As promised last Sunday, I have finally made a trip report of the first flight BRU-AGP. I'm not used to writing such reports, but nevertheless I hope you will enjoy reading it.
Date: Sunday December 8th 2013
Flight: JAF7567 BRU-AGP
Aircraft Type: Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner
Registration: OO-JDL
STD/ATD: 06:05 / 06:12 (blocks off)
STA / ATA: 09:00 / 08:48 (blocks on)
After a short night I woke up at 3:00 in the morning. Following a short breakfast I made my way to Brussels Airport. After parking my car I went to check-in row 12 for my flight to Malaga. Queues were still quite low, so after only 5 minutes I could check-in. The check-in agent confirmed that the flight would be operated by the Dreamliner (actually she didn't confirm the Dreamliner aircraft type as such, she only confirmed the 3-3-3 seating configuration).
After check-in I made my way to the A Pier. I noticed that the usual 'security gates' at the right side were closed due to works for the new Connector. Now we had to pass new gates at the left side, just in front of the new Belle & Belge bar. I continued my way to the A Pier and after passing security I went to gate A57. I was happy to notice that indeed OO-JDL was nicely parked at stand 157. Staff members from all the various companies involved were already very busy making necessary preparations for this maiden trip.
Around 5:45 the gate agent announced that boarding could begin. As this is the first time the aircraft will be operated commercially with passengers, some additional supervisors as well as ground operations management were at the gate, to make sure boarding and all other ground operations related tasks went smooth and uneventful. A big thumbs up to them!
Boarding went quite fast and without any problems. All pax were kindly welcomed by the purser and other cabin crew members. Cabin crew members assisted pax who had any problems or questions. As could be expected, the flight was not full (I estimate the load factor was around 50%). Some of the first things you notice upon entering the aircraft, are the spacious feel of the cabin, the large overhead bins, the personal IFE and the larger windows.
Once boarding was completed, we were welcomed on the PA by one of the pilots on the flightdeck. Few moments later, the aircraft doors were closed and pushback commenced. After what appeared to be a quick test of the Sky Interior lighting system, the purser welcomed everybody once again via the PA aboard the maiden trip of the Jetairfly Dreamliner and the cabin crew members showed the safety demonstrations. As we taxied to RWY 25R, lights were dimmed as it is standard procedure.
After giving way to a Thomas Cook Airbus (already wearing the new livery on its tail) we entered the active runway (25R) and few moments later we took off, bound for Malaga. The climbout from BRU was very smooth and uneventful. As soon as we reached a safe altitude, the cabin lights went on again, and the IFE system was fully available. I made a quick test and it has everything you can expect from todays IFE systems, including AVOD. There are quite some options to choose from (movies, TV series, music, games and you can even connect your personal device via USB). You can also recharge your iPhone via the USB port.
Once we reached our cruise altitude, cabin crew members commenced their service and personal headsets were handed out to all passengers. The cruise was extremely smooth. The commander greeted the passengers from the flightdeck and gave some more explanations about the aircraft (e.g. that the wings tend to flex more and that the windows are bigger).
As the flight progressed, I made a walk through to the front and the back of the cabin and made some additional photos. As the sun started to rise during our cruise, the colours on the horizon were quite dramatic, so I made some nice photos of this as well. During the later part of the cruise, all pax were given a complimentary box with 2 Neuhaus pralines to celebrate the inaugural flight. Quite a nice gesture I must say…
Around 8:30 and after a flight of about 2 hours, we commenced our descent into Malaga, hence all passengers were adviced to put their seatbelt back on and put the headrest in the upper position.
The cabin lights were dimmed again as soon as we began the final phase of our descent into Malaga. The approach took us straight over the Mediterranean Sea, continued by a 180° turn in order to alight the Dreamliner with the final course for Malaga's RWY 31.
At 8:44 we landed on RWY 31. After a short rollout we exited the RWY and taxied to our assigned stand at gate 54. During the short taxi to our parking position, the cabin crew welcomed us to Malaga and wished everybody a nice stay. As they were aware that some people were aboard the flight only to witness the maiden Jetairfly Dreamliner flight, the purser also wished us a safe trip home later that day. A nice and very warm gesture again...
More photos are available on my Flickr account: http://www.flickr.com/photos/87041388@N ... 527388366/
Best regards,
Ivan
