Trip Report:

7/15/12

First Flight From Warsaw-Modlin Airport on WizzAir

WMI-BUD-WMI

Photos & Video Available: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeBiJ...layer_embedded

Hello and welcome to my second trip report which details my experience on the first flight leaving from Warsaw’s second and newest airport. Photos and video of the entire experience can be found on YouTube at the following channel: iKacperLastowiecki, which goes in conjunction with this trip report. This was a really unique experience for me and I’m really excited about sharing it with the world. Therefore, let’s begin!

Flight Details:

WizzAir Flight: 2468
WMI-BUD, Airbus A320
7/15/12
Departure: 18:00 (18:40)
Arrival: 19:20 (19:25)
Seat: 4A

This was the first flight leaving from the recently built Warsaw-Modlin airport. The airport was built on the site of a former military air force base and it was planned to be open prior to the Euro 2012 Soccer Championship. However various delays and setbacks caused the opening day to be planned for July 18th, a few weeks after the close of the tourney. My reason for taking this flight was not however, to be the first person to fly out of Modlin airport. Rather it was to take a three day vacation to Budapest, a city that I have never been to, but had heard many good things about. The fact that I wound up on the first flight was actually a crazy coincidence. Every year I go to Poland with my family to visit grandparents and other relatives. While I enjoy seeing my grandparents, three weeks of sitting around, talking and drinking tea is a bit too much. Therefore, a couple of weeks before I was set to depart to Poland, (Trip report available here: XYZ) I looked around for a cheap flight to get away for a few days. I found a roundtrip fare on WizzAir’s website for around $100, which is actually not that great of a deal, but for me it seemed reasonable to pay that much for the privilege of seeing Budapest. However, when I purchased the ticket, I was set to fly out from Warsaw’s main airport: Warsaw Chopin and return on the first flight to Modlin. That’s why I thought $100 dollars was a reasonable price. However, after a couple of days, I received a couple of calls from WizzAir informing me that both the departure and the arrival will take place at Warsaw-Modlin airport with the departure on the 15th being the first flight out of Modlin. They offered me a full refund, a free exchange, or 125% credit towards a future WizzAir flight. I however, had already booked a hotel, and I really had no problem flying out of Modlin, so I stuck with the ticket I already had.

Modlin Airport is connected by train to Warszawa-Centralna station, but I was driven to the airport by my grandfather, and accompanied by my grandmother, sister and mother. Driving to the airport was actually quite a hassle. It’s pretty far away, and the road is quite bad and clogged by traffic. The trip took about 40min from central Warsaw. Upon arriving at the airport we were greeted by a large crowd of people who had arrived to view the airport and see the first flight arrive and depart. There was only one flight arriving and departing that day, (The WizzAir flight arriving from Budapest, and returning a half hour later) yet the crowd filled the airport more or less to capacity. I was already checked in online, and since I wasn’t checking any luggage, (only a small carry-on for those two days in Budapest would suffice) I walked around and took photos of the terminal. About 45min prior to the scheduled departure, I walked through security where I was greeted by airport staff with Champaign, “Krowki” candy, and a Modlin Airport keychain. The arriving WizzAir flight first flew over the airport and rocked it’s wings back and forth prior to landing. (Consult YouTube video) It landed at about 18:00, and surprisingly enough we were all on board the aircraft with the doors locked at about 18:30. That’s where the captain welcomed us onboard and told us that our flight would be delayed due to a stalled airport vehicle behind the engine, making it dangerous to start the engine for taxi. The vehicle was quickly removed and we taxied to the only runway and took off into a mostly cloudy sky. The flight itself was uneventful: we took off, leveled off at 38,000 feet, had periods of very light turbulence, were offered food and drink for sale by the WizzAir cabin crew, and landed after only 50 or so minutes in the air. We deplaned by air stairs and took a bus to the terminal. With only one carry-on bag with me, it took only 2 minutes from the time the airport bus begun moving for me to find myself on a public bus heading toward downtown Budapest. That is what I call a simple and well designed airport!

My time in Budapest was wonderful. It truly is one of the world’s most underrated cities. I had a great time seeing the sites, taking in the panorama of the city from the Danube, and eating lot’s of paprika. However after three days it was time to return to Poland.

Return Flight:

WizzAir Flight: 2467
BUD-WMI, Airbus A320
7/18/12
Departure: 16:15 (16:20)
Arrival: 17:20 (17:20)
Seat: 10F

I arrived at Franz Liszt Airport on the public 200E bus which was extremely crowded and hot. The airport terminal was more of the same: extremely crowded and with quite weak air conditioning. After passing through security, (Once again I printed out my boarding pass beforehand) the story was completely different. There is a large atrium that houses shops and restaurants between terminals 2A and 2B. It’s clean, airy, and very well designed. Also: Free WiFi! No complaints there. The flight began boarding about an hour prior to takeoff since we had to take the busses out to the aircraft and board by air stairs. Boarding was completed quickly and with little fuss, and we took off on time. The takeoff was quite violent since there was a good deal of wind and heavy cloud cover with multiple layers of thick clouds. In addition the pilot insisted on flying the aircraft manually until the cruising altitude. However, this resulted in a very interesting maneuver: the pilot leveled out the aircraft just below a layer of very thick clouds, flew level at that altitude for some time, all the while speeding up until he pulled the aircraft up and quickly through the clouds. It was a very cool flying maneuver that I’ve never experienced before. The flight went by fast, and soon we were tearing our way through the clouds to land at Modlin. The landing was shaky. The pilot flew the aircraft manually and made three turns on final approach since he couldn’t seem to line up the aircraft with the runway. On one of the turns I saw the runway out through my window and we were very low to the ground at this point. I honestly thought we would have to execute Modlin’s first missed approach-go around. However the aircraft landed with a very strong thud which was followed by strong breaking. After the aircraft stopped on the runway, it had to back taxi to the start of the runway before taxiing to the airport. This to me seemed to be a very bad and inefficient airport design since all the other aircraft have to stay at their parking position until the entire taxiway and runway is clear. I don’t know how that will work when there are weather delays or more traffic volume. We were forced to disembark the aircraft by stairs and then walk across the tarmac to the terminal building. (Thankfully it wasn’t raining) Once inside there were about three aircraft’s full of passengers waiting around at the immobile baggage carousels. In fact, I didn’t see any people outside working on getting the luggage to the terminal. I hope they didn’t have to wait too long. Once I got land-side, there was a huge crowd of people waiting for their families, which far exceeded the space in the tiny terminal. At this point however my trip was over, and my grandpa drove me back home to Warsaw.

Overall I had a wonderful trip. WizzAir got me to Budapest safely and on time for a reasonable fare. The price I paid was well worth the service I received. Modlin airport however leaves a lot to be desired. Even now, with only two airlines offering flights, (WizzAir & RyanAir) it seems to be too small for the passengers it handles. The taxiway situation is ridiculous, and it takes forever to get back to Warsaw. It’s quite inconvenient and features a poorly designed terminal. You do however, get what you pay for, and for the price it seems a decent option. I’m not quite sure the pricing situation will remain the way it is, and I doubt I will ever again fly out of Modlin. This time however, it was a unique opportunity for a new experience, and I’m glad I took this flight.