Aer Lingus
EI 446
Dublin (DUB) – Dubrovnik (DBV)
Airbus A320 EI-DEL

I used the new “fast pass“ automated check-in in Dublin but have to say was not very impressed by it, we still had to go to a check in agent hand her all our documents and then she tagged the bags and sent them through, only if you had no checked luggage or there was a high volume of passengers travelling that day would it be of any use.

We proceeded through security where we all had to remove our shoes (only airport in Europe where I’ve had to do this) and boarded our new A320 which looked very well! The new navy leather seats with a simple “aerlingus.com” branded at eye level really are very subtle and still get the message across (Ryanair take note)

The flight itself was smooth, inflight service the usual pay bar served with smiles all around. The 3 hour flight went quite quick with some fantastic views of dalmatia as we were passing over croatia, couldn’t count the amount of landing strips and small airports we passed!

Croatia Airlines
OU 669
Dubrovnik (DBV) – Zagreb (ZAG)
Airbus A319 9A-CTI

After a few days in Dubrovnik and the islands of Kolocep and Lopud we went to Budva in Montenegro, after some confusion over bus times we ended up having to catch a mini bus to the border, walk across the border (15 mins) and then get a bus or taxi to the airport Cilipi. But there were no buses nor taxis when returned to croatia so we had to pay some randomer €20 to take us to the airport.

Another flight to Zagreb took off whilst we awaited our check-in to open. Dubrovnik is a small enough airport but it has all the facilities required and some nice big (albeit a little dirty) windows to see all that’s going on!

We boarded our A319 on time, the crew looked stunning, all very professional and just portrayed the picture of what cabin crew should be like. The inflight service of Water and mints began. A few minutes after, it was announced that we would have to divert to Split (SPU) due to bad weather conditions in Zagreb. This got me worried (after having trekked from Serbia & Montenegro) that we would miss our connection in Zagreb. I told one crew member and se was extremely helpful in fact she said she would contact Zagreb from Split once she knew how long we would have to wait in Split and would inform me straight away. As it turned we were on the ground just 30 mins. Before we took off again. Another inflight service of mints and water ensued. Our arrival in Zagreb was a little bumpy and you could see that there had been some bad weather.

Zagreb airport is not very nice, it was small and very old with the only food available (we hadn’t eaten all day) being ham and cheese toasted sandwiches (there were 3 left :-S ). Our luggage was checked through to Pula but there we still had to get boarding cards, however the system was down so a “Y” was just stamped on our ticket stubs.

Croatia Airlines
Zagreb (ZAG) – Pula (PUY) via Zadar (ZAD)
OU 632
ATR 42 9A-CTT

We were greeted by our single flight attendant on board this ageing ATR 42 we were seated just ahead of the engine and to be quite honest the noise and vibration in that cabin were awful, at times I couldn’t hear what my friend was saying to me. The usual Croatia Airlines inflight service (which I was tiring of) took place. We landed in Zadar, where a road had to be closed whilst we taxied and some passengers disembarked, 3 or 4 boarded the flight. All in all the stop was only about 10 minutes and then the road was closed once more as we took off for our final destination Pula (Istra). Our arrival there was a little bit scary as the airport was deserted our bags arrived and we managed to get the last taxi out of the airport!

easyJet
Ljubljana (LJU) – Berlin Schoenefeld (SXF)
EZY 4536
A319 G-EZIC

After getting a “train” (more like 50’s bus on tracks) from Pula to Ljubljana and a few days there and Lake Bled we left Slovenia for our last 2 days in Berlin. Check-in was efficient in the small but modern Brnik airport. Our luggage was over the easyJet allowance but nothing was said!

I have to saw I was surprised when I saw a new A319 pull up to the gate as I really thought we would just get a 737. The aircraft was very clean and modern and our crew were very professional. The easyKiosk was as per usual overpriced but overall it was a very comfortable flight and a bargain at €25!

I like the look of the moder Schoenefeld airport and I have to say was impressed by its efficiency.

Aer Lingus
Berlin Schoenefeld (SXF) Dublin (DUB)
EI 335
Airbus A320 EI-DEB

Well after an early start in Berlin and absolute betrayal by the S-Bahn (So many unexplainable changes not listed on timetables but announced in german only) we made check-in with about 15 minutes to spare. The swissport staff were very helpful. One thing that struck me when I reached the terminal was the large screen on the side of the building with lots of bright colours advertising the airport airlines and listing the flight times etc. very innovative!

Boarding was a little more hectic as we all had to crowd into a small waiting area until the flight was ready to board. Upon boarding (after queuing in the jetway) we were greeted by the smiling cabin crew. I really enjoyed the legroom in row 1 J. I had made my mind up to get a sandwich until I smelt the all day breakfast being cooked and that was too much to turn down. Its not bad value for €7 with bacon, sausage, pudding, tomato, potatoes, brown bread, orange juice and your choice of tea and coffee.

The flight itself was uneventful and we arrived in Dublin 15 minutes ahead of schedule!

Conclusion

Overall I loved all of these flights, Aer Lingus’ product on offer has really improved, and paying for the inflight service was not an issue. EasyJet was run of the mill to be honest with their service being nothing to write home about. Liked the style of Croatia airlines and those flights only cost €35 so can’t really argue!