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Onur Air OHY380 MAN - DLM, 1st Sept 2006

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  • Onur Air OHY380 MAN - DLM, 1st Sept 2006

    Onur Air Flight OHY380 1st September 2006, Manchester (MAN/EGCC) – Dalaman - Mugla International Airport (DLM / LTBS), Turkey. Friday

    Flight Details:
    Date: 1st September 2006
    Departure Airport: Manchester International (MAN/EGCC) Terminal 2
    Airline: Onur Air
    Flight: OHY380
    Equipment: Airbus A300B4-605R
    Registration: TC-OAH
    Departure Gate: 300C
    Destination Airport: Dalaman - Mugla International Airport (DLM / LTBS), Turkey
    Seat: 5C
    Scheduled Departure: 1100
    Actual Departure: 1240
    Scheduled Flight Time: 3hrs 50mins
    Actual Flight Time: 4 hrs
    Scheduled Arrival: 1650 (GMT +2)
    Actual Arrival: 1840 (GMT +2)

    I’m off on my travels again! After booking this holiday back on 31st October 2005, it was a long 5 months to wait before the day arrived for my fourth visit to Icmeler, Turkey. Originally, we were booked on a Pegasus Airlines flight from Manchester, departing at 2300. For some reason, this flight was cancelled and changed to Onur Air 6 weeks prior to departure. I would have preferred to fly with Pegasus considering Onur Air’s reputation and recent issues, but I always give things the benefit of the doubt until I’ve experienced things for myself. It also meant I’d get my first ride in an Airbus A300B4-605R and it would be a daylight flight so I could get a few photos, providing I got a window seat that is.



    After all the troubles in August 2006 with airport security, I was pleased to see things had been relaxed for baggage allowance and hand luggage. I know security is paramount, but part of my enjoyment of travel is taking my camera equipment with me to snap away out of the aircraft window and take my underwater video equipment for scuba diving. I was determined these mindless idiots who caused all the security issues, regardless of their reasons for doing it, would not effect my holiday in any way. If they did, it would mean they’ve won and I was going do all I could to make sure that didn’t happen.

    After weeks of trying, there was no way I was going to be able to take my marine video housing on the aircraft as hand luggage as I have done over the previous 4 years. I tried contacting Onur Air, firstly by email then by telephone to explain the situation and ask them if I could have extra ‘hold’ luggage allowance in lieu of hand luggage. I would pay excess baggage if required. The camera weights in at just over 7 kg. I’ve never had a problem with airlines in the past once I’ve explained the camera fits under the seat in front, but since I wouldn’t be able to do this, the only way I could take it was in my suitcase. Well, I got no response from the airline so that was that, no underwater filming on this trip.

    After all the problems with trying to get the camera to Turkey, and failing, the holiday had got off to a bad start. The taxi picked us up promptly at 0715 for the 1 hour drive to Manchester Airport. The M61 was very busy as usual but we made steady progress and got to the airport for about 0830. We got dropped off at departures in terminal 2 to find we were to check-in at desks 209-212 which are located by the new Excel desks in the arrivals hall. That’s a first; checking in at arrivals. I didn’t expect to be in that part of the terminal for another 2 weeks! The queue wasn’t too bad considering we were travelling on the largest aircraft in the Onur Air fleet, a 315 seat Airbus A300B4-605R. I was quite looking forward to it since it would be my first ride in an A300B4-605R, but a little apprehensive given their reputation. 20 minutes in the queue, and it was our turn to check-in. We handed the check-in agent our passports and tickets and she had a good look at them, not surprising with the heightened security. To my surprise, I was asked if I was sure that the passport I’d given was mine! She said the photo didn’t look like me and preceded to ask me some personal details, date of birth etc, to try and catch me out and make sure it was me. The passport is 8 years old so I know I’ve changed a little, less hair than I had then, but the photo still looks like me! She was satisfied with the answers and we checked in without too much fuss. I quickly checked the boarding cards and my heart sunk; seats 5C-E. No window seat! As much as I love flying, part of the enjoying for me is looking out of the window and taking photo’s. That wouldn’t be possible on this flight.



    With the extra security at the airport and warning of big queues, we decided to go straight through to the departure lounge. It was about 9am and the flight wasn’t leaving for another 2 hours, but we were expecting it to take a while to get through security. We didn’t think the queue would be as big as the one that greeted us though. It was huge! The end of the queue was back in the check-in area, snaking its way up and down the shopping area landside in T2. This was going to take some time. It took around 60 minutes in total before we got to the security checkpoint. Once at security, we were asked to take belts and shoes off. We’ve had to do this in the past, but things were way more stringent than normal. We all passed through with no hassle. I got searched but that’s nothing new!

    Once in the departure lounge, it was time to see what aircraft were around. Out came the camera! The terminal was very busy with the usual transatlantic schedule and charter flights all lined up; VS075 747-400 for Orlando, US197 A330-323X for Philadelphia, PK717 747-240 for Lahore and the usual Excel, Thomsonfly and First Choice charters.


    US197 being prepared for its flight to Philadelphia


    First Choice Airways G-OOBM 767-324/ER, I flew to Cuba on this in March 2006


    Excel Airways G-VKNG 767-3Z9/ER

    We were just in time to see the aircraft we were to be flying to Dalaman on taxi in and park on remote stand 217; we would be travelling on TC-OAH. It landed a little behind schedule, about 20 minutes, not too bad.





    After a good look at the apron and a look around duty free, our flight was called for boarding from gate 300C at 1030. We proceeded to the gate where the two Delta flights to Atlanta and JFK were also boarding from, 300A and D respectively. The other Onur Air flight of the day, OHY508 to Bodrum was boarding from 300B. It got a little crowded but things soon eased as busses ferried passengers to awaiting aircraft. Everything was set, all the busses were lined up and the agents were at the desk ready, but we didn’t seem to be going anywhere fast. 11am came and went, so did 1130 and so did 1200. Finally, at 1215 our flight was called for boarding. I was expecting a slight delay since the aircraft landed a little late, but not as long as this. There was no indication of a delay by the ground staff and when questioned, they couldn’t provide any information as to why there was a delay. It would be apparent when we boarded the aircraft but I’ll leave that until later!


    The Bodrum flight being prepared

    We were called to board by row number. Since we were in row 5, we were on the last bus. After a 2 minute bus ride around the apron, the aircraft came in to view. She was gleaming in the Manchester sun and looked quite smart in the new livery. We boarded from the only set of steps by the L2 door. It made a first for me to get on an aircraft and turn left! It wouldn’t be business class unfortunately but I still turned left! The front section of the aircraft only had 8 rows so it was nice and cosy up front. Seating is arranged in columns of 3 (3-3-3) for the most part, the rear of the aircraft is 2-3-2 as the fuselage starts to narrow. First impressions of the aircraft were quite positive; seat pitch is 30” so there’s a decent amount of legroom. There isn’t any IFE on these aircraft, just a screen positioned on the bulkheads showing airline advertisements and flight information such as ground speed and a moving map of our current position. However, things started to go downhill from this point.


    The huge CF6-80C2A5 power plant that produces 61,500 lb of thrust



    Everyone took their seats and the doors were closed in preparation for take off. All announcements were made in both Turkish and English. I know this is a Turkish airline, but the clientele is English holidaymakers and the Turkish accent combined with a poor, crackling PA system made the announcement difficult and sometimes impossible to comprehend. We pushed back at 1230 for the trip down to runway 24R. Our scheduled departure of 11am would have meant taking off from 24L but since 24L closes to traffic between 1200-1500, 24R it was. The safety announcement was made during the 10 minute taxi to the runway. The briefing was poor by most airline standards. A combination of the poor PA system, the announcement being rushed and accent made it virtually impossible to understand the safety procedures. It’s less of a problem for frequent fliers, but for those who were flying for the first time or are not regular flyers, important information will have been missed. There wasn’t a safety card in my seat either so there was nothing to refer to. Once the announcement was complete, I was expecting the crew to make a final tour of the cabin to ensure the cabin was prepared for take off before they took their seats. To my surprise, all the cabin crew disappeared in to the galley located in the centre of the aircraft behind row 8 and the curtains drawn. As we taxied on to the runway for take off, there were no crew in the crew seats by any of the doors. I’ve never seen doors unmanned during take off or landing before. Surely it is standard operating procedure to have cabin crew seated by the emergency exits during these critical phases of the flight?

    We lined up on runway 24R, waited for what seemed like 30 seconds then the engines spooled and we were off. Plenty of thrust was applied and we were soon whizzing down the runway, rotating in front of the Northern Executive Apron. Take off was at 1240, 1 hour 40 minutes behind schedule.

    [photoid=5842912]
    Kevin E Cook snapped up taking to the air

    Once we were airborne, we made a 180 degree right turn towards the east coast before turning south-east and heading for East Anglia. There weren’t any announcements made by the flight deck so I assume the route would take us out across the North Sea towards Holland, through Germany in to northern Italy where we’d cross the Alps. From there, we’d head across eastern Europe, straight through mainland Greece before turning south once we reached the Turkish coastline. We’d then follow the coastline south until our descent in to Dalaman. The expected flight time was 3 hours 50 minutes and the distance 1882 miles.



    The crew finally emerged from the galley when the seat belt signs had been turned off to start their duties. First thing was a drink service. Although Onur Air is a low cost airline, all non-alcoholic drinks are complimentary as is a meal. Limited alcoholic drinks such as Efas, Gin, Whiskey and Brandy were available at a charge. I started off with a coke but since I was on holiday, I soon ordered myself a can of Efas! It was only £1 a can which is cheap by airline standards. It was soon evident the cause of our technical delay. Apparently, the toilets had stopped working on the inbound flight and the engineers in Manchester tried to fix them. They managed to get the one at the front of the aircraft functioning, just, but the rest were out of order and all taped up. That meant only one functioning toilet on an aircraft with 300 passengers on board. Not good. As you can imagine, the queues were rather long at times. About an hour in to the flight, the meal service began. This took the form of a tray filled with cous cous type stuff with cold chicken strips garnished with a lettuce leaf and followed by a piece of sponge cake. It was a little dry but edible.



    Once the meal was over with, it was no good, I had to try the facilities. There was a bit of smell coming from it so I was a bit apprehensive about going but when nature calls, you have to answer. I joined the queue and was rather shocked when I finally got to the front. I’m not surprised there had been a problem with the toilet facilities judging by the state of the front one. The cubical was filthy and the toilet bowl itself, lets just say it looked liked it hadn’t been cleaned in a long time. The toilet wasn’t flushing properly and there was a distinct smell coming from it that as the flight progressed, got worse and worse. Again, I know this is a basic low cost flight, but there are certain standards which you expect. More than one functioning, clean toilet is one of them.

    [photoid=5816686]
    The front section of the aircraft

    [photoid=5816677]
    The main cabin

    A duty free service was carried out half way through the flight with some very attractive priced tobacco. A further drinks service then it was time to start our descent in to Dalaman. The descent was progressive as we came in over the water. Due to the high terrain in the Dalaman region, the preferred approach is over the water for landing on runway 19, even if this means landing in a slight tail wind. A vague announcement was made over the PA that we’d started our descent in to Dalaman and we should return to our seats and fasten seat belts for landing. The cabin crew didn’t come round to check the isles were clear and all seat belts were fastened, they congregated in the galley again and the doors left unmanned. As we approached the airport, I managed to see the airport at about 45 degrees to our left. We banked left to start our final approach. I felt the front of the aircraft kick up as we flared and we hit the runway rather hard. This was probably the hardest landing I’ve experienced for a while. That isn’t a criticism against the pilot in command, captain or first officer; I later saw there was a crosswind so it could have been the conditions. It’s purely an observation but it was a hard nonetheless. Once on the ground, plenty of brake pressure was applied but no reverse thrust as we rolled to the end of the runway. We taxied past the old terminal building, which I believe is now used for domestic flights, before pulling up at gate 2 at the new terminal building.

    [photoid=5818712]
    The old terminal building

    [photoid=5816671]
    The new terminal building

    The cabin crew emerged from the galley and the L2 door opened. The airbridge lead straight up in to a huge terminal building. The new terminal was quite impressive and a vast improvement over the old one, but you got the impression it wasn’t finished. The opening had been delayed for a few months so it could be they decided to open the terminal early. The lighting was a bit inadequate, everything was dark and there were bare pipes and wires. I’m sure everything was safe. Since we were the only flight to have landed, the queue at the desk to purchase our £10 visas was short. Once we’d got our stickers, we headed over to immigration and proceeded through no problem. Once through immigration, there was a small selection of duty free shops. Baggage reclaim was located on the lower level where carousel 1 was already circulating baggage from our flight. All our bags were soon repatriated and we made our way through to arrivals to greet the Regal Holidays representative. Our driver was waiting for us to whisk us off to Icmeler and the hotel L’Etoile where we’d spend the next 2 weeks relaxing and diving.


    View of the terminal building from the car park



    I would normally do a return trip report, in this case flight OHY379 on Friday 15th September 2006 but there isn’t much more to add. The return flight departed on time and was hassle free. The aircraft on the return flight was TC-OAA, A300B4-605R.



    I was allocated seat 10K. Since this is a window seat, I managed to grab a few photo’s on the return flight. This time, the cabin crew seamed much better and the PA system on the aircraft functioned much better; announcements were audible. Doors were still left unmanned during take off and landing, but apart from that, I had no complaints on the return journey.

    OHY379 illustrated in photo’s:


    Our flight being prepared at gate 1


    The departure lounge and duty free area

    [photoid=5816672]
    Taxiing on to runway 19


    Rotating from runway 19 with the aircraft shadow in the background

    [photoid=5816668]
    Turning north after take off over the sea


    Breakfast!


    On final approach in to Manchester for runway 24R


    Touchdown on runway 24R, back in Manchester


    To sum up, the outbound flight gave me cause for concern. Not only were the toilet facilities onboard the aircraft defective, the safety briefing and lack of cabin crew at exits on take off and landing just seemed very odd. Although the return flight was much better and more akin to what should happen, there was still cause for concern. Onur Air may be cheaper than mainstream airlines, but not by much. I would feel more comfortable paying that little bit extra to fly with mainstream airlines than fly with Onur Air again. The A300B4-605R as an airframe was very nice. If I was asked the question of whether I would fly with Onur Air again, I think the answer would be ‘yes, but only if they are my only option and I really wanted to get to that destination’.

    Darren
    Click Here to view my aircraft photos at JetPhotos.Net!

  • #2
    nice report, I enjoyed reading it!

    Comment


    • #3
      A very detailed and interesting read Darren, thanks for sharing.

      Cheers,

      Dale

      Comment


      • #4
        That was a very interesting trip report Darren! I'm half-turkish but have never flown on Onur air. However, my Mom's friend who works for Onur air once told me that even she doesn't fly on Onur air when she has to travel somewhere because of the airlines maintenance and safety.

        Derin

        Comment


        • #5
          Hi Darren, nice report. It was a pleasure taking the photo of your departure. I think Lew and the other Manc locals were waving and in tears.

          Regards,

          Kevin

          Comment


          • #6
            Good job you were not on the OHY380 today. First visit to MAN of TC-OAU and it popped an engine on departure did the lowest climb out from MAN I have ever seen. It circled for 1:20 then landed back at MAN without further problems. A replacement aircraft will be leaving MAN this evening around 6pm, a 10 hours delay to start your holiday there !!!

            Comment


            • #7
              Thanks Kevin, it's always nice to see a photo of that quality when you're onboard the aircraft.

              I heard about the OHY flight this morning. They closed 23R didn't they because of all the debris left on the runway? Sounded nasty but well handled by the crew.

              I must be jinxed at the moment when it comes to flying. I got back in to MAN landing at 0201 this morning when I was heading to Blackpool! I was on the LS762 (Jet2) Malaga - Blackpool flight and because of a technical problem, the aircraft (G-CELS) left BLK over 3 hours late. They then cancelled the return flight because BLK closes at 2330 aparently so we couldn't go there so it came back to MAN instead. I was one of 5 passengers on the return flight. Aparently the 5 of us missed all the calls to say the flight was cancelled and they were putting us on Newcastle / Leeds flights. We never heard them and the flight was called for boarding and there was nothing to suggest it was cancelled on the screens so something strange went on. Anyway, it ended up better than expected. 5 of us on a 733 in to Manchester and Jet2 paid our taxi's home. I've never been on a flight where you had a choice of 23 rows to sit in! We even had personal service from the Captain keeping us up to date and coming to check on us, showing us some sites. How's that for service! All in all, a very memorable flight.

              Trip report of this mini-adventure will be up soon with some photo's.

              Darren
              Click Here to view my aircraft photos at JetPhotos.Net!

              Comment


              • #8
                Great report! Very detailed and great pictures to boot!
                sigpic
                http://www.jetphotos.net/showphotos.php?userid=170

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