Is there a better way to kick off an Easter Holiday to your favourite Island destination than with a flight on a new airline? Granted I've flown with both Thomson Airways and First Choice, but this was back in 2010 and I barely remember anything about the experience. So, when we saw that TUI offered the best option between Manchester and Funchal, it had to be done!
After seeing all the chaos on social media surrounding Manchester's massive security queues, we arrived at T2 a full 3 hours before our 08:30 departure. Ironically, the whole process of dropping the bag and going through security took around 15 minutes and we were airside considerably earlier than normal. It seems everyone had the same idea as the departures area was absolutely rammed, it was great to see the airport back to normal. Our flight departed from the new B gates which take you to the aircraft via bus. This whole experience was surprisingly efficient as bus boarding can often be a bit manic. In a funny twist of fate, our aircraft for today was G-TAWY one of TUI Airways' latest deliveries which was transferred from TUIfly Nordic wearing a rather patchy hybrid colour scheme. This is ironic because despite TUI getting a new livery around 2012, this aircraft almost resembles the 767 I flew to Menorca on in 2010, 12 years ago!
The interior of the aircraft on the other hand, looked incredible. The 10 year old aircraft was fitted with the Boeing Sky Interior, comfy leather seats that had a good recline and even audio entertainment (although I didn't check to see if it worked). Another impressive feature was the overhead screens that displayed route information throughout the flight!
We pushed back around 20 minutes behind schedule and taxiied out for my first Runway 23L takeoff since January 2020, Once airborne and in the cruise I opted to try some of the food TUI offer. I went for their bacon roll and chunky chips as well as a hot chocolate, all really tasty, bacon rolls can be hit or miss on aircraft as we've all seen, but this one was suitably stocked full of bacon! Before long the 3 hour flight was coming to an end and we began the RNP Visual Approach for Runway 05, absolutely spot on approach and landing from the pilot flying with the wind just within limits for landing. We made up almost all of our delay time and with that, welcome to Madeira!
So, to summarise then. Incredible experience from start to finish. Manchester Airport was no hassle at all. The aircraft was not only a rare frame to fly on, but also really comfortable and pleasant to fly on, by far the best 737 cabin I've experienced. The onboard catering was great, although I think the absence of full meals or pre-order food definitely still gives the edge to Jet2, and finally the crew were absolutely fantastic, really friendly and pleasant. A special mention to the flightdeck crew for providing the passengers with a detailed but re-assuring briefing for the landing into Funchal, I'm sure anyone who was apprenhensive about the landing felt a bit better after that!
I cannot fault TUI at all!
AIRLINE: TUI Airways
AIRCRAFT: Boeing 737-8K5
REG: G-TAWY
AGE: 10.1 Years
SEAT: 9F
ROUTE: MAN/EGCC - FNC/LPMA
FLIGHT NO: BY2536
CALLSIGN: TOM18D
STD: 08:30 ATD: 08:53
STA: 12:30 ATA: 12:35
BLOCK TIME: 03:43
FLIGHT TIME: 03:26
CRUISE: 37,000ft (FL370)
DEP RWY: 23L
ARR RWY: 05
00:00 - Landside Views
00:40 - Airside Views
02:23 - Boarding and cabin overview
07:50 - Push back and engine start
11:12 - Taxi to the departure runway
13:30 - TAKEOFF Runway 23L
15:30 - Climbing to cruise
17:25 - Views at cruise & Inflight Meal
19:13 - Descending into Funchal
22:04 - First views of the island
23:40 - Approaching Madeira
25:35 - LANDING Runway 05
27:20 - Runway vacated and taxi to stand
30:53 - Arrival experience
#TUI #Madeira #Funchal
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2 июл 2024
