Brussels-Alicante on AirExplore 737-800 operating for TUIfly

Share your experiences about your latest flights: details and pictures are highly appreciated by our community. How do you rate airlines, in-flight meals, frequent flyer programs, etc... join this forum now!
Post Reply
User avatar
sn26567
Posts: 40827
Joined: 13 Feb 2003, 00:00
Location: Rosières/Rozieren, Belgium
Contact:

Brussels-Alicante on AirExplore 737-800 operating for TUIfly

Post by sn26567 »

Early wake-up call for a flight departing at 06:00. Travelling with hand baggage only and having downloaded my boarding pass on my phone, I proceeded immediately to the Baggage and body screening in the Connector. What a crowd at 05:00 am! But fortunately, it moved swiftly.
My flight: TB3357 to Alicante
My flight: TB3357 to Alicante
The crowd queueing in the Connector at 5am!
The crowd queueing in the Connector at 5am!
From the day before, I knew through the BRU app that the plane would be unusual: OM-HEX. I looked it up and realised that it is a 15-year old AirExplore Boeing 737-800, all white with a red TUI marking. And indeed, at gate A65:
Pre-boarding by row
Pre-boarding by row
AirExplore B738 reg. OM-HEX
AirExplore B738 reg. OM-HEX
Flight: TUI Airlines Belgium TB3357
Date: 05 SEP 2018
Aircraft: AirExplore Boeing 737-800 reg. OM-HEX
From-To: Brussels - Alicante (BRU-ALC)
Seat: 5F
Scheduled/Effective Time of Departure: 06:00/06:14 (GMT+2)
Scheduled/Effective Time of Arrival: 08:25/08:28 (GMT+2)
Scheduled/Effective Duration of the flight: 2 hr 25 min/2 hr 14 min


Nice window seat 5F, with sufficient legroom, booked in advance. The load factor was close to 100%. As it was a wet-leased flight, the cockpit was Slovakian, and the cabin crew consisted of two Slovakians and three Belgian flight attendants. And the safety card instructions were in Slovakian first.
Safety instructions: Slovakian first!
Safety instructions: Slovakian first!
Slightly delayed push-back and take-off from the usual 25R. Due to the early departure, I didn't have breakfast yet and I was happy to have pre-ordered a meal for 10€. It was served after half an hour and consisted of two (or more) bread rolls with butter, strawberry jam, camembert cheese, a yoghurt with fruit and a bowl of melon. With a drink: coffee for me. All served with a smile.
Pre-ordered breakfast
Pre-ordered breakfast
The flight was without problems and soon it was time to land at Alicante-Elche, an airport filled mainly with low-cost and charter airlines.
Descending to Alicante-Elche airport
Descending to Alicante-Elche airport
Taxiing to the gate at Alicante
Taxiing to the gate at Alicante
Landing on the single runway (10). On-time arrival and very soon I was out of the (rather small) airport.

All in all, a nice flight. Now a full day in Alicante...
Itinerary TB3357
Itinerary TB3357
Return flight
André
ex Sabena #26567

evyncke
Posts: 74
Joined: 27 Mar 2016, 19:28

Re: Brussels-Alicante on AirExplore 787-800 operating for TUIfly

Post by evyncke »

You may want to change the title for this thread: it is probably not a B787 ;-)

And what a shame in 2018 to have a display with lower case acute characters rather than the uppercase version such as É

-éric

User avatar
sn26567
Posts: 40827
Joined: 13 Feb 2003, 00:00
Location: Rosières/Rozieren, Belgium
Contact:

Re: Brussels-Alicante on AirExplore 787-800 operating for TUIfly

Post by sn26567 »

evyncke wrote: 10 Sep 2018, 03:46 You may want to change the title for this thread: it is probably not a B787 ;-)
Oops! Indeed. Corrected. (Ah, that sacred number 8 in the Asian world ;) )
André
ex Sabena #26567

User avatar
luchtzak
Posts: 11734
Joined: 18 Sep 2002, 00:00
Location: Hofstade, Zemst - Belgium
Contact:

Re: Brussels-Alicante on AirExplore 737-800 operating for TUIfly

Post by luchtzak »

How much stars (0-5) would you rate this trip André ?

User avatar
sn26567
Posts: 40827
Joined: 13 Feb 2003, 00:00
Location: Rosières/Rozieren, Belgium
Contact:

Re: Brussels-Alicante on AirExplore 737-800 operating for TUIfly

Post by sn26567 »

luchtzak wrote: 11 Sep 2018, 21:09 How many stars (0-5) would you rate this trip, André ?
4.5 stars. Nice breakfast, sufficient legroom, on-time arrival. The plane is just a little old, and it shows somehow.
André
ex Sabena #26567

Post Reply