| Volotea | Montpellier (MPL) → Ajaccio (AJA) | A320-200 | Economy Class | 20/07/2021 | Current review |
| Volotea | Montpellier (MPL) → Ajaccio (AJA) | A320-200 | Economy Class | 20/07/2021 | Current review |
Hello everyone and welcome to this new Flight review.
As I'm coming back by ferry, it will, unfortunately, be a one-way trip. I wish you an excellent reading!
I arrive at Montpellier Airport around 3:00 pm for a 4:35 pm takeoff. Outside, it's a stifling heat. So I hurry back to take advantage of the air conditioning in the check-in hall.
The check-in for my flight is open but I don't need to go through it as I don't have any luggage to check-in.
New ads have appeared in the lobby, I find them very nice!
I then pass the security and the duty-free and find myself on the "airside". I have a lot of time to kill before boarding starts, so I take the opportunity to do some spotting!
F-HBND, an Air France A320 to Paris Charles-de-Gaulle is taxiing.
A Transavia 737 is waiting for its next flight...
Montpellier Airport is also a place for aircraft storage thanks to the Vallair Industry premises which are established here. This allows for a greater diversity of airlines, notably with this Norvegian 737, currently being towed.
Two airlines, one group:
Then the Air France A320 takes off with a 7-minute delay on the initial schedule.
It is followed by an Air Arabia A320 arriving from Nador 4 hours late (yes, you read that right...).
The pre-boarding of my flight is in progress. Indeed, the priority passengers are called and then taken directly on the tarmac, standing, in the heat and in the sun while the plane had not yet arrived (see the following pictures). This led to some scuffles with passengers complaining about this organization. Whose fault was it? The airline or the airport? I don't know. In any case, I understand perfectly these passengers, who moreover have priority, who complain about being brought on the tarmac to queue under the sun when the plane had not even landed! Seeing this, I don't rush to board with the first ones. I am even the last one to have pre-boarded. The other part of passengers is invited to wait in a separate air-conditioned room because there were no more places on the tarmac.
My plane arrives from Nantes and here is the surprise! It is a Volotea A320 (EC-MBK), an ex-Vueling aircraft still wearing the Spanish low-cost cabin.
You can see for yourself the aberration of having crammed the passengers in the sun. These are just a few people among a hundred others.
On my side, I can easily take a picture of my plane of the day from the air-conditioned room.
Next to it, a KLM Boeing 737 is waiting before its return flight to Amsterdam.
The plane is finally ready to welcome us. The "real" boarding starts a few minutes later.
I will be the last passenger to board, which leaves me more time to take pictures of the aircraft from the tarmac. First, here is our aircraft: EC-MBK, a 15-year-old boy.
We then pass in front of the Dutch 737.
As well as the Moroccan A320 freshly arrived from Nador.
I approach step by step my bird of the day, the occasion to photograph it more closely.
I perform then the unavoidable fuselage shot under a blazing sun.
As said before, it is a Vueling cabin where only the headrests are with the Volotea logo. This day, the cabin was full.
I then move to my seat, the 6F, having for advantage to offer a beautiful engine view.
The door should close shortly.
The Safety Card is a collector's item, in fact, there are few with the A320 Volotea logo.
The legroom is bad. It is impossible for me to extend my legs under the seat. My knees touch the front seat. If you want to fly with Volotea, it is unlikely that you will come across this cabin. I remember much better legroom on my previous trip with Volotea on their A319.
And this is the basic tray table.
Air Arabia completes pushback to fly to Morocco.
The belt is buckled, and we are ready to go!
We taxi to runway 12L.
We're lining up…
And we take off 45 minutes late. Fortunately, we will reduce the gap during the flight.
Shortly after takeoff, we fly over the famous seaside resort of Palavas-les-Flots.
We then fly over the Espiguette headland.
We follow the coast to Toulon, passing by the island of Hyères and Marseille.
Due to the Covid measures, no services are offered on board.
After a few minutes of cruising, we start our descent.
We are already quite low when the Corsican coasts appear. It's an approach by the pass on runway 20 that is coming, it promises to be a great show!
Flying at the same altitude as the mountains is quite impressive but just as wonderful!
The airport is hidden behind hills between which we will have to slalom.
Pilots make a sharp turn to line up with the runway.
Landing is imminent…
And we touch down smoothly with a delay of (only) 17 minutes on the initial schedule.
An ATR from Air Corsica is being refueled.
A helicopter equipped with a device whose function I do not know takes off.
Air Corsica and Canadairs are present in the hangars.
During this time, we arrive at the parking lot, and vehicles are busy around us.
The deboarding then begins. The rows are called 5 by 5, another Covid measure.
Face to face with the beast...
Boarding has begun for the Corsican ATR.
Welcome to Ajaccio Napoleon Bonaparte Airport !
As I do not have any luggage to retrieve, I head for the exit.
In less than 2 minutes, I am out of the airport.
Volotea proposed a rather particular service that is not representative of a classic flight.
In Montpellier, the controls were passed quickly, and as always, the Duty-free is really pleasant. I really like the atmosphere of this airport.
About Volotea, the comfort on board is not good because of a too narrow seat (Vueling) although I was able to cope with it for only 40 minutes of flight. The lack of service is also a pity, although it has become the norm with other airlines in these times of crisis. As for the crew, they remained quite discreet while being available during the flight. I especially appreciated their warm welcome.
On arrival, I was surprised by the fluidity of the airport from which I left barely two minutes after disembarking.
