the plane, I ran down the stairs to have enough time to get some more pictures. I was rapidly informed by one of the handling agents that I’m not aloud to do that… Not a surprise at all, unfortunately.



Another MyAir aircraft on the tarmac.










We were transported by bus to the terminal, and then I quickly got through customs and, again, I was the first to leave the airport terminal.

This is how my 20 hour trip ends.

As a conclusion, Clickair service was disappointing, unlike MyAir, which was quite good. It also helped that the plane was so empty. But this is not really reassuring on long term, because if the load factor is going to be low, something has to be done, which might mean that they’ll drop down the route completely. I guess the competition is high now, because there are already 4 carriers on this route.

Hopefully you didn’t get bored while reading this trip report. Sorry for any mistakes that might have occurred.
Any questions, opinions or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

[Edited 2007-06-04 01:25:05]