Alicante-Brussels with Vueling, delayed by ATC

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sn26567
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Alicante-Brussels with Vueling, delayed by ATC

Post by sn26567 »

Outbound flight

During my visit to Alicante, I received two SMS messages informing me that, due to ATC restrictions, my flight would be delayed by 1 hr 38 min, but that I should be at the airport on the normal check-in times as if the plane would be on-time. I wondered why, and I would get an answer later.

I knew beforehand (the BRU app) that the aircraft would be EC-LVO. Flightradar24 told me that this aircraft had landed on time in AMS after a flight from ALC, but departed from AMS with one and a half hour delay, probably due to the announced ATC restrictions.

I thus arrived at the airport around 15:30. Surprise: I checked the Vueling app and saw that the flight would be on-time (confirmed by SMS a few minutes later). I thought that I was lucky: Vueling probably found another plane. But no, first a new delay of 15 minutes was announced at Gate C45, and later the delay (and the gate) became undefined...
Undefined delay for VY1332 to Bruselas
Undefined delay for VY1332 to Bruselas
Eventually, EC-LVO arrived from Amsterdam at Gate C45 and another SMS (the fourth one) told me it would soon be ready for boarding. Thus, no other plane could be found, which is not surprising at a small airport like Alicante.
Not getting better...
Not getting better...
Airbus EC-LVO docked at Gate C45 after arrival from AMS
Airbus EC-LVO docked at Gate C45 after arrival from AMS
Flight: Vueling VY1332, codeshared with Iberia
Date: 05 SEP 2018
Aircraft: Airbus A320 reg. EC-LVO
From-To: Alicante - Brussels - Amsterdam (ALC-BRU)
Seat: 29F
Scheduled/Effective Time of Departure: 17:10/18:33 (GMT+2)
Scheduled/Effective Time of Arrival: 19:45/20:52 (GMT+2)
Scheduled/Effective Duration of the flight: 2 hr 35 min/2 hr 19 min


Boarding by row was strictly enforced. The load factor was near 100%. My window seat in the back had less legroom than on my morning flight with AirExplore, but it was wider.

Departure with a delay close to 1 hr 30 min and take-off from Runway 10. Some very nice high-altitude clouds soon after take-off:
Banking near some nice clouds
Banking near some nice clouds
Here too I needed a meal. From the menu, I selected some nice tapas with a small bottle of Faustino VII rosé wine, served with a smile. Sorry, no pic: it came in a cardboard box.

On arrival (after landing on 25L with a strange approach), the delay could be reduced to approximately one hour. No big deal.

Thus, a rather nice flight, if it weren't for a delay outside the control of Vueling and the insufficient legroom.
Itinerary VY1332
Itinerary VY1332
Strange approach to BRU
Strange approach to BRU
André
ex Sabena #26567

evyncke
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Joined: 27 Mar 2016, 19:28

Re: Alicante-Brussels with Vueling, delayed by ATC

Post by evyncke »

For sure, the approach did not try to catch up for the delay ;-)

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Comet
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Re: Alicante-Brussels with Vueling, delayed by ATC

Post by Comet »

Those ATC restrictions in AMS are a real pain. That is a nightmare for passengers who are transferring to other flights there. We had the same problem inbound to AMS from WAW yesterday and several passengers missed flight connections because of it.
Sabena and Sobelair - gone but never forgotten.
Louise

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luchtzak
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Re: Alicante-Brussels with Vueling, delayed by ATC

Post by luchtzak »

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

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sn26567
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Re: Alicante-Brussels with Vueling, delayed by ATC

Post by sn26567 »

luchtzak wrote: 11 Sep 2018, 21:09 How many stars (0-5) would you rate this trip, André ?
3-stars. Nice to warn passengers of delays well in advance, but the further handling of the delay was catastrophic. And the legroom is insufficient, especially in the last rows (but I guess this is the case will all airlines stuffing 180 passengers in an A320). But service on board was correct.
André
ex Sabena #26567

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