Airline review: Ryanair 737-800 economy class (duh!), Stockholm Skavsta to Niš

Ryanair 737-800 economy class, Stockholm Skavsta to Niš
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01. Trip report introduction
02. Ryanair 737-800 economy class, Stockholm Skavsta to Niš
03. Hotel Sole, Niš
04. Exploring Niš
05. Ryanair 737-800 economy class, Niš to Bratislava
06. Radisson Blu Carlton Hotel, Bratislava
07. Getting from Bratislava to Vienna Airport
08. Austrian Airlines E195 economy class, Vienna to Oslo
09. Ethiopian Airlines B787 Dreamliner economy class, Oslo to Stockholm
10. Trip summary
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Stockholm Skavsta (NYO) to Niš (INI)

Date: 2018-04-05
Flight number: Ryanair FR1094
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800
Registration: EI-FEH
Age of aircraft: 3½ years
Duration of flight: 2:44 (gate to gate)
Seat: 24F (economy class)

Seat map with my seat (24F) in red. Courtesy of Seatguru.com

As mentioned in the previous post, Stockholm Skavsta airport (NYO) is not in Stockholm at all, but closer to the city of Nyköping, more than 60 miles from Stockholm. Therefore,  in order to get to the airport, I first had to go to Stockholm Central, and from there take the shuttle bus, which takes close to 90 minutes. Not the best way to start an adventure, in my opinion, but that's what you get if you book tickets with Ryanair. That's probably my main concern with the Irish LCC. I don't mind their yellow cabin and their pushy sales technique so much as the fact that they often land pretty far from the actual destination. (At least that was my opinion before this trip...)

I arrived at the airport with a little less than 90 minutes to go. Less than I expected, since there were queues on the highway after a previous accident, but still plenty of time, as I had already checked in.

Arriving at NYO

There is not a lot to do at NYO, and basically no planes to look at either. The only companies that fly out of this airport are Ryanair and Wizzair, and there are no good windows for plane spotting. Getting airside was a breeze, as there was no queue at security. Then I had to pass through a passport control, since Serbia is not part of the EU.

Boarding started approximately 25 minutes before scheduled departure, and the boarding process took 20 minutes. In my opinion, that's quite a lot for a B738 with both entrances open, but then Ryanair boarding is usually more inefficient than other airlines. A lot of people were standing in the aisle, blocking the way for a long time...

EI-FEH is our bird tonight!

I don't like the interior, but the Ryanair livery actually works well against a cloudy backdrop IMO

Almost there!

As I boarded the plane I thought it looked like an old plane. I didn't have time to check the registration before boarding, so I was a little surprised to read after the flight that this bird was only 3½ years old. She felt older, with worn seats and horrible light and speaker systems.

The seats were not as slim as the latest Norwegian seats, but they were still less comfortable

Reading material...

Seat pitch is not too generous here in cattle class...

Pushback was right on time, and then we took off towards the west, before heading south. I was unlucky when I chose my seat, as there were two small children sitting in the row behind me, whereas their dad was sitting next to me. A lot of screaming, seat-kicking and playing hide-and-seek between the rows made this an exhausting flight. Besides, the seat was extremely uncomfortable.

Taxiing towards the runway

Off we go!

Less snow in Sweden now compared to last time

How I managed to get some sleep (!), I cannot possibly explain, but I actually dozed off during the first half of this flight. Waking up with a hurting back and the hide-and-seek game still going on beside and behind me was not a nice feeling, however. This was turning into a really bad flight, and I could not wait for it to be over. Let me tell you that that is an uncommon feeling for this flyer!

Can you please fly faster?!

Still high above the clouds

The sun is sinking lower, as are we - we must be getting closer!

The flight attendants were making quite a few rounds in the cabin, trying to sell scratch cards, snacks and duty free items. That's a difference between LCCs and other airlines in my experience. LCC flights are almost always more stressful, as there are many announcements, and a lot of movement in the aisle. I prefer a more quiet flight. Eventually, however, we were approaching Niš. Imagine if this flight had been a long- or even medium-haul flight...

We experienced some turbulence during the last half hour, so the fasten seat belt sign was turned on for the remainder of the flight. Interestingly enough, many passengers paid no heed, and the FA:s had to make 6-7 stern remarks. The last time, the FA said: "The seat belt sign is ON! The sign means SIT DOWN! SIT DOWN! ... whatever..." Flying can bring the worst out in some people...

Flying over Niš

Just a few more seconds to go...

Thanks for this flight! You took me from A to B, but I hope we won't meet again...

This flight had been far from pleasurable. Too bad I had another Ryanair flight booked for the next day... Oh, well. One more flight to go, and then I might say that I've flown them for the last time. The airport seemed really small, and we didn't have to taxi for a long time at all. However, two planes arrived at the same time, so passport control took some time. It took almost thirty minutes to get landside, but after that I was ready to put this flight behind me, and explore Niš!

Heading towards passport control here at Constantine the Great (INI)