Bucharest - Antalya - Bucharest with Air Bucharest (charter flight) - infotrip Antalya (ep.1)
During the period 13-20 May 2013, at the invitation of Prestige Tours, I was in an infotrip on the Turkish coast, in the area of Antalya. On this occasion I experienced the charter flight with Air Bucharest, a Romanian airline established in 2010 and specialized in charter flights. It is owned by Hasan Yapici, the founder of Kusadasi Agency.
I start by telling what a charter flight means. Air Charter means renting a plane with all the services offered on board the aircraft and operating it to a desired destination. There are airlines that operate regular commercial flights to different destinations, but occasionally offer charter aircraft (eg TAROM, Blue Air) for hire, but there are also specialized operators on charter flights such as Air Bucharest.
Air Bucharest owns only one aircraft - Boeing 737-300 model. The plane can carry up to 148 passengers and operates charter flights from the airports "Henri Coandă" Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Iasi, Sibiu and Timisoara.
The aircraft is about 18 years old, but it handles well and is maintained ok. It is configured in a single class, in 3-3 format, providing enough foot space. I was pleasantly impressed by the cabin crew (cute girls, always with the smile on their lips and friendly), by the way the pilots communicate, but also by the service.
The flight duration from Bucharest - Antalya to Bucharest is about one hour and 40 minutes per segment. It flies at an average cruising altitude of 10 meters, and the speed is about 000 km / h.
On both flights I had the catering included. Refreshments, water, coffee, but also snacks were served. At the shower was a sandwich, and on the return there was hot food. I didn't quite understand what was on the menu and it didn't look great, but it was ok to taste.
I also had very good weather, which made me very happy and I managed to photograph from a height.
When it comes to airline tickets and check-in, it is advisable to inform the travel agency where you buy the tour package. We were about 2 hours before at the airport to do check-in at the counter. We included a hold luggage (maximum 23 of Kg) and a cabin luggage (maximum 7 Kg). It is good to comply with these limits so you do not have to pay other baggage fees.
Air Bucharest upon landing at Henri Coanda International Airport
Did you fly with Air Bucharest? I'd love to read about your experiences on different charter flights, so feel free to leave comments.
without questioning the professionalism of the air staff of Bucharest, but it seems to me like a single aircraft with which the company operates to carry out in one day and 6 flights, if you have the luck that one of the flights will be a problem, it means that the whole program that day would be upsetting
It is a risk that the airline operator assumes. The planes are made to fly, no matter how many flights, the idea is to be maintained as best as possible.
Cabin crew and pilots rotate at x number of flight hours. Do not imagine that the same pilot makes up to 6 flights…
And we as passengers have no place to know the operating plan. For the most part, we are interested in getting to your destination in a timely manner, ok, without any problems :).
yes, it is clear that there are several crews that operate and really that it is very important to maintain the aircraft, but to be more explicit I give you my example, I leave from Bucharest on Saturday at 17 at Rhodes, the previous flight was on the Crete-Bucharest route at 11 hours, if the lady is away, there is a technical problem of the aircraft on the return flight from Chalk, which will lead to a delay with the program with 4-5 hours, in which case I would no longer be sure that at 17 the race for which I have the ticket to respect the program
There may be delays on the charters, I do not deny this. Either 1-2-3 hour delays occur, or another aircraft is sought. We were also late when we left for Antalya. I took off 2 hours late, but that's… the wait was worth it 🙂
I don't think it's worth losing three hours on the way, especially since you can even lose a day of your stay, on the way back it's still acceptable
Let's not dramatize with if it seems. And waiting for 1-2 hours is not a tragedy, especially when you are leaving for a long-awaited vacation :). It's not like when you have catching up with the idea that 1-2 hours might mean missing some flights.
But when you have delays of 18 hours you can see how pleasant it is. Amazing how many lies per hour I can say. Heraklion / Crete - Iasi flight.
If any technical problems arise, you will be injured because they have no other aircraft.
Yes, unfortunately it is! Major delays may occur when the aircraft is being overhauled. And we were 3-4 hours late. Such delays frequently occur on charter flights, unfortunately
I wish you all no delays and enjoy your vacations as planned :).
Here is what I found on the softpedia forum:
I quote:
"My experience lived yesterday, I hope to help many people from now on when they choose to fly with this company for 2 lei. Yesterday we had to get to Crete, where we could stay for a week. We were full of enthusiasm and we were waiting for the plane to leave at 7 in the morning, an airplane operated by Air Bucharest. But I said we're not experts. After about 15-20 minutes, we were told that the control tower had decided to return. The reason: I hit a bird :). I ask you now: how can this be established without technical expertise? The plane had run out of engine, which is why it had begun to lose its balance, so the pilot, whom we thank for his experience,
he started swinging the plane from side to side to keep it straight. We managed to land, after this balance and after the fear that something had happened, and as the plane put the landing gear down, we were flanked by 6 large fire trucks and 3-4 rescues. So we could expect fire.
After we got off the plane, I was taken to another boarding gate, hoping that the representatives of the agency and those of the airline would come to the place and explain to us what had happened, only our life was in danger and tell us what we have alternatives, because we pay a leave. Well this does not
It happened. Then we found out that AIR Bucharest actually has only one aircraft in the fleet, the aircraft that is contracted by most of the Romanian travel agencies (privately I can give you big names of agencies, including ours), the Turkish who owns the plane no longer responded to telephone, and the aircraft was 18 years old and was actually posted in all these charter flights to Greece, Turkey or Spain.
The same day we were going to take some tourists from Spain. Probably in the barn then, they gave him 2-3 hammers and solved it, so
to be fit for flight. We then received an information that we were going to leave estimate around 14. Except for the group I was with, all the other passengers were waiting humbly and quietly for something to be resolved. It didn't matter that there was no representative there, it didn't matter that nobody said anything, it didn't matter that I didn't know what we were leaving with, when we left or with what we return. About 12, after much circus and scandal, we managed to take our luggage and leave the airport to take us to the travel agency.
What happened to the travel agency is less important for you, we will probably take our money back or not, but we found out that at 16.30 they made available a Tarom to the passengers remaining at the airport, to take off to Crete, but - informed that on return they will
come all with Air Bucharest. The tarom was made available, not by the Turk from Air Bucharest who did not answer the phone, but by one of the travel agencies that managed to partially solve the solution and to avoid staining the name on the market. I would like to mention that it stayed at the airport from 4-5 in the morning until 16.30. Inhuman.
I am dismayed by everything that has happened. How can you accept to be so humiliated and how can you accept to go back with the same
hodorogita aircraft that put your life in danger? The world actually kept quiet and accepted the situation in order not to lose their vacation money. But if we were united, there was a much better way for us: we could receive tickets for first line races or we would be offered both a shower and a Tarom. What happened yesterday in the air could be much more serious, how is it possible that you want to put the life of your child in further danger, just for the desire to go on vacation and not to lose money?
Not to mention the travel agencies, which claim to have big names in the market and who agree to make contracts with so-called private airlines, with only one airline, without having safety standards for passengers. We all know that they choose the option to take a charter from Air Bucharest because the ticket prices are lower for them, but the total price of the holiday ticket is still high, so they earn more. With the price of course to endanger the lives of customers.
My request to you all is to inform you in advance about your flight and to stop accepting any kind of transport, such as the one from Air Bucharest. At some point someone will pat her and then nothing can be done. Do not accept any conditions even if the travel agency is a name on the market. Inform yourselves! I admit that I was wrong and did not ask the problem of flying to Greece. Certainly from now on I will not accept any type of airplane.
I will put information about this patania on all online media. I hope the others who have been unhappy with them (I found out
other forums as there are), to do the same. We can choose to be good, we just have to want and not let the agencies do what they want to their detriment. It's our money and our vacation. "
Yes, there have been such cases in larger companies as well. At any airport there is a risk that birds will reach the engines of aircraft - Bird strike - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird_strike. Let's not forget the USAirways incident when both engines crashed after the birds got into the engines and the plane landed on a river - January 15, 2009 Airbus A320-200 New York - Bird strike in engines, and dual engine failure (NTSB ).
In spite of the bird removal devices, the airports happen to be invaded by flocks of birds. The age of the aircraft or its type no longer matters. There are no frequent cases, but they were, and they will definitely be. The good part of things is that so far there have been no serious accidents, only material damage and damage to aircraft.
As for the age of the plane, that's not a problem. They are airplanes that are over 30 years old and fly just as long as they are properly maintained, only because they have high fuel consumption. Such airplanes can be found even in the fleets of the big airline operators.
Pilots are prepared for such procedures. Fire and rescue cars will always be on alert in such situations. There are standard safety procedures. Just as fire engines are always near aircraft that feed on the platform and not at the dock.
In addition, the return and landing in the balance were part of the standard safety procedures. In aviation there is a procedure for any action. Opinions do not look good. It could be any other plane, from any other airline… the procedures were the same.
As for Air Bucharest and the fact that it has only one plane, yes here is a problem because, in such unpleasant situations, several charter flights can be delayed.
I understand your upset and the fact that you did not arrive on time on vacation. Hopefully the situation will be remedied as soon as possible and you will be able to enjoy your holidays. This is already on another topic. And yes, I do not agree with this long wait and without an explanation. If at the technical side I explained above that it should not be a cause for concern, at the treatment I will understand and give you justice. In addition, there is a regulation by which the air carrier must provide ground treatment for delays longer than a certain number of hours.
thank you for your very prompt and objective reply.
we hope there will be no problems with this company.
But I wonder when it has time to review (and I mean a serious one here) considering that this plane flies almost continuously _ Greece, Turkey Spain, Romania etc ???
These serious revisions can be scheduled monthly, quarterly, depending on the plane, number of hours flown, etc. Otherwise, on each flight, the aircraft is inspected by ground personnel. Most of the existing aircraft in the operational service fly a lot, on average about 16-18 hours per day. It's not a problem that flies so much. All that matters is to respect the schedule of the reviews and to solve the problems when they appear :).
I HAVE ALREADY BEEN CONCERNED - BY 23 AUGUST 2013 WE GO TO ANTALYA WITH THIS AIRPLANE.
Have a nice holiday and have smooth flights. I had a pleasant experience on this plane. I see that other people have been hit by certain delays or incidents. They can happen… It is important when everything ends well.
and I am of the opinion that a company with a single aircraft is not a serious operator and I do not know how they took the flight permits. I don't know what Sorin Rusi has to do with this, but he is far too biased and with "recommendations" that are more related to the marketing and communication templates of the airlines than to an ordinary tourist.
Alin, there are many companies that have an operational plane and make charters. My experience with them was ok. The plane flew ok. I did not say that it is to be praised that they have a plane, but forget that it flies for years and transports thousands of tourists annually. As far as I know, they had no serious incidents or accidents. If you know of unpleasant incidents with Air Bucharest and after which people were injured, I expect you to read them and publish them.
Flight licenses are issued with minimum standards. If he meets them ... then it's ok to fly.
Most of the inconveniences are about flight hours. And we happened to have two hours late to take off. But other problems were not.
As for my connection with them is zero. I wrote what I experienced and nothing else.
I agree with Alin, far too biased :)
At any affair the air Bucharest company is looking for evidence and problems trying to create a NORMALITY of their problems.
In 2013 I went with this "company" that I can't call the "airline".
In short:
Iasi-Antalya: delay 2 hours - quite ok - I only received the paid water during the flight.
Antalya-Iasi: Antalya-Cluj stop :))), 3-4 hours in Cluj: cleaning 2 hours, rest of 1-2 hours we don't know what they did, they didn't repair anything, they just fed. in total 2 + 3 + 2 = flight of 7 hours to make them ECONOMY…
From Cluj and Iasi they took other tourists to Antalya instead of those who landed in these cities :)))
Mr. Rusi Let's hear what you have to say great.
A good day!
Each with experience. From 2013 until now, it may have changed charter programs on Air Bucharest. The configuration of the aircraft, seats, etc. has changed. I expressed my opinion on my experience from 2013, one ok. We had delays when we left, but the return was ok.
As for what is served on the plane, this is only the TO who rent the aircraft. Prestige Tours has an ok catering package on charter flights. It was good in 2013 to Antalya, it was good on the charter of Mallorca, from 2014. For the rest I don't know, I didn't try.
Hello,
I understand that it must seem normal to me and take things as such if Air Bucharest forces me to wait 3-4 hours at the airport in the conditions in which I travel with a child under 2 years old ??? And to "deserve" the wait ?! There should be no "unfortunately it happens" but everything should be ok and on time for the passengers. Especially since this company lives on the money of the passengers who sit and wait.
I understand the situation and it is not easy to travel with a child of 2 years. It is not normal to have very long delays. It would be normal for everything to be seconds.
See passenger rights and take action. https://airlinestravel.ro/drepturile-pasagerilor-intr-o-aplicatie-pentru-smartphone-download.html )
Situations differ from flight to flight and from person to person. Some more tolerant, others more excessive. The idea is that we have rights and we can act on the basis of legislation…
Tiriac Air is the weakness of my flights. I do not take into account the number of aircraft and other criteria. It would not be bad to ask what the menu contains, although I had surprises on Alitalia not knowing what manac, but being hungry, I even benefited from hot food, while everyone told me that they only give a sandwich -hate. The effective landing on Otopeni is one of the best filming. Sometimes I search on youtube (especially when I have to fly with a particular company) and I find serious piloting mistakes and still no events.
Down the hat, I do not know what others have an impression but I was super pleased with the services, smooth flight, punctuality, service during the flight from Bucharest .. Bodrum.
I'm sure that there are also unpleasant situations, otherwise they also occur with large companies, but on August 19 and 26 I benefited from exemplary services, Thank you AirBucharest