Hola, dear reader,
it is Monday afternoon, when we reach the cold and wet Germany from Canada.
A day in the office, and Spain early in the plan for Wednesday.
My wife is with us and so the whole family, the wet misery leaves known as summer in Germany for a few sunny days in Spain.
Here is the current route map:
reporter's trip flights on a larger map
Wednesday 01/09/2010
FRA (Frankfurt am Main)
MAD (Aeropuerto de Madrid Barajas)
performed Planned Service Lufthansa LH 4418 of
: 07:15 / / 09:50
Another early start to the day, boarding is printed for 06.45 clock, departing from Frankfurt.
two hours on the road including parking, mobile phone alarm clock is already set to 03.00, no change is necessary, that time is well known to me.
Parked at Tour Care, at the price of 40.00 Euro's to reduce per week.
Nothing special on the road and in the terminal at 06:00 clock.
Online check-in is interesting, my name and my son show up with the reservation number. My wife is not a Miles and More, and her name is not on the list for check-in.
Lufthansa also offers a frequent flyer program for teens called Jetfriends, my son has his necklace with the card there. This helps
again, the clerk at the Eco-luggage room immediately sends us to the business desk to the corner.
No waiting time, and surprise, my wife is also in the system, all the boarding passes printed out and on the way to security.
Same here, the employee takes us from the queue and sends us to the range of preferred
extra passengers, no waiting time, and shortly thereafter in the gate area.
Well done early today, Lufthansa and Fraport.
The ticket is booked as return flights, two courses together, so the price is very good, at about 40.00 Euro's per passenger, per way. Booked via Exp.de.
Let's take a look at the screen, always the first activity for me
planned during the booking process in mid-April is a Boeing 737-500, not really today, the Airbus A320 is on the seat display at check-in.
The second glance confirmed the first impression, Lufthansa operates "only" 45 of these aircraft for the flight to Madrid.
And exactly the same plane I am already flown three weeks earlier on the London and Frankfurt. No, I'm not impressed!.
This is "Nordenham" at the gate is marked D-AIQM
A 36 at the very end of the A Gates
When boarding begins shortly, it is really the Airbus A 320
Flight Number 61 on the type and the second time on this machine
The current magazine
the cabin, the load is at 90%.
The last row for us, the seat backrest can be adjusted.
A group of young women on a language course in the series ahead of us talk and talk, blah, blah, blah during the full flight, very unpleasant.
Until now I have seen no need for headphones, but I should I think
start of the 4000 meter track 18, it is 07.30 clock, 15 minutes late, the temperature at 9 degrees and it is partly cloudy.
2 hours, 20 minutes after Madrid.
light gray leather seats in the cabin, clean, the place is feeling ok.
The cockpit crew is from Germany, the pilot with a brief welcome when boarding.
The co-pilot, who is conducting the flight, with detailed information on flight
German, English and English.
A cold plate this morning, good service
A young and cute blonde woman in the service in the rear cabin, the other two, also blond ladies middle-aged also ok so far.
clouds over France
The route takes us over Luxembourg-Paris-Bordeaux and Pamplona to 35000 feet.
The weather is better, near the English border
landing on 18L at 3620 meters of track 09.50 clock on time.
A long way around the new terminal to our gate.
much warmer in Spain, 24 degrees, but again clouds.
A finger position, down to the ground floor to the baggage, twenty minutes of waiting time with a new baggage claim without information, but then everything arrived.
to take in the public sector to our car. A nearly new Renault Clio
of Avis, booked for € 170.00's about Traveljigsaw / Traveljigsaw.
Not one minute of waiting time, very good service.
to drive four hours now is up to the Costa Blanca, Calpe from Alicante and Valencia goal.
Both the flights and the rental car in Madrid is much cheaper than directly to the Costa Blanca airports.
This is worth the road.
arrival at the hotel in the afternoon.
The Grand Hotel Solymar, in the city, with direct beach access and quiet for us in the 7th Floor. The room
The Bad
A view from the balcony
A view from our balcony
Towards Altea
Water
That makes fun
The hall
The hall
Beautiful chair
With direct views of the Penon de Ifach
The pool area
On the pool terrace
Hotel
Direct access to the pool and beach
A picture from the balcony with the Penon de Ifach, one of the landmarks of the Costa Blanca. Is to climb the?
The beach
In the water
Towards Altea
The Penon evening
Well, a week of holidays without flights, do not mess with me.
was booked for Saturday Alicante-Barcelona on the Spanair MD 83 and on to Palma on the new Embraer 195 of Air Europa.
Well, my "beloved" Spanair, always good for cuts and sonstuge changes posted on the French retailer Airways ticket, with the best price for this route.
you send me an email regarding Airways, only three weeks in advance that my flight is canceled and offer me generously to the evening flight.
Airways is only accessible by mail, I check the alternatives, just to see that there is no right to on my flight day Barcelona are.
Ok, there is an Iberia via Madrid, but that's not what I really wanted.
I reject the offer, then you better back the money, this is already a week later on my credit card account and look for alternatives.
The Barcelona-Palma flight is done so well, there is little taxes and fees.
But there is another way to fly Air France Embraer 195 and even better, I send an email to a good friend from Barcelona, I wanted to do with the other flights as well.
He replies that his calendar is open and he hit me in Palma, is a common sight in the city, very good.
Saturday, 09/04/2010
ALC (Aeropuerto Internacional de Alicante)
PMI (Aeropuerto de Palma de Mallorca)
Service UX conducted planned 4016 of Air Europe
: 08.45 / / 9:35
I decide against using online check -In with Air Europa and am therefore a little early to the airport road.
The price is 59.00 Euro's, and again Airways has the best deal.
The mobile phone alarm clock is set at 05.30 to drive 45 minutes and at the airport by about 07.15 clock.
The car parked and quickly in the terminal.
Not really clean and somewhat old-fashioned
No check-in kiosks here.
Two switches open, one for Economy, Business and one for Flying Blue Elite, the switch for me.
a chaos here, it looks as if a large tour group arrived shortly before me.
These two switches is in a mess.
The very nice middle-aged workers noticed my silver card and waves at me.
"02F is fine for you, all the seats in the rear cabin is occupied by the group?".
Well, in this case!.
Gate 7 for me today
The only delay is again Easyjet
quick security check before the group, happiness, no waiting time. In the terminal
There is a growing for less-known airlines such as these
These cold metal seats I do not like
time much that looks good on the track
On the way to the gate position
The ground staff in preparing
It is the planned Embraer 195
Air Nostrum Canadair Regional Jet with the startup
EC-A / C is in use only since the 10.06.2010, a new machine, a new registration. First Flight No. 3 on this type.
The latest machine from 7 in the Air France fleet
"Ultima Llamada" what that means?
Jetairfly on Aate next
The car in detail
Spanair on the apron
The cockpit crew is from Spain, the pilot with a very friendly and long, detailed welcome after boarding. Because previous
fog in Palma, there are slot restrictions, but nothing problematic for us.
Jetairfly on the other side
just started by the 3000 meters of track 10, it is 09.00 clock, 15 minutes late, the sun, no clouds and the temperature at 21 degrees, 40 Minutes to Palma
The security card
Magazine
One man, two women in the cabin, a young, two middle-aged, ok, but nothing special. In flight
2F the cabin is in front of the curtain on the Embraer, that means another upgrade.
The aisle seat is occupied.
It is the second row windows, no screens here, the safety demo is manual.
No free service, but a much better space than usual for Air Europa.
Light blue leather seats, very quiet here and the front cabin clean
About Formentera
A beautiful island
The car in detail. The occupancy rate is 100% to see not a free seat
We Mallorca reach in sunny skies, no data on the route or altitude
Mallorca
Approaching
over the island
Very nice and green here
just landed hard on the 3000 meter track 24L, it is 09.50 clock, 15 minutes late, a little heavy fog but sunny and 21 degrees
The neighbor
My seat
EC-A / C from Terminal
A typical scene in Palma
A last look at EC-A / C, or not?
Star Alliance, Spanair from Barcelona shuttle
Some text back and forth and I'm really surprised to see this machine on arrival from Barcelona as soon after my landing.
It seems to fly only a very short distance between these two objectives.
I'm waiting at the gate and meet my friends. Welcome to Mallorca.
a nice chat and then by bus to town, 2.00 Euro's each way.
Some pictures from this beautiful city
A church in the courtyard
The Placa Major
I like the balconies
The City Council
This looks even officially
palms close to the port
The Cathedral
above the door
The harbor with large cruise ships
A look at the waterfront
A museum
Inside
In the cathedral
Gaudi's work
palms
A friendly chat with a coffee and you're once again time to take the bus back to the airport.
Saturday, 04/09/2010
PMI (Aeropuerto de Palma de Mallorca)
ALC (Aeropuerto Internacional de Alicante)
AB performed 7862 Designed by Emirates
: 15.00 / 16.00
some miles on my Top Bonus account will expire soon.
The perfect reason to book this flight directly with Emirates, 7,500 miles and 5 - €'s taxes, not bad.
I use the check-in machines, only seconds later I had my boarding pass. 29A seat, window, last row, the seat back is adjustable,
three places for me.
My friend is using the mobile phone check-in, but the security people do paper can not be without him, so back to the ground floor of the Spanair switches.
to re-up and by controlling without further delay.
A walk through the terminals is possible.
surprise that is EC-A / C looks back in Palma
Air Nostrum area with regional flights
's like a private Russian Yakovlev 42 from
Air Europe at the start
Airways to Alicante from Gate C72 is on time
impressive, the Emirates Gates with many transfer passengers
Old paint is here on the A320
this really in Spain
After a nice conversation at the gate, it's time to say goodbye to my friends and from Mallorca.
I get exactly this A320 in the old colors a
It is D-ABDP, the Airbus A320 as in the flight plan in use for Emirates since
04.04.2007, Flight No. 62 on the type and sign-up for me .
One of 20 A320s in its fleet
two engines to Barcelona?
we can not wait until the machine is started Niki
yet more red tail fins at the entrance to the station
start directly above the city of the 3270-meter rail 24R.
It is 15.00 clock, time, sun, no clouds and the temperature is 29 degrees.
Only 35 minutes from Alicante
The cockpit crew is from Germany, the pilot with a brief welcome during boarding.
four young women in the cabin, not particularly interested and not really.
The load factor at 90%.
A look into the cab, dark blue-gray leather seats, the place feeling is ok and is clean
The security card
The current magazine
About Formentera to Ibiza with the left
Ibiza airport
A Snackbox is on offer, no data on the route or altitude.
only a short distance between Ibiza and Formentera
islands and ferries
Approaching on the Costa Blanca
A curve to Alicante
flight over land
a very hard landing on the track 10, it is 16.00 clock, punctual, a hard day for the suspension today.
The weather is very nice, sunny and 31 degrees
And what machine is this?
EC-aircraft
To my rental car and 45 minutes later back at the hotel and the beach.
Lufthansa with a nice staff on the first track, the upgrade to the Air France Embraer, very good, a special prize at Emirates and the very good hotel and weather, a really nice first part of our summer holiday in Spain.
Is a day trip during this week really enough?. But no
"Air Nostrum / Vueling to Pacha's Island" coming soon
.
soon, the trip
Reporter
