Ryanair 737-800 economy class, Niš to Bratislava
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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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| Niš (INI) to Bratislava (BTS) |
Date: 2018-04-06
Flight number: Ryanair FR2988
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800
Registration: EI-DLX
Age of aircraft: 11½ years
Duration of flight: 1:09 (gate to gate)
Seat: 24A (economy class)
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| Seat map with my seat (24A) in red. Courtesy of Seatguru.com |
After last flight with Ryanair, I was not too keen on getting on this flight. But just like with the previous flight, I knew that it had to be done in order to get to Bratislava and the two new-to-me airlines that I would get to try on this trip.
I arrived at the airport approximately two hours before scheduled departure time. Way too early, it turned out. I mentioned before that Niš airport, or "Constantine the Great Airport" as it is called, seemed small. And let me tell you, that the adjective "Great" is connected to Constantine. Not the airport...
There was really nothing to do airside. There was a tiny duty free store selling perfumes and cigarettes, and only two gates (who shared the same seating area). There were only four departures the whole day, and no views of the runway from the terminal. Good thing I brought a book!
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| Aerodrom Konstantin Veliki (Constantine the Great Airport) |
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| This is it. This is all of the airside part of INI, and the seating area for the only two departure gates. |
Boarding commenced half an hour before scheduled time of departure. I had chosen row 24 again, but on the other side of the aisle this time. The seats in the last 5-10 rows were even cheaper than the rows in front of it, and I don't really mind sitting in the back of the cabin, so it was an easy decision.
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| Not a lot of traffic at INI today... |
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| Heading towards the plane (and the aft entrance again, since I had chosen row 24 again) |
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| EI-DLX is our bird today |
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| OK, let's get this over with! |
The cabin was slightly different from the last flight. The seats were slimmer, the light was better, and it seemed like a fresher and newer aircraft. It actually turned out to be a much older plane than the one that took me to Niš. Either they renovated the cabin on this plane, or I simply prefer the older Ryanair planes to the newer ones...
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| 24A. My seat for this short flight to BTS |
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| Seat pitch looks slightly better than on the previous flight, doesn't it? |
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| That tiny grey building is the WHOLE airport - both departures and arrivals! |
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| Goodbye, Niš! It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance! |
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| Here comes the sun |
Eventually we pushed through the thick cloud layer. I didn't really notice any turbulence, but the fasten seat belt sign was actually on for the duration of the flight. The FAs were making a couple of rounds through the cabins, as usual, to try to sell snacks, scratch cards, perfumes et cetera. It was, however, a much calmer flight than the previous one. This time I didn't have a family with small children seated next to me. (Instead I had a manspreader who felt he needed more legroom than his own seat could give him. I took a picture of him to go on the blog... He didn't notice me taking his picture though, as he was too busy reading the newspaper of his right hand seat mate...)
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| You, Mr. Manspreader, go on the blog... |
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| Lots of planes in the air today, at roughly the same altitude |
This was a really short flight (402 miles, which is even shorter than my trip to Vilnius last month), and we were only airborne for an hour or so. I still counted some ten planes. There seemed to be loads of aircraft flying at roughly the same altitude as us today. As we got closer to Slovakia, the clouds below dissolved, and we followed the Danube to our destination.
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| The blue Danube... |
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| Getting closer! |
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| The skyline of Bratislava, as we were about to land |
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| Touchdown! Welcome to Slovakia! |
Since we departed ahead of schedule, we also landed ahead of schedule. The weather was great in Slovakia, and I looked forward to a couple of hours sightseeing in the sunlight before the sun would set. I didn't stay long in Serbia, but my time in Bratislava was even shorter. It was still enough to get a glimpse of the central parts of the city.
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| Thanks for this flight! You were more pleasurable than your cousin EI-FEH, but I'm still not sure I want to fly with Ryanair again... |
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| LCC competition at BTS |
We were bused to the terminal building for another passport control. It turned out that most passengers on today's flight were Serbs, as a lot of people went for the "All passports" queue. Luckily, they had an "EU citizens" line as well, so I was landside in a matter of minutes after touchdown, ready to explore the Slovakian capital!
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| No nonsense advertisement here at BTS. "Travel in Slovakia good idea!" |
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| BTS is a behemoth compared to INI... |
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| Let's explore Bratislava! |
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