Welcome to my trip report guys! I had to go for work to a couple of European cities, so I decided to make a tour of 7 flights and cities in 8 days. For my way out of Belgrade, I chose Air Serbia from Belgrade to Rome. Wizz Air was a tad cheaper, but for a less than 1.000 RSD difference, I happily chose Air Serbia. Also, check out the video version of the report on YouTube!
Check-in went smoothly with no issues. I got my boarding pass in under 5 minutes. Of course, I was about to find out that my flight was delayed by 2 hours (the board said 1.5 hours, but I calculated 2 hours, correctly I might add ;)) Also, check out the beautiful sunrise.
As usual, I chose to drive to the airport and leave my car at Tesla Airport parking. I’ve never had a bad experience, and can strongly recommend them. In my experience, they are organised, cheap, and safe with surveillance cameras and 24/7 support. They also have a 24/7 shuttle bus, which comes very often (in my experience, maximum wait has been 5-6 minutes).
Passing security was a breeze. It took less than 10 minutes to get through passport control and security. I really like their new machines, you can tell the process is so much easier and faster! Seeing Belgrade Duty Free is always great, their options are great!
Now, it’s boarding time. The flight was about 80% full, impressive for end of February on an A320 (sharklets). As you can see in the picture, our boarding was finishing nearly 2 hours late, thus leading a 2 hour late departure. The spoken boarding announcements were nice, and in both Serbian and English - however, I do miss the automated announcements, and enjoy them at other global airports!
As we were sitting on the plane, we noticed a carry-on luggage fly into this cart violently and fall on the floor. Later, a baggage handler came by to pick-it up, and check if there were any more runaway bags. Interesting… In my YouTube video report, you can hear people talking and a guy say “kofer, kofer!"
Take-off was normal and uneventful. It was a little cloudy outside, but we didn’t have much turbulence. I was happy to be able to try the trialled Bluebox Aviation Streaming Service. I was happy with their product, which you can access from a smart phone, tablet, or laptop You can also get information from your flight, and watch many popular TV series and movies. The only criticism I have here is that I hope they can offer full Wi-fi, for those like myself who would pay for this added service.
For the inflight service, we got served the classic small bottle of water, but also a “Captain Air Serbia” plazma snack, which I thought was really cute. For a short flight of 1 hour and 10 minutes, I was beyond happy with this. On some longer flights I took lately, for example, to Barcelona and Amsterdam (over 2 hours), we got served a nice sandwich, sweets and a water.
Finally, we began our descent and arrival into Roma Fiumicino Airport. I always enjoy seeing the ITA Airways livery. I still haven’t had the chance to fly with them, but I hope to soon.
Overall, the flight was pretty descent, with friendly cabin crew, a nice service for a 1 hour and 10 minute flight, and a cheap ticket - diminishing my annoyance of the 2 hour delay.
I was also happy this was with one of their dry-leased planes, as my last few flights with them were wet-leased operated by foreign crew,
making the journey seem unauthentic. I was happy with the service and will choose Air Serbia again! Make sure to check out my full YouTube video report for the full story!
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Nice report. Thanks for sharing what the streaming platform looks like. Haven't seen it before
ReplyDeleteOf course! It was my first experience too, as you could see, I really enjoyed it.
DeletePuno,previše iskreno i neutralno što se mnogima neće dopasti. Iz mog ugla odličan izveštaj i kritike i pohvale umerene bez nepotrebne dramaturgije. Pohvale za LF na A320. Kako je bila popunjena biznis klasa?
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DeleteHvala puno na lepim recima! :) Biznis je bio takodje skoro pun, video sam samo 2 prazna sedista.
DeleteMislim da se većini ne bi baš dopalo da im let kasni dva sata što je sasvim opravdano. Bar se očekuje da jutarnji let krene bez prevelikog kašnjenja.
DeleteSlazem se, meni je bilo lagano posto sam izašao u Rim ali neki su propustili presedanja iz Rima cuo sam da su ih stavljali na druge letove iz Fiumicina kasnije ali tačno, šta ćeš.
DeleteInteresting and nice trip report. What was seat pitch, was it comfy? I have heard from some people flying YU-APO, complaining about small space between seats
ReplyDeleteYou can tell that the space was a bit tighter than on other aircraft however it was still normal, not sure the exact dimensions but it wasn’t an issue, I felt less space on Air France’s 777 to JFK :’)
DeleteNice report but youtube video is way too long.
ReplyDeleteNo need to watch all if not interested, length is there for safety announcement, other announcements etc which many like myself love :)
DeleteAir Serbiamust urgently address its persistent punctuality issues. I believe all wet lease schemes must be abandoned, except perhaps charters in summer. While this flight was made with dry lease, it probably had to fill in some gaps caused by Marathon Airlines layoff.
ReplyDeleteThank you for that video. I have never parked my car at Nikola Tesla Airport but i will be going forward.
ReplyDeleteDo tell whether you waited 2 hours in line at passport control in Rome. All passports line is always a waiting nightmare.
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