Bucharest - Tulcea with Fly Romania (inaugural flight from May 16, 2014) (photo report)
On 16 May 2014, Fly Romania wrote a tab in the history of civil aviation in Romania through inauguration of the Bucharest - Tulcea route. After 21 years break, "Danube Delta" International Airport Tulcea received the first regular commercial passenger flight.
Fly Romania is the only airline operating in the Danube Delta. The flights on the Otopeni - Tulcea route will be operated three times a week, on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays.. To these are added two international flights, at prices starting from 29,90 euros: Bergamo - Tulcea, Tuesdays and Fridays, respectively Frankfurt - Tulcea, Sunday.
“Starting today, 16 May, we operate flights to and from the Danube Delta. We found a lot of openness from Tulcea officials and we believe that through the Otopeni - Tulcea flight, we will help bring foreign tourists much closer to the Delta. Moreover, access to both the Delta and the coastline will be much easier for Romanian tourists from the west of the country due to the Timișoara - Otopeni - Tulcea connection, with the possibility of transfer to Constanța. Or, because of the distance up to 16 - 18 hours by train from the west of the country to the Romanian coast, tourists chose destinations from the west, more accessible ”, stresses Cătălin Buțu, the executive director of the company.
At the invitation of Fly Romania, I was pleased to be among the first passengers of this route, participating in the inaugural flight from 16 to 2014. I scored several awards: the first flight on board one McDonnell Douglas MD-83 (YR-OTY); the first flight to Tulcea; first flight with Fly Romania.
I embarked on this journey with some excitement. On 16 May 2014, around 08: 30, I joined the group of journalists and bloggers, together experiencing the first flight to Tulcea. About 09: 00, we headed to the airport.
We arrived in Otopeni quite quickly and went directly to the checkout counters 40-41. I was glad to see "Tulcea" written in the "Henri Coandă" International Airport in Bucharest.
I was even more excited when I held my first plane ticket to Tulcea. Being a grinder, I felt immense joy. Things are starting to move in Tulcea county, and these flights can open new opportunities for those from the north of Dobrogea, for tourism, for the Danube Delta, for the Romanian coast, for the business environment, etc. Hope it's not a passing thing!
At 10: 20 embarked. The MD-83 aircraft was not drawn to the bellows, so I was on a bus to the plane.
And the plane McDonnell Douglas MD-83 (YR-OTY) in the livery Fly Romania.
The aircraft looks good on the outside and inside. It is well maintained, clean, equipped with leather seats. It has 165 seats arranged in an 3-2 configuration (3 seats / row on the left and 2 seats / row on the right).
Flight X5 717 took off around 11: 10, with about 10 minutes late. It was a pleasure to hear the PW JT8D-219 engines running at full throttle. The flight ceiling was 6000-6600 meters.
To my surprise, on a flight of 30 minutes, we were served with water and a ROM Sandwich, but also with chocolate.
On the flight Tulcea - Bucharest, I received the above, but also a good donut with chocolate and a container with 100 ml of mineralized water.
We didn't take off well either, because we had to prepare for the landing. I managed to make some frames from the height.
Around 11:40 - 11:45, I landed on "Danube Delta" International Airport Tulcea. Here we had another pleasant surprise. The airport is renovated and welcoming. It is not big, but it is well equipped and equipped to fit in the scale of an international airport.
At Tulcea airport, a press conference was also held, at which the following spoke: Horia Teodorescu, the president of Tulcea County Council; Forget Tender, businessman and majority shareholder of Ten Airways; Albu Constantin, general manager of Tulcea Airport.
Return flight X5 718 took off at 19:00 and not 18:00 as scheduled, but let's not forget that the aircraft also operated the flights Tulcea - Milan (Malpensa) - Tulcea. Between 15.05-02.06.2014, the flight Tulcea-Bergamo will operate on the route Tulcea-Milan (Malpensa) due to the fact that the airport Bergamo is closed.
For domestic routes, the fares will be unique, respectively 69,90 euro / flight for Bucharest - Timisoara and 49,90 euro / flight for Bucharest - Tulcea, while on international routes, prices start from 29,90 euro / flight. These rates include a wide range of services, including the transport of a cabin luggage of up to 7 kg and a hold of up to 20 kg, as well as on-board catering services.
Fly Romania flight schedule:
More pictures of the McDonnell Douglas MD-83 (YR-OTY) aircraft found in the dedicated album on the Airlines Travel page.
I ended this article by telling you that I met optimistic and enthusiastic people at Fly Romania and Tulcea. The cabin crew was very nice and kind. Extremely cute girls. I hope Fly Romania has a long life and operates as many beautiful flights!
Clear sky!
Excellent article. And very useful route. It is very difficult to get to Tulcea for the delta. You have to leave in the morning to catch the "express" at 13.30. So by plane you wake up reasonably, drink coffee, take off, arrive safely in Tulcea and embark on the water this time. I like the pictures and the uniforms (as much as you posted)… and it seems normal to give something sweet at the beginning of the flight. It's as if these habits have been lost. When I was little, I knew that the stewardess would come with a tray of candies and I would always stick to her. I admit, in the meantime I became a coffee maker and coffee was a priority on any flight.
No habits were lost on the line races. On low cost flights… there is no point in opening the discussion 🙂
the biggest TEAPA!
Fly Romania = TEAPA
They canceled my flight and return my money. I don't want the money, I want to fly to Tulcea… or at least to Bucharest
Yes, it is not a very good solution :( But accept at least the money and return it quickly. Or vb with them to return to Bucharest.
I spoke to their call center and they rescheduled me for 22 which was still canceled. I don't know what it will be. I haven't received the confirmation email yet. I talked to them 12 hours ago.
Rodica, any news from fly Romania? is it still flying? I got the ticket on 8 aug and I'm afraid it won't be canceled. Thanks
The situation is as follows: I called the phone number on the bill, I am told it is a wrong number; I asked for a rerouting, I gave them my availability to travel to Romania on a date when they have a flight… no answer. I don't know if they still have flights or not, according to the way they answered me or rather, they didn't answer me.
I was finally contacted by a travel agent from fly Romania. I gave her my willingness to travel when they have flights. It gave me hope. In the meantime, I will go to the country with Alitalia because I bought another ticket. But with fly Romania, my family could catch up with me and so the vacation would not be totally destroyed.