do you remember flybe well they're back and today i'm going to be taking a flight in their dash 8
over to belfast city from birmingham international who remembers stobart air well they're not back
however there is a kind of a replacement it's basically aer lingus regional called emerald
airlines and i'm gonna be flying back from belfast city with them
in their atr 72 into manchester this time so the purpose of today's video is to compare and
contrast and see what they’re both like and see which one i prefer flying with in the future and
maybe you can have a look and um make your own mind up too and let me know in the comments below
Right so I arrived at Birmingham Airport nice and early, on what was a lovely day for flying.
As per usual, security was a breeze and I was able to take it easy for a bit in one
of my favourite spots in terminal 2 by gate 14 overlooking the ramp. There’s some great views
from here although there wasn’t much activity going on either outside or inside the building.
Anyway, time ticked on towards our scheduled departure time of 15:15
but by 14:30 there was no sign of our aircraft. A quick check on Flightradar 24 told me that
things were about to become a whole lot more stressful!
okay so it's ten past three we were supposed to be departing in five minutes
unfortunately there has been a delay the flight hasn't even left belfast yet
flybe sent an email around about two o'clock saying
it's going to be delayed until 16:20. there's nobody here from flybe to communicate anything
nobody knows the reason but it looks like looking on flightradar24 it's been delayed all
day pretty much from the other domestic flights it's been taking so i'm going to make a decision
depending on boarding times as to whether i go or not because it's going to be tight to get my
connection back to manchester with emerald airlines a little bit later on in the day
we'll see how it goes and i'll give you an update in a bit
Well about half-past three some staff turned up, although there was no effective communication
between them and the waiting passengers. Looking around, I got the impression that this
was anything but a rare occurrence and there was a general air of acceptance with it all.
I guess that’s fine, providing you don’t have a connection to make.
Well I did - at six o’clock, so by half past four I was in the position whereby
if we weren’t called to board soon, I’d have to call the whole thing off.
Well boarding was eventually announced at 16:45 so I figured if they could get everyone on quickly
and get the aircraft up in the air, I might just stand a chance of making my next flight.
Boarding at gate 16 is down the stairs past the jet bridge that looks like it’s collapsed on
the floor (or maybe it’d just given up all hope that the plane was going to turn up!)
and I did allow myself a few seconds to admire our aircraft G-JECX a 15 year old Dash-8 400.
So first category for this video; punctuality and boarding. Well,
gate staff weren’t overly-friendly, I did get a welcome upon boarding but
we were very late and that was the main stress point. One star only, I'm afraid.
According to the apology from the flight deck, the cause of the delay was the late departure of
the aircraft from Leeds Bradford airport earlier on in the day due to an ‘issue in the terminal’.
Bit vague really but that’s the only information we got so make of that what you will!
And on to our next category of this review which is ‘seat and cabin’. Laid out in a
2:2 configuration, the interior of the Dash 8 looked fresh and clean.
The seat itself was comfortable enough, anti-macassars were provided on all headrests.
There's a basic drop down table here above a pouch that contains the usual safety card. Leg
room is ok with a seat pitch of 30 inches and the side of the seat was clean and tidy.
There are individual air vents and reading lights above your head and
an attendant call button if needed. I did like the interior - very smart - four stars here.
Flight time was going to be around about an hour according to the flight deck,
so that meant my connection in BHD was going to be really tight.
In terms of the In-flight Experience, cabin temperature was about right
throughout the flight which was good, no issues there.
There were two ‘cabin managers’ in attendance and we were served free tea/coffee/juice and
biscuits which was a welcome sight. I used the toilet that was located
at the front of the aircraft which was rather small but reasonably clean. I was disappointed
to find that the water didn’t work. There was some sanitizer provided but this is becoming
a common theme now on my recent travels. Have you had any issues like this lately?
I was seated in row 17 towards the rear but there were empty seats near to the front of
the aircraft. I asked one of the cabin crew if I could sit in one of these so that I could exit the
aircraft quicker and improve my chances of making my connection . She did say that the aircraft
was a little nose-heavy and they’d already moved four people to the rear, so I thought my chances
were slim. Nevertheless she asked for my seat number and said she’d speak to the captain.
Guess what, I never heard anything again. I wouldn’t have minded if she’d just said no
but this felt more like I was just fobbed off. Overall then, just two stars for Flybe here.
So we came in to land at Belfast City Airport flying straight in which
improved my chances somewhat and by 17:52 we were at the gate. There was absolutely no control over
passengers at this point but fortunately, this worked to my advantage as I was able to move
forward several rows before people stood up in the aisle. There was a thank you from the
crew as I left. In terms of the disembarkation process and organisation - Three stars here.
oh my god well i just got through security which was super quick actually and the departure
board says wait in lounge which is a great sign isn't it not normally but it is today
so um yes i think i'm going to make it all good um yeah landed at 17:52
and the gate closes at 18:10 apparently according to emerald airlines but when i got through
security which fortunately was really quick it was saying wait in lounge which is great news so
at least i've got um 5-10 minutes just to chill out it's just turned into a much more stressful
trip than i thought it was going to be so i'm gonna have to skip the guinness unfortunately
but uh yeah i'll be back tonight all being well let's see what the second leg's like shall we
And the second leg was going to be in this Emerald Airlines 6 year-old ATR-72 EI-GPP.
Thing is, I reckon I could have stayed airside
if I'd known which gate it was going from, but there was no-one to ask and I didn’t really have
the time to go wandering up and down looking for the right gate for my departing flight.
What would you have done in this situation? Please let me know in the comments below.
Anyway, boarding was efficient and well-organised with the front 10
rows boarding first from the rear as you would expect on this type of aircraft.
The gate staff were about as nonplussed as the Flybe ones
but it was punctual and there was a friendly welcome from the cabin crew. Four stars here
We pushed back at 18:15 - right on time after some great work by the crew getting everyone
seated quickly. Quick review of the seat again and yep, drop down table that slides forward and back
and reasonable leg room the seat pitch on this aircraft which is 31 inches - an extra inch over
Flybe’s Dash-8! Another pouch here for storing stuff and, although there’s an annoying bar here,
the floor was very clean, as was the side of the seat. Note these seats also have a
recline button though they weren’t fitted with anti-macassars on the head rests.
Individual reading lights, air vents and an attendant call button similar
to the Dash-8 so yep, four stars here for Emerald Airlines seat and cabin interior.
As we taxied out to runway 22, the announcement from the
flight deck informed us that it would take approximately 40 minutes over to Manchester.
We took off ON TIME at 18:35 (which very rarely happens these days does it)!
Actually, I was most impressed by the efficiency of Emerald Airlines.
I settled into my seat and enjoyed some great views as we climbed out over Belfast City Centre
and some of its famous landmarks. .
Again there were two cabin crew members on this flight and we were served tea/coffee/juice (no
biscuits this time though). I had another coffee (which looked like it had had an argument with
the top of the cup), but I was grateful for the refreshment which was again free.
I must admit I was feeling a lot more relaxed on this flight (for obvious reasons!)
and was able to look at the views instead of my watch this time as we sped across the Irish Sea.
I used the toilet at the rear of the aircraft which was again small,
but still a little more spacious than the dash-8 in my opinion.
It was clean and the water worked too. So absolutely no issues here.
All-in-all the in-flight experience with Emerald Airlines was good and earns itself 4 stars.
Price
So let’s have a look at prices. I booked both tickets at the same time for comparison purposes
and was able to use a promo code with Flybe for £10 off, giving a total cost of £19.99.
I paid £37.70 for my flight back so I think ultimately, both fares are good value for money.
Flybe earn an extra point here over Emerald Airlines though for running
the promo code in the first place. Five and four stars respectively.
By the way guys, have I told you about my Ko-fi page?
There’s loads of exclusive stuff over there like photos and videos from my travels,
plus regular schedule updates and personal engagement with my supporters. You’ll also get
your name in lights at the end of every video for what is (I reckon) the cheapest membership rates
on YouTube! Give the QR code a scan here if you’re interested - it’d be great to have you onboard!
We arrived into Mnchester 20 minutes ahead of schedule and taxied to the gate.
Similar to Flybe, it was a bit of a free for all with passengers getting up
and jostling for position and it was the usual terrible experience at Manchester airport as
we waited for a bus to turn up and take us to arrivals. That’s not the airlines fault though,
and at least we didn’t have the double-whammy of relying on Manchesters ground crews
to bring steps up to the aircraft. We used our own. Anyway, it wasn’t too bad in the end as the
drive round the airport to domestic arrivals does at least bring you a bit nearer to the
train station. Can’t complain about arriving and disembarking early can you - five stars.
So to sum up, as you can see, on this occasion Emerald Airlines are the absolute clear winners
with a total of 21 stars out of a possible 25, compared to Flybe’s 15 stars.
The significant delays experienced with Flybe may not have been entirely their
fault - I’ll never know. But they could have been communicated a lot better.
Ultimately, there’s enough competition on these routes to make an informed choice and next time,
I’m going to be more likely to select an airline that, in my opinion,
offers a more reliable product together with better customer service.
I gave the inactive travelators a miss today
and made my way out of the airport at ground level to catch my train home…
okay guys manchester airport and well let me know what you thought about that i think
you will probably agree that emerald airlines absolutely knocked flybe out of the park in most
categories so yeah it really makes you think you know emerald airlines yeh definitely book
with them again flybe i'm not so sure and that's the thing isn't it so um let me know
what you think and if you've had any recent experiences on either airline in the comments
below thanks for watching as always and i'll see you on another adventure soon cheers for now