Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: Airlines

Wizz Air (Luton Airport to Warsaw)

After an uneventful rail journey to Luton Airport, I popped in Big Smoke where I get £18 to spend with my Priority Pass card. There has been another price rise, which is the fourth of the year to my knowledge, which makes menu ordering slightly more difficult each time.

I opted for the dirty fries with beef brisket, the latter of which is just about hidden in the photo but there was a big lump of it at the bottom. It was entirely adequate, with the service being friendly and helpful.

And a quick visit to My Lounge to see their collection of dirty crockery and to try their Heineken 0%. They’re really nailed the flavour of it, it tastes just as bad as Heineken so that’s a win for the brewery. The Mexican chicken and spicy rice is actually decent, the food standards do seem to have improved here over the last few months. Or my standards have dropped, either is possible.

I was moderately amused as the customer in front of me asked for two Birra Moretti beers. They’re quite tight here, so every customer gets 2/3rds of a bottle, unless you have the 0% Heineken where they just give you the whole thing as I don’t think many people want that. This whole thing just makes matters more faffy and the bar server ended up with one glass of Birra Moretti full and the other 90% full. The customer complained he wanted 100% in each and the barman actually just tutted in response. The customer looked annoyed and the glass was topped up begrudgingly. Lounge entry here is nearly £40 (unless you have a lounge card or similar) so this tightness does them no favours. But, since I get free entry with Priority Pass, I won’t complain about anything else in here…..

They started boarding twenty minutes earlier than advertised, but Wizz Air are efficient and everything here was under control during the boarding process. One customer got charged £70 for having a large bag, he had got confused which bag sizer he was meant to use and I thought he was very gracious about it all. We were on the aircraft at the time that the gate was meant to have closed, something that British Airways always struggles to manage as customers faff about with their bags.

Boarding the aircraft which was HA-LGO which I don’t think I’ve been on before. The seating Gods gave me a window seat and it also transpired that there was no-one in the middle seat despite the flight being around 90% full.

The flight was, yet again, peaceful and uneventful. The crew were efficient and polite, sweeping down the aisle selling things without waking everyone up. The aircraft was clean, I had plenty of space and I was rather pleased with my £8.99 flight cost.

We were put on a bus to get the 75 metres to the airport terminal and they really struggled to get everyone on two buses, I think they’d usually use three. It felt slightly sub-optimal, but it was hardly a long bus journey so I was only briefly annoyed.

My shiny new passport, which doesn’t have around 120 stamps in the bloody thing, is allowing me to sweep through border control so I was able to get one of the last trains of the evening into Warsaw. I don’t have much leeway here, although there are plenty of night buses which serve the airport if required.

It’s always good to be back on public transport in Warsaw, peaceful and efficient.

Arriving into Warszawa Zachodnia (Warsaw West) railway station, which is currently being upgraded. However, it feels at times that Warsaw is constantly being upgraded, such as the fast rate of change here.

And there’s the Ibis Budget, hidden behind road works. This was only a ten minute walk from the railway site, and I’ve stayed at the adjoining Ibis several times, and fortunately I found a gap in the road works to actually gain access to the hotel.

All in all, I was once again pleased and content with the whole airport and flight experience.

November 3, 2025
Wizz Air (Wrocław to Gatwick Airport)

And another Wizz Air flight, this time from Wrocław to Gatwick Airport once again. It’s a handy flight time this as it’s in the early afternoon, making it much easier to get back to Norwich without having to rush for trains.

There’s my flight, the 14:45 to Gatwick Airport South. This is a spacious and well organised airport, with the security process only taking a few minutes.

A quick visit to the lounge. They have a decent choice of craft beer, a rather good Greek salad and lots of meat products.

I didn’t experience any issues with my new passport, so that’s one less burden to have to deal with when arriving or departing from a Polish airport. They haven’t introduced the new entry and exit system yet, but I don’t think it’s long away from introduction and the kiosks are already set-up and just roped off.

The boarding process was efficient and easy, another smooth Wizz Air operation here, although we had a wait of around fifteen minutes on the air bridge.

We then had a nice wait in the rain. The aircraft was G-WUKV, it’s the third time that I’ve flown on this plane in case anyone wanted to know that.

The seating Gods had allocated me a window seat, so that was a positive for the journey, giving me a lovely view of the now rainy Wrocław. The flight was only around 75% full which meant that passengers could move themselves around a bit, so I probably wouldn’t have been stuck on a middle seat.

Some clouds. This was taken near Gatwick Airport, but we were caught on yet another series of loops as we waited for our landing slot. The flight was quiet and the crew members were efficient and polite, the whole arrangement as once again well managed. There was no queue at the border control at Gatwick Airport, so I was able to get straight through the kiosks there.

The flight cost £8.99 which is quite clearly excellent value, with the aircraft landing on time and there were no eventful moments during the flight. I had a quick nap during the two hour flight and I’ve again been surprised and delighted by Wizz Air.

October 22, 2025
Ryanair (Bournemouth to Wrocław)

I’ve already written about the excitement of Bournemouth Airport, but it was clean and organised so that was all to the good. It’s rare that I get to fly with Ryanair now given my new loyalty to Wizz Air, but this was a convenient departure location. The boarding process was efficiency, clear and the staff members were friendly.

Boarding on time. The aircraft was SP-RSU, a Boeing 737 which has been in use since 2017. It’s technically operated by Buzz, a fully owned subsidiary of Ryanair.

It’s not a very clear photo, but I liked this boarding arrangement which makes it easier for those with accessibility needs.

This Ryanair flight boarded immediately before our flight and was also off to Poland, to the rather lovely city of Krakow.

I hadn’t paid for seat selection and the seating Gods gave me a middle seat, which didn’t feel entirely optimal. However, fortunately, the person in the aisle seat of what was a fairly full flight, didn’t turn up and so I got the aisle seat.

The flight was uneventful and Ryanair didn’t appear on this occasion to try and annoy passengers as much as they used to by selling them all manner of things. It was a comfortable flight and I was rather impressed.

The only area where Ryanair couldn’t match Wizz Air was the cleanliness of their aircraft. The seat trays on the aircraft were sticky (well, mine wasn’t, but I could see three others were), there was litter on the floor and it was evident the crew just hadn’t had time to do what was needed.

Safely in Wrocław.

They put us in a bus to go all of 100 metres to the airport terminal. They’ve had us walk further distances before at this airport and it probably took longer to get there by the bus.

I have a shiny new passport now and didn’t experience the delays that I’ve had before whilst the border control staff have to sit and count the stamps. The airport hasn’t yet introduced the full new EES system for arriving passengers, but I doubt it’s far away.

I nearly never get taxis as they’re too decadent, but on this occasion I decided to get a cheaper Accor hotel (one of my favourite Ibis Budgets) and rather than take two hours to get there by public transport, I was there within thirty minutes. And, fortunately, taxis in Poland are very cheap, although I don’t really like using them as I like the excitement of public transport.

The flight was £15 and I was surprised and delighted by Ryanair, although they perhaps need to clean their aircraft a little more…

October 20, 2025
Wizz Air (Memmingen to Budapest)

This flight was from just over a month ago (I’m catching up slowly with posts), at the end of the trip that Richard and I had around Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Liechtenstein. Richard was departing on his business class flight back to London Heathrow, whilst I was taking a more circuitous journey (because of my £9 Wizz Air flights) back to the UK. The first stage of that was flying to Budapest.

For anyone with either the time or inclination to zoom in, my 15:55 flight to Budapest is visible on the screens. This is very much a provincial airport, it felt quite organised but it’s limited on the amount of space that they have.

The airport was first constructed as a military airfield in the mid-1930s, being destroyed by air raids in March 1944. After the end of the war the site was used as a refugee camp and it was used by the US military until 1959 when it was handed over to the Germans, who were here until 2003.

In 2004, the airport started commercial flights and they’ve been adding bits to the building ever since. There’s a large new terminal expansion currently underway with a focus on budget airlines as Wizz Air and Ryanair use the airport extensively.

Joy of joys, it was a bus gate.

We were on board the bus for quite a while, but safe in the knowledge that it was unlikely the aircraft would go without me.

Boarding the aircraft and it was registration HA-LGQ, which I don’t think that I’ve been on before. The aircraft was pretty much full and the boarding process was all efficient. It was made slightly less efficient that there was someone in my seat and she was adamant that it was hers, until she thought she’d better check my claim with another passenger who told her she was in the wrong place. I find it quite easy to locate my seat as there’s a bloody sticker above the seat with the number on it, but there we go.

The seating Gods had given me an aisle seat and the flight was, yet again, organised and efficient. The crew members were engaging, the flight arrived on time and I’m always delighted when it’s uneventful as that means nothing has gone wrong.

As this was with my Wizz Air multipass, the flight was £8.99, another bargain arrangement. The flight only took ninety minutes and it’s a handy time to arrive into Budapest requiring neither a very early start, nor a nighttime arrival. I rather liked Memmingen as a place and it’s the gateway to southern Germany and indeed Munich, so I’m hoping that I’ll be back here again at some point.

September 28, 2025
Wizz Air (Wrocław to Gatwick Airport)

Wrocław is the city of these little gnomes and this is the one welcoming passengers to the airport.

I didn’t love it a few days ago, but I feel we’re friends again now.

My 14:55 flight looked like that it would be on time. The security process was fast and efficient, with the airport feeling clean and organised. But, it’s Poland, I can’t remember it not being like that.

A quick visit to the airport lounge. I was very pleased with the Greek salad arrangement, the range of beers and the peaceful nature of the place.

Safely at the gate.

The queue took longer than I had anticipated, which wasn’t great as the sun was bounding into the airport from the windows, so I was too hot. But, I didn’t complain other than to about 18 friends on WhatsApp.

A little unusually for Wizz Air, they were boarding via the airbridge only. The seating Gods had been favourable yet again, giving me a window seat. The aircraft was G-XLRB and I don’t think I’ve been on that aircraft before, although it’s only a few weeks old and so that isn’t a surprise.

It’s not very visible, but that’s London in the background. The crew were friendly and everything, yet again, went as expected. There were frequent announcements from the pilot about the delay and the whole arrangement felt relaxed.

We’d been delayed before taking off because of a limited number of slots at Gatwick Airport and there was also some faffing about in a holding cycle before landing.

And back into Gatwick airport. We were around one hour late, but I had a big gap before my train home, so all was well. This is the last flight for a few weeks, I coped admirably I thought….

September 14, 2025
Wizz Air (Luton Airport to Wrocław)

It was a very enjoyable weekend in Oxford with the LDWA, but it was time to get a National Express coach from this historic city to the charms of Luton Airport.

Parked up in Milton Keynes Coachway and I wonder whether travel can get any more exciting than this. I was pleased that I got the emergency exit row seat on this coach as it has more legroom, although it wasn’t particularly busy on board. The one excitement about sitting in this seat is that it seems to require the occupant to assist anyone who can’t work out that the coach toilet door slides rather than opens inwards or outwards.

I accept I didn’t try too hard to get an outstanding quality photo here, but safely at Luton Airport on time.

I cut this incredibly fine by arriving at the airport just three hours before my flight. Mine was the third last scheduled departure from Luton Airport that day.

Using my Priority Pass card to get some chicken tenders and a pint in Big Smoke.

And a Limoncello Spritzer in Nolito with the same card. I felt really quite decadent.

The screens indicated for a while that the flight would be 20 minutes late, but all ended up operating on time.

The boarding process was yet again efficient and free from drama, despite it being a relatively full flight. The aircraft is 9H-WBU which I don’t think I’ve been on before.

Here’s a nice blurry photo of London. I had a window seat assigned by the seating Gods, although astute readers will have guessed that because of the photos taken out of the window. The crew was efficient and they seemed to have very few sales when they walked up and down the aisle, but perhaps passengers were just tired.

I don’t know if the Blood Moon impacted this, but the water had a strange sort of glow.

We landed safely on time and I was ready to catch my bus to the airport.

I didn’t catch the intended bus to the airport as I then had an exciting hour-long wait in the airport whilst there was a detailed check of the stamps in my passport. The end conclusion was that I had lots more days left in the EU as they thought some countries hadn’t stamped their stamps very clearly, but the wait was sub-optimal when I wanted to be in my hotel.

And finally on the bus to the hotel, where I arrived at just before 03:00. Marvellous….

September 9, 2025
TAP Portugal (Luxembourg to Lisbon)

[I originally posted this in July 2018, but have reposted it to fix the broken image links]

This was my first flight on the Portuguese national carrier, TAP Portugal, flying from Luxembourg to Lisbon. Although I’m then waiting at Lisbon Airport for a flight to Seville, again with TAP Portugal.

The flight was around fifteen minutes late leaving, but the boarding process was efficient.

This is the aircraft that I flew on, the Airbus A320. This photo is from the in-flight magazine, a relatively interesting publication that was conveniently in both English and Portuguese.

I hadn’t realised until just before take-off that TAP provide free food and drinks on their flights, something I’d rather British Airways still did. A crew member handed out the package containing the chicken roll, an apple juice and some aircraft-shaped sweets. I think that there was a cheese version of the roll for vegetarians, although it was the meat version that was automatically handed out. It all tasted fine, and was perfectly adequate for a flight of under three hours.

The drinks service came a few minutes later, and it looked like a wide selection of soft drinks were on offer. I opted for a water, but there were coffees and teas available as well.

A reasonable number of flights at Lisbon Airport appeared to require bus transport, which meant that I had a wait on the tarmac in a bus for a few minutes. My view was of TAP’s maintenance depot.

Overall, I thought that the flight was better than I had expected, especially since I hadn’t realised that food and drink were included. The crew were multi-lingual, friendly and welcoming, whilst the aircraft was clean. Perhaps the biggest negative about the flight was that some of the passengers applauded and shouted excitedly when the captain landed the aircraft, and being British, I fouTAP nd this behaviour far too raucous.

September 7, 2025
Wizz Air (Luton Airport to Wrocław)

Another day, another train from Norwich to Luton Airport. I went via Cambridge and St. Pancras, but everything ran like clockwork so no delay repay today….

Lunch at Big Smoke.

A snack at Nolito.

And the evening meal at My Lounge.

At the boarding gate.

The boarding process was efficient and well managed. The aircraft hadn’t even arrived when they started checking boarding passes, but the aircraft seemed to be turned around quickly. The aircraft is HA-LGW and I haven’t been on this one before, although that’s not entirely surprising as it’s only been in service for just under eight weeks.

Happy passengers during the flight. The announcements during the flight were helpful and informative, the crew were friendly and everything was beautifully uneventful. The seating Gods had given me an aisle seat near to the front, which was handy for border control as well as being decadent as it wasn’t a middle seat.

And safely in Wrocław on time. There wasn’t much of a wait at border control as most of the passengers had EU passports, although there was quite a lot of checking and counting my passport stamps. As I used Multipass, the flight was just £8.99, a whole arrangement that I thought was marvellous value for money. As we arrived on time and the border control checks were efficient, it meant that I was able to catch the 00:06 bus and had a 40 minute journey to the city centre, a trip which costs under £1.

August 19, 2025
Flights – London Heathrow to Los Angeles (American Airlines)

[I originally posted this in July 2018 about a flight in January 2018, but I’ve reposted it to fix the broken image links]

For a little bit of variety in January 2018, I decided to use American Airlines to get to the United States from London rather than British Airways. They’re still part of Oneworld and I think that there’s some sort of revenue share on the flights, so it wasn’t total disloyalty to British Airways….

American Airlines depart from Terminal 3 at Heathrow and the transfer process from Terminal 5 was easy with numerous airport staff available to help. The welcome desk at American Airlines was exactly that, enormously welcoming and friendly. The staff member asked if I was taking an ex-EU flight (meaning Europe rather than European Union, it’s often a cheaper way to travel, my ticket was from Ireland) which I said I was, before she added that it was becoming increasingly common.

The aircraft felt modern with the economy cabin being clean and well presented. The IFE screen was of a reasonable size given the cabin and I particularly liked the easy to access power to ensure my devices were kept nice and charged. The selection of films and television seemed quite wide ranging with some modern films being available.

It’s not rare now on airlines, but this was the first time that I’ve encountered this on my flights. It was news being fed to the aircraft whilst we were in the air, so I heard about the resignation of a Cabinet Minister.

I was going to America, so I had to have a Dr. Pepper. By “had to have”, I meant that I consider it to be a national drink of the United States, although I suspect most Americans would pick something else.

The main meal of mashed potato on minced meat (that’s not its official name) didn’t look very pretty, but it tasted better than it looked. There was some salad, which seemed superfluous to me, as well as a pleasant cherry crumble cake. The roll tasted American, so it was rather sweet.

There was ice cream handed out during the flight.

I liked the packaging, it looked exciting 🙂

Inside the box was a fajita pepper wrap on one side, and a lemon sponge cake on the other side. Served alongside another Dr. Pepper, it was a perfectly acceptable breakfast.

I liked the entire flight, indeed more than I expected. The service was polite, efficient and fast throughout. I had an aisle seat in a bank of only two seats, which although at the back of the cabin didn’t cause me any problems with noise or disturbances.

There were sufficient washrooms for the number of customers and the environment seemed clean and comfortable. British Airways seem to have had real problems recently keeping their aircraft clean, and American seemed to be more on top of that issue. It all adds to making the flight a little more pleasant.

August 13, 2025
TAP Portugal (Lisbon to Seville)

[I originally posted this in July 2018, but have reposted it to fix the broken image links]

It’s quite a while since I’ve been on a prop plane, with this being the TAP Portugal service from Lisbon to Seville. It was a late-night flight and was to be the last flight to arrive in Seville for the day, but it was still a relatively full flight.

Given my name, I felt that this was quite apt.

This is the aircraft they used, the photo is from the airline’s in-flight magazine.

2*2 seating, all perfectly comfortable, and all kept clean and tidy.

I knew from my previous flight that TAP provide food and drink on pretty much all of their flights, although I did wonder whether that included these short hop flights. It transpired that it did, and there was a roll and drink offered to everyone, in another efficient and friendly service. I’m not quite sure what was in the roll, it seemed to be tuna, but it tasted fine.

The flight took just under one hour, and the efficiency of the entire operation did surprise me. I’ve enjoyed my two flights with TAP Portugal today, the crew had a warm and engaging attitude, and they fortunately spoke excellent English. And one more good thing, and unlike my first flight, there was absolutely no clapping when the aircraft landed. This pleased me.

August 10, 2025