- Moderator
- #1
Flight too Faro
My flight too Faro was with Jet2 airlines from Leeds Bradford airport on 23/9/22. The flight was due to depart at 07.45 so I arrived at 05.30 to head through security, the previous evening I'd used Jet2s twilight check in and was glad I did as the queue for bag check in was really long and the queue for security was also very long as well, in fact it practically started at Jet2s check in area! It took about 50 minutes to get through security into the terminal where i was to wait for my flight and wait i did as the flight was delayed to a 09.05 departure. The reason was down to the aircraft being diverted to Birmingham the previous night as there was a problem in the immigration hall the previous night which meant the airport couldn't take arriving flights. Eventually though the gate for the flight was opened and after a pretty long walk to a portacabin the flight started boarding. I boarded by the rear steps as my seat was 24F, the aircraft was G-DRTI a 17 year old 737 800. The flight departed and headed over Manchester and down the English-Welsh border and eventually over the Bay of Biscay too Portugal, flight time was 2 hours 45 minutes. The service from the crew was good with the hot meal (a cooked breakfast) that I pre ordered arriving pretty quickly and it wasn't too bad for airplane food, the seat wasn't too bad comfort wise with a decent amount of legroom but a big downside was no seat back storage for things like phones etc. A downside during the flight was how loud the other passengers were and i mean loud, i was unfortunate enough to be seated amongst 2 big groups of holidaymakers who no doubt had spent a lot of the delay for departure in the bar pre flight and i was surprised that Jet2 served them drinks as i thought they didn't in the morning. Eventually though we landed (fairly hard) at Faro and after deboarding was bussed to immigration. I had expected a big long delay here due too Brexit etc but it wasn't as bad I feared. Picked my checked bag up and made my way outside to find my coach to the hotel. During the walk through immigration, baggage reclaim and arrivals there was plenty of Jet2 rep presence to guide me too the coach.
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PortoBay Faliesa
The journey to the hotel from the airport took no more than 40 minutes with 2 stops at other hotels before I got too mine. There was only about a dozen passengers on the coach and I was the only one to get off at mine.
The hotel was 4 star and I was full board with breakfast and dinner a buffet in the main dining hall and lunch available from the pool side restaurant/bar. Drinks had too be paid for except juice at breakfast and any snacks for the room could be gotten from a little mini market just outside the hotel. The room I booked was a twin room with a sea view and a balcony well. I spent 6 nights at the hotel and for part of it I wasn't feeling well so didn't do as much as I hoped but the hotel was perfect for just relaxing with a lovely poolside restaurant which had a lovely sea breeze (the hotel was atop cliffs) and a I had a balcony which had a great view of the pool and sea and I could hear the ocean from inside my room when the balcony door was open. The food was decent with plenty of options at breakfast and dinner to cater for all diners. 5 minutes walk away from the hotel was the beach, Praia do Barranco das Belharucas which due to feeling unwell i didn't visit as much as i hoped but i had several lovely walks along it although the walk back up to the hotel was a bit of a trek as the steps up the cliff were pretty steep but the beach was worth it. Unfortunately after 6 days of relaxing in the mid 20s with lovely blue cloudless skies and blue seas it was time to go home and i was up at 6 am to be ready for my coach pick up between 07.30 and 08.05 Thursday morning.
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Flight home too Leeds Bradford
After being picked up by the coach I was dropped off at departures in Faro, here again the Jet2 staff were visible and guided everyone to check in where I was able too drop my checked bag off and after that it was through security and passport control to leave Portugal, although there was a queue for both the delays weren't long and i was into what was an extremely busy Faro airport. The main concourse was rammed with people with the bulk of the flights heading to the UK and it was hard to find a seat in the main concourse area so after getting a snack i headed to the gate area where i was able to find a seat and sit down. Unfortunately my flight was delayed a bit (departure was due at 11.50) due to French ATC strikes but eventually the gate number came up on the screen and boarding started, as before when i arrived in Portugal we were put on buses and taken to a remote stand and boarded via the back steps, this time my seat was 21F on G-GDFG a 25 year old 737 300 despite it's age the interior was pretty modern though no seat back storage. The flight departed a bit late but not as late as it could've been due to the ATC strike and essentially followed the same route back to Leeds as my inbound flight before. Again the service was good from the crew with my hot meal served up pretty quickly and this time the flight was pretty quiet on the way back and i had the middle seat free so a bit more space. We landed about 45 minutes late (arrival was 15.00) to a wet Leeds Bradford and the landing seemed pretty hard with the aircraft making quite a lot of alarming noises! Before long we were bussed from the aircraft too immigration (the escalator wasn't working though) and then after going through that which the delay wasn't big there was a bit of a wait to collect my checked bag and then it was out into arrivals and to get a (expensive) taxi home.
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Conclusion
In general i had a good trip with Jet2 and Jet2 Holidays. The flights were good and in general comfortable enough, the staff were good as well, though not visible at the hotel at all but i'm not bothered by that as there were no problems and the visibility at both airports was good. I was a bit annoyed to find out the £60 voucher they gave me at the end is only worth £30 for me, if you give someone a £60 voucher then it should be worth £60 in my opinion. The hotel was really nice and is definitely somewhere i would think about returning too and maybe even going to another part of Portugal in the future. I would use Jet2 and Jet2 Holidays again one day but probably not for my next holiday.
My flight too Faro was with Jet2 airlines from Leeds Bradford airport on 23/9/22. The flight was due to depart at 07.45 so I arrived at 05.30 to head through security, the previous evening I'd used Jet2s twilight check in and was glad I did as the queue for bag check in was really long and the queue for security was also very long as well, in fact it practically started at Jet2s check in area! It took about 50 minutes to get through security into the terminal where i was to wait for my flight and wait i did as the flight was delayed to a 09.05 departure. The reason was down to the aircraft being diverted to Birmingham the previous night as there was a problem in the immigration hall the previous night which meant the airport couldn't take arriving flights. Eventually though the gate for the flight was opened and after a pretty long walk to a portacabin the flight started boarding. I boarded by the rear steps as my seat was 24F, the aircraft was G-DRTI a 17 year old 737 800. The flight departed and headed over Manchester and down the English-Welsh border and eventually over the Bay of Biscay too Portugal, flight time was 2 hours 45 minutes. The service from the crew was good with the hot meal (a cooked breakfast) that I pre ordered arriving pretty quickly and it wasn't too bad for airplane food, the seat wasn't too bad comfort wise with a decent amount of legroom but a big downside was no seat back storage for things like phones etc. A downside during the flight was how loud the other passengers were and i mean loud, i was unfortunate enough to be seated amongst 2 big groups of holidaymakers who no doubt had spent a lot of the delay for departure in the bar pre flight and i was surprised that Jet2 served them drinks as i thought they didn't in the morning. Eventually though we landed (fairly hard) at Faro and after deboarding was bussed to immigration. I had expected a big long delay here due too Brexit etc but it wasn't as bad I feared. Picked my checked bag up and made my way outside to find my coach to the hotel. During the walk through immigration, baggage reclaim and arrivals there was plenty of Jet2 rep presence to guide me too the coach.
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PortoBay Faliesa
The journey to the hotel from the airport took no more than 40 minutes with 2 stops at other hotels before I got too mine. There was only about a dozen passengers on the coach and I was the only one to get off at mine.
The hotel was 4 star and I was full board with breakfast and dinner a buffet in the main dining hall and lunch available from the pool side restaurant/bar. Drinks had too be paid for except juice at breakfast and any snacks for the room could be gotten from a little mini market just outside the hotel. The room I booked was a twin room with a sea view and a balcony well. I spent 6 nights at the hotel and for part of it I wasn't feeling well so didn't do as much as I hoped but the hotel was perfect for just relaxing with a lovely poolside restaurant which had a lovely sea breeze (the hotel was atop cliffs) and a I had a balcony which had a great view of the pool and sea and I could hear the ocean from inside my room when the balcony door was open. The food was decent with plenty of options at breakfast and dinner to cater for all diners. 5 minutes walk away from the hotel was the beach, Praia do Barranco das Belharucas which due to feeling unwell i didn't visit as much as i hoped but i had several lovely walks along it although the walk back up to the hotel was a bit of a trek as the steps up the cliff were pretty steep but the beach was worth it. Unfortunately after 6 days of relaxing in the mid 20s with lovely blue cloudless skies and blue seas it was time to go home and i was up at 6 am to be ready for my coach pick up between 07.30 and 08.05 Thursday morning.
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Flight home too Leeds Bradford
After being picked up by the coach I was dropped off at departures in Faro, here again the Jet2 staff were visible and guided everyone to check in where I was able too drop my checked bag off and after that it was through security and passport control to leave Portugal, although there was a queue for both the delays weren't long and i was into what was an extremely busy Faro airport. The main concourse was rammed with people with the bulk of the flights heading to the UK and it was hard to find a seat in the main concourse area so after getting a snack i headed to the gate area where i was able to find a seat and sit down. Unfortunately my flight was delayed a bit (departure was due at 11.50) due to French ATC strikes but eventually the gate number came up on the screen and boarding started, as before when i arrived in Portugal we were put on buses and taken to a remote stand and boarded via the back steps, this time my seat was 21F on G-GDFG a 25 year old 737 300 despite it's age the interior was pretty modern though no seat back storage. The flight departed a bit late but not as late as it could've been due to the ATC strike and essentially followed the same route back to Leeds as my inbound flight before. Again the service was good from the crew with my hot meal served up pretty quickly and this time the flight was pretty quiet on the way back and i had the middle seat free so a bit more space. We landed about 45 minutes late (arrival was 15.00) to a wet Leeds Bradford and the landing seemed pretty hard with the aircraft making quite a lot of alarming noises! Before long we were bussed from the aircraft too immigration (the escalator wasn't working though) and then after going through that which the delay wasn't big there was a bit of a wait to collect my checked bag and then it was out into arrivals and to get a (expensive) taxi home.
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Conclusion
In general i had a good trip with Jet2 and Jet2 Holidays. The flights were good and in general comfortable enough, the staff were good as well, though not visible at the hotel at all but i'm not bothered by that as there were no problems and the visibility at both airports was good. I was a bit annoyed to find out the £60 voucher they gave me at the end is only worth £30 for me, if you give someone a £60 voucher then it should be worth £60 in my opinion. The hotel was really nice and is definitely somewhere i would think about returning too and maybe even going to another part of Portugal in the future. I would use Jet2 and Jet2 Holidays again one day but probably not for my next holiday.
