Southampton to Manchester on Flybe 22nd August 2008

[Guest Flying Red Fox]

I woke up nice and early at 3am and chatted to Sam online..... ( i will leave it to you lot to decide who was crazier!) I was so excited and made sure i had everything with me and that my parents were awake before 4:30am to take me to the airport at 5am. :D

 

We left the house at 5am and it was a nice easy journey along the A27 towards Southampton and Eastleigh Airport and as i checked in online and printed my boarding card for BE7361 online, it was an easy breeze through. I dropped my hold luggage at the fast bag drop and said goodbye to my Mum and Dad and proceeded through security and passed through with ease.

 

There were a few shops but i just went upstairs to the lounge overloking the planes on the apron, there were numerous Flybe Dash 8's, E145,s and E195's all parked and getting loaded and i wondered which was mine! i saw the Eco livery Dash 8 aswell but it was rather poor light to take photos so i just filmed it with the camcorder and waited for boarding which would take place at around 06:40am.

 

I went to the gate around 10 minutes before my flight was announced and chatted to the flight despatcher about my flight and saw on her computer the details and it was going to be operated by an Embraer E145, 49 seats and only 13 people including us passengers flying today!!! Nice and quiet i thought and before long it was time to get the bus to the plane, i was first as usual, the other 10 passengers probably just wanted to sleep while i was wide eyed and bushy tailed! :lol:

 

Our aircraft taking us to Manchester this morning was to be E145 G-EMBP, a former BACON aircraft, it thrilled me because i have never flown this type before and made me extra excited! I wished it was an E195 though but as the E195 is new to the fleet, the E145 might be on its way out so didnt mind at all.

 

Here is some photos of G-EMBP, sorry about the light, it was 6:45am after all!

 

 

 

 

 

I got on board and immediatly noticed how small this cabin was! Only one seat on the left side and two on the right and i was in seat 2A and the two flight attendants were really nice to me and greeted me as i boarded. I also said hi to the pilots and they were friendly too, i asked could i take a photo of the cockpit and the co pilot said yes but the captain said he would prefer if i didnt so i said, ok no worries and went to my seat.

 

The cockpit of the E145 reminds me of my Learjet on FS2004, maybe its simular? it is like a very large version of a Learjet i suppose!!! Here is a couple of photos of the cabin before takeoff.

 

 

 

We all boarded very quickly and the Captain thanked us for getting to the aircraft so quick that we could get an early slot and be on our way very quick which was good. I heard the engines spooling up and they seemed to be different than the ones iam used to on other jets and also, not seeing them on the wings was a bit unusual but then i havent been on this plane before so it was all new to me and exciting! :D

 

Video of the takeoff, i was suprised at how loud the engines seemed.

 

[ame=http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=oEvhZ_JbP3U]YouTube - BE7361 - Takeoff[/ame]

 

Photos of in the air during climb and cruise, i think we cruised at or around 20,000ft.

 

 

 

Empty cabin, could be my own private jet!

 

 

 

It was a nice quick flight, with a flight time of 36 minutes the Captain said, i had a quick Breakfast snack and then sat in seat 3C or it might have been 4C to get some more different shots and also allowed me more room to have my things. I caight a magic moment when we were descending into the clouds lit by the early sunlight making it look magical. As we were holding or did a circuit of DAYNE i took many photos and did a short video too.

 

 

 

I quickly caught a glimpse of a BA 737-400 G-GBTB right below us! I took a quick photo, bit blurry as i took it in a quick hurry before it dissapeared, it was BA2902, i would have had to pay so much more if i took that flight so glad iam on this one!

 

 

Flying Red Fox enjoying his flight! :lol:

 

[ame=http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=m7PpEOoagLA]YouTube - Foxy on a flybe E145 to Manchester[/ame]

 

Flying through the clouds.

 

[ame=http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=X3NFE0luGxY]YouTube - BE7361 - flying through the clouds[/ame]

 

It wasnt long before we were approaching Runway 23R and i took a photo of nearby town Cheadle which i mistook for Roy's place! Google Earth can confuse me hehe.

 

 

Video of landing at Manchester Airport, note the shadow of the aircraft as it gets lower.

 

[ame=http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=WZtpqQgKCQ0]YouTube - BE7361 - Landing at Manchester[/ame]

 

It was a lovelly landing and i really enjoyed the flight. We turned off really early before passing the AVP but i didnt mind as this meant a quicker taxi to the gate, following G-GBTB along to Terminal 3. :D

 

I had a lovelly flight and when it was time to disembark the E145, i thanked the flight attendants and the pilots and walked to the gate entrance and took one last photo of my plane before going to collect my luggage.

 

 

It was a quick walk to Domestic Arrivals and i collected my luggage almost straight away! I was only one of four of the 10 passengers on my flight to have hold baggage so it arrived 8 minutes after the aircraft parked, very efficient. :D Then i made my way to arrivals and to the main terminal building and outside to the taxi's where i easily got a taxi to the AVP. I arrived there 20 minutes after my flight landed! I was very pleased with the service i got from Flybe and will definatly fly with them again, so easy and convinient to fly with.

 

Hope you liked the trip report, i will do the return flight another day when i have sorted my photos. :D

 

 

[Guest Glenn]

Another quality trip report from the flying fox himself

 

well done. always enjoy your reports =D>

 

 

[Nick]

Very nice i enjoyed that =D>

 

 

[Guest David C]

I agree ... a great report .. Incidentally I flew that very same aircraft a couple of years ago from Geneva to Birmingham , while in its BA CON days . Thanks for sharing '

 

Dave C

 

 

[Guest Darren Masters]

Another brilliant report buddy. Well done