Ever wondered what it is like to fly a long-haul aircraft on a short-haul route? Join us as we fly an Air Europa Boeing 787 from Madrid to Amsterdam.
Doing a flight like this has been something I have wanted to do for quite some time now, and now I have got this opportunity.
Without further ado, let’s get into it!
Flight Details: Air Europa Boeing 787 Short Haul from Madrid to Amsterdam…
Flight Details:
- Flight Number: UX1091
- Aircraft Type: Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner
- Registration: EC-NZG
- Departure Airport: Madrid’s Adolfo Suarez International Airport (MAD/LEMD).
- Arrival Airport: Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS/EHAM).
- Departure Time: 0705 local time.
- Arrival Time: 0940 local time.
- Date: 14th April 2023.
Check-In: Madrid…
I arrived in Madrid Barajas two hours before our flight.
Check-in queues were small, allowing a faster time to get through and get straight to security at Terminal 2.
Security was very efficient at Madrid Barajas, taking a total of eight minutes.
This was quite the contrast to when I arrived in Madrid on the 12th, where getting out was the most confusing thing ever.
Boarding…
At around 0620 local time, the boarding process began from Gate D58!
I opted for Seat 30J in Economy, providing an awesome look at the wing. I got comfy and prepared for our departure from Madrid Barajas Airport!
The boarding occurred really quickly, meaning we had to sit around on the ramp for a while.
My ride for today is EC-NZG, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which is 9.2 years old at the time of writing. This aircraft is currently with Air Europa via leasing arrangements from Norse Atlantic Airways.
It sports an all-white livery with no titles, giving a very private jet-esque feeling to this special wide-body short-haul flight.
This aircraft started out life with the now defunct long haul network of Norwegian Air and was returned to AerCap following the bankruptcy of the carrier.
The economy seat offers ample legroom on this 787. This product offers a 3-3-3 configuration for the economy.
My colleague, who was sitting in 29J, had some damage on the seat, including the seatbelts being installed the wrong way around and the safety card holder being damaged as well.
As for my seat, it was very comfortable.
Unfortunately, we were told by Air Europa that the IFE wouldn’t be working during this flight, which is understandable for a 2-hour hop to Amsterdam.
However, it did seem to work at the initial boarding stage, showcasing around 16 TV shows, 8 movies, and 20 different choices of music.
At 0657 local time, we pushed back from the gate and proceeded to taxi to Runway 36R at Adolfo Suárez! This took a while, but that is due to the positioning of the terminal.
Departure from Madrid…
[monsterinsights_popular_posts_inline]
By 0721 local time, we had departed Runway 36R and began cruising ahead to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport!
The climb out was very smooth with little tiny bits of turbulence. The 787 handles it well!
Cruise & Product Offering…
Shortly thereafter, the seatbelt signs had been disabled, with the expectation of food and drink service to begin, but it didn’t take place for over 40 minutes after departure and started handing out headphones first instead.
The views from outside did make up for this, but still hungry nevertheless.
I opted for just a KitKat and orange juice for 5EUR to keep me going until arrival, as we were less than an hour away from Amsterdam by the time service came to my row.
There weren’t any set meals for this flight, and is more based on what was in the food magazine, like with many carriers operating short to medium-haul flights.
With that still in mind, I was still in an excitable and giddy mood about the fact that I was able to fly a long-haul aircraft on a short-haul route.
Descent & Arrival into Amsterdam Schiphol…
At 0846 local time, we began our descent into Amsterdam Schiphol Airport.
This was a very smooth descent but it took a while as we had to be vectored all of the ways over to Runway 18R from the South.
This enabled me to enjoy more time during this experience.
By 0924 local time, we had landed on Runway 18R!
Overall Thoughts…
The service from Air Europa from Madrid to Amsterdam onboard was minimal (possibly to do with the size of the aircraft), but it was a very unique experience to fly a wide-body aircraft on a short-haul route.
I would definitely do this sort of experience again, but I potentially would upgrade to business next time or would use a different carrier.
My gripes were about service speed, especially on a high-dense Air Europa 787 in a high-dense airport like Madrid where more crew could have been placed onto that flight, as well as how the aircraft was beginning to fall about on the interior.
But for now, it was a great experience in terms of the concept of the flight, and I am looking forward to doing something like that again in the future.
