[Trip report] On board an Etihad Regional Saab 2000 (operated by Darwin Airline) from Zurich to Geneva

Flight: F7 843
Date: 2 August 2017
Aircraft: SAAB 2000 HB-IZH
From-To: Zurich Kloten – Geneva Cointrin (ZRH-GVA)
Seat: 02E
Scheduled/Effective Time of Departure: 15:25/16:28
Scheduled/Effective Time of Arrival: 16:15/16:59
Scheduled/Effective Duration of the flight: 0hr50min/0hr31min

First appeared in our Airline experiences and trip reports – forum.

As a very last minute trip I’ve booked this Zurich-Geneva flight on the Etihad Regional SAAB (while it was already transforming into Adria Switzerland). Booked the ticket two days in advance and paid 56 euro for this 30-minutes flight. It didn’t operate every day and came already from an Italian destination as it was for deportee reasons. Once arrived in Zurich headed to check in as I couldn’t use the online check-in. Surprisingly I had number 001 as sequence which I never had before. When I arrived at the gate it became clear that there were only 2 passengers on this flight. And surprisingly the gate agent knew my name as the other passenger boarded already.

The bus was already waiting to bring the other passenger and myself to the aircraft which was parked on remote.

Greeted by the very friendly sole female flight attendant wearing the Etihad uniform with the hat as they do on the big bird. As from there things went slow, as they changed from Etihad Regional into Adria Switzerland and thus didn’t have a contract or a different contract with the refueling company the captain had to call Slovenia to solve this. Despite the very hot temperatures outside (+30°) it stayed cool inside. The flight attendant asked us if we wanted to drink something during the waiting time.

During the waiting time she took her time to talk to the few passengers on board (already 5 in the back from the previous stretch and 2 in the front). She explained that this was one of the last flight with the Etihad Regional branding as it was due to be changed into Adria Switzerland. All boarding announcements however were already Adria Switzerland and no more EY while the hard product was still EY branded. About one hour after the original departure time the fuel truck finally arrived and doors were being closed for a short flight to Geneva.

After take-off she did came around a second time for another in-flight service consisting of hot and cold drinks and snacks. When I asked her if she did have any Etihad Regional goodies left she said they didn’t have much on the plane anymore to make the transition easier but she did looked for a few items which I could take with me .

After 30 minutes of flying the plane touched down in Geneva with a delay of approximately 45 minutes which she apologized for again during disembarkation while it wasn’t her fault, it was just miscommunication between Adria Switzerland and the fueling company in Zurich.

Overall this flight got a 4.6/5 as the crew really looked after the passengers really well, the captain also explained why it took so long by explaining about the transition into Adria Switzerland. The delay was out of their control but they kept us updated about the progress and anticipated immediately by passing around with drinks, snacks, or just a chat as delays are no fun for anyone. They (cabin and cockpit crew) were available at all times for the passengers and were not hidden away behind a bulkhead or in the flight deck, which makes a huge difference.