Vision Airlines experience
Jun 4, 2011 | 10:32 pm
#1
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Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: New York
Posts: 7,983
Vision Airlines experience
Vision Airlines Experience
A sunny day at Fort Lauderdale
V2 664 FLL-VPS Lv1330 Arr1405 Boeing 737-400 N743VA
Full album link:
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...8QbNHDNy5bqTYg
Just a short report on an interesting experience on a new airline based in Fort Walton Beach/Northwest Florida Regional airport! Vision Airlines have transited from a charter airline to a scheduled airline with a base at VPS. Yes it claims to fly to Destin/Fort Walton beach, but in reality, it flies to Northwest Florida Regional airport! Dont go to the wrong airport! In some way, the scheduled operation seems to start off from a bad note a confusion on which airport Vision airlines indeed flies from. I am a bit hesistate to call it low cost airline, as it offers a complimentary on board service of non-alcoholic beverages and snacks, but then it charges for luggage and operates a bare bone operation from out station. Staffs at VPS are more properly dressed, but at out station, staffs are a bit laid back and have a very simple operation. I read about it at airliners.net and after reading a couple reports, I feel like that I should grab a flight before it reduces to its previous charter operation. Its business plan is a bit shaky. I have originally planned to fly its new Las Vegas flight and the fare is a low $69, but I missed the deadline so I stuck with a simple Fort Lauderdale to VPS flight then. It is a short distance flight and I can easily find back up flights back to NYC in case of anything happening to the airline. To be honest, the flight itself is alright, but of course things are a bit on the bare bone side forget about inflight magazine or entertainment system. For a 75 minutes flight, it is fine. The loading on various flights based on my observation was fairly good not sure it is a break even load, but seems healthy. Its passenger mix is a bit interesting but there are a number of local residents at Fort Walton Beach, who appreciate all these services.
Booking:
I booked the ticket through its website, which was fairly to navigate. I was able to get a seat assignment (exit row I got too with no charge), as well as prepaid for one piece of checked bag. I received an e-ticket through my email, shortly after completing the purchase. I really have no complaint here. The website is simple, but good enough for a startup airline. The ticket price is $124.50 including the $15 bag fee. Not dirt cheap, but acceptable!
Check-in:
I arrived at the airport about two hours prior to arrival, and it was easy to locate Vision Airlines counters, despite our flight to VPS was not listed on the departure board. I was able to find the counter, as signs were clear outside and inside of the airport. It basically uses Terminal One Concourse B and its check-in counters are next to Allegiant. The check-in line was rather busy because only one agent was working, and she had to coordinate information from headquarter. During my check-in, the agent was friendly but was also on the phone with the office getting load number from the inbound flight from VPS and our outbound flight, and confirming its flight status. I found out we had 96 passengers. The agent was efficient and friendly, despite busy. She was in a good spirit and thanked me for the business. I was surprised to see a real Vision Airlines baggage tag used on my check-in bag. I was also thankful that I prepaid one pieces of check-in bag.
Concourse B was basically Southwest/Frontier/Continental/Vision Airlines concourse, and was fairly busy, but security line was organized and I was through within ten minutes. I wanted to buy lunch and waited for the plane to arrive and to take some pictures. The inbound flight was running a bit late and parked at gate B8 at 12:44pm.
N743VA arriving at the FLL gate
A lovely Boeing 737-400
There was this annoying thing the flight was not displayed at the flight information screen and even the gate B8 did not have a Vision Airlines sign. I think Vision Airlines should at least put up some temporary sign. The boarding experience was the typical affair family and wheelchair first, and then board by rows strictly enforced. The staffs were average, but I was really annoyed that they could not even get the flight number right and the destination right. This flight flied nonstop to Fort Walton Beach and then onto St Louis, while the agent announced the flight to Louisville and Fort Walton Beach. There was a little confusion, but most passengers seemed to be rather seasonal and familiar with this unprofessional boarding act. However Vision Airlines needs to hire better ground agents or makes sure FLL airport authority works on the proper sign and computer display. Boarding began at 1:07pm, and I was on the second group.
A sunny day at Fort Lauderdale
V2 664 FLL-VPS Lv1330 Arr1405 Boeing 737-400 N743VA
Full album link:
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...8QbNHDNy5bqTYg
Just a short report on an interesting experience on a new airline based in Fort Walton Beach/Northwest Florida Regional airport! Vision Airlines have transited from a charter airline to a scheduled airline with a base at VPS. Yes it claims to fly to Destin/Fort Walton beach, but in reality, it flies to Northwest Florida Regional airport! Dont go to the wrong airport! In some way, the scheduled operation seems to start off from a bad note a confusion on which airport Vision airlines indeed flies from. I am a bit hesistate to call it low cost airline, as it offers a complimentary on board service of non-alcoholic beverages and snacks, but then it charges for luggage and operates a bare bone operation from out station. Staffs at VPS are more properly dressed, but at out station, staffs are a bit laid back and have a very simple operation. I read about it at airliners.net and after reading a couple reports, I feel like that I should grab a flight before it reduces to its previous charter operation. Its business plan is a bit shaky. I have originally planned to fly its new Las Vegas flight and the fare is a low $69, but I missed the deadline so I stuck with a simple Fort Lauderdale to VPS flight then. It is a short distance flight and I can easily find back up flights back to NYC in case of anything happening to the airline. To be honest, the flight itself is alright, but of course things are a bit on the bare bone side forget about inflight magazine or entertainment system. For a 75 minutes flight, it is fine. The loading on various flights based on my observation was fairly good not sure it is a break even load, but seems healthy. Its passenger mix is a bit interesting but there are a number of local residents at Fort Walton Beach, who appreciate all these services.
Booking:
I booked the ticket through its website, which was fairly to navigate. I was able to get a seat assignment (exit row I got too with no charge), as well as prepaid for one piece of checked bag. I received an e-ticket through my email, shortly after completing the purchase. I really have no complaint here. The website is simple, but good enough for a startup airline. The ticket price is $124.50 including the $15 bag fee. Not dirt cheap, but acceptable!
Check-in:
I arrived at the airport about two hours prior to arrival, and it was easy to locate Vision Airlines counters, despite our flight to VPS was not listed on the departure board. I was able to find the counter, as signs were clear outside and inside of the airport. It basically uses Terminal One Concourse B and its check-in counters are next to Allegiant. The check-in line was rather busy because only one agent was working, and she had to coordinate information from headquarter. During my check-in, the agent was friendly but was also on the phone with the office getting load number from the inbound flight from VPS and our outbound flight, and confirming its flight status. I found out we had 96 passengers. The agent was efficient and friendly, despite busy. She was in a good spirit and thanked me for the business. I was surprised to see a real Vision Airlines baggage tag used on my check-in bag. I was also thankful that I prepaid one pieces of check-in bag.
Concourse B was basically Southwest/Frontier/Continental/Vision Airlines concourse, and was fairly busy, but security line was organized and I was through within ten minutes. I wanted to buy lunch and waited for the plane to arrive and to take some pictures. The inbound flight was running a bit late and parked at gate B8 at 12:44pm.
N743VA arriving at the FLL gate
A lovely Boeing 737-400
There was this annoying thing the flight was not displayed at the flight information screen and even the gate B8 did not have a Vision Airlines sign. I think Vision Airlines should at least put up some temporary sign. The boarding experience was the typical affair family and wheelchair first, and then board by rows strictly enforced. The staffs were average, but I was really annoyed that they could not even get the flight number right and the destination right. This flight flied nonstop to Fort Walton Beach and then onto St Louis, while the agent announced the flight to Louisville and Fort Walton Beach. There was a little confusion, but most passengers seemed to be rather seasonal and familiar with this unprofessional boarding act. However Vision Airlines needs to hire better ground agents or makes sure FLL airport authority works on the proper sign and computer display. Boarding began at 1:07pm, and I was on the second group.
Jun 4, 2011 | 10:33 pm
#2
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Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: New York
Posts: 7,983
My first impression of the plane was the rather dated interior and the lines of blue synthetic seats. This particular plane N743VA was a 1991 model made for Air Belgium (not sure if it is here anymore) and then Air Berlin used it before transferring to storage at Brazil. I have a feeling that the interior of the planes might be different on each aircraft.
This cabin was rather dated, but in clean condition. Everything looks a bit charter like, but the seat pitch looks okay. The seat itself is simple and not much lumbar support. It was a mono-class operation and seat pitch seems to vary a bit. Row 1 and exit rows Row 13 and 14 are the best rows with the most legroom.
Bulkhead row (Row 1DEF)
Exit Row
Close up of seat
This cabin was rather dated, but in clean condition. Everything looks a bit charter like, but the seat pitch looks okay. The seat itself is simple and not much lumbar support. It was a mono-class operation and seat pitch seems to vary a bit. Row 1 and exit rows Row 13 and 14 are the best rows with the most legroom.
Bulkhead row (Row 1DEF)
Exit Row
Close up of seat
Jun 4, 2011 | 10:36 pm
#3
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Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: New York
Posts: 7,983
The flight attendant was there but not really there. There was no greeting and they were busy preparing the galley. There were four flight attendants, but only one of them was busy helping with bags. There was no announcement to ask passengers to step in the aisle first. Of course, the classic interior with a small overhead bin is a bit problematic.
Not to mention that lots of the overhead bins in parts of the aircraft are reserved for crew and emergency equipment, as there was no closet and you can see it from the pictures. The boarding was a bit slow despite a load of 96 passengers. Vision Airlines also concentrates the bunk of passengers in the aft and front part of the plane. The fun part was the lack of space when the passengers in Row 1 to 10 boarded. Honestly, passengers on todays flight were not the carry on heavy bags and no one was trying to carry their kitchen sink on the plane. There were obviously some seasoned passengers who took advantage of the $15 prepaid bag fee and checked in the bags, and the baggage delivery time at VPS was also quick.
The crowd finally settled down at 1:30pm and we pushed back at 1:35pm. Flying time was an hour and ten minutes with a cruising attitude of 34,000feet, and climbed to 36,000feet for ten minutes. We took off from R/W13 at 1:45pm.
View shortly after takeoff
Cabin Service:
There is a full beverage and snack service. Shortly after the F/As were released from the seat, two F/As passed around a basket filled with Famous Amos chocolate chip cookies and Rold Gold pretzels pretty good-sized bags. Then there was the typical beverage trolley complimentary water/tea/coffee/assorted juices/sodas and beers, wines and liqueurs were sold for $5 only credit cards were accepted.
There was no in-flight entertainment and full sized inflight magazines.
Here is the generic safety card:
And then here are some coupons for use at Fort Walton Beach:
Descent:
Descent soon began at 2:21pm and seat belt sign was turned on at 2:39pm. We landed on R/W19 at 1:55pm and VPS was in central time. The runway was quite far away from the passenger terminal, as VPS was a joint airport with Elgin Air Force Base. We parked at gate B3 at 2:02pm. The arrival experience was a bit more professional and there were number of Vision Airlines uniformed staffs greeting us and answering questions. However the uniform was a bit old school and a more casual attire to give a younger and more energetic appearance.
Not to mention that lots of the overhead bins in parts of the aircraft are reserved for crew and emergency equipment, as there was no closet and you can see it from the pictures. The boarding was a bit slow despite a load of 96 passengers. Vision Airlines also concentrates the bunk of passengers in the aft and front part of the plane. The fun part was the lack of space when the passengers in Row 1 to 10 boarded. Honestly, passengers on todays flight were not the carry on heavy bags and no one was trying to carry their kitchen sink on the plane. There were obviously some seasoned passengers who took advantage of the $15 prepaid bag fee and checked in the bags, and the baggage delivery time at VPS was also quick.
The crowd finally settled down at 1:30pm and we pushed back at 1:35pm. Flying time was an hour and ten minutes with a cruising attitude of 34,000feet, and climbed to 36,000feet for ten minutes. We took off from R/W13 at 1:45pm.
View shortly after takeoff
Cabin Service:
There is a full beverage and snack service. Shortly after the F/As were released from the seat, two F/As passed around a basket filled with Famous Amos chocolate chip cookies and Rold Gold pretzels pretty good-sized bags. Then there was the typical beverage trolley complimentary water/tea/coffee/assorted juices/sodas and beers, wines and liqueurs were sold for $5 only credit cards were accepted.
There was no in-flight entertainment and full sized inflight magazines.
Here is the generic safety card:
And then here are some coupons for use at Fort Walton Beach:
Descent:
Descent soon began at 2:21pm and seat belt sign was turned on at 2:39pm. We landed on R/W19 at 1:55pm and VPS was in central time. The runway was quite far away from the passenger terminal, as VPS was a joint airport with Elgin Air Force Base. We parked at gate B3 at 2:02pm. The arrival experience was a bit more professional and there were number of Vision Airlines uniformed staffs greeting us and answering questions. However the uniform was a bit old school and a more casual attire to give a younger and more energetic appearance.
Jun 4, 2011 | 10:37 pm
#4
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Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: New York
Posts: 7,983
Fort Walton Beach/Northwest Florida Regional Airport Terminal view
The airport was very compact, and here is the baggage claim:
Bags came out eleven minutes after we parked at gate an impressive achievement! By the time I finished using the restroom and walked towards the baggage claim, my bag was already out.
Here are couple pictures of the airport and various planes I spotted throughout the day!
Lots of air force planes in display and here is one of them:
Vision Airlines main check-in area:
Delta, US Airways Express, Continental Express and American Eagles all operate flights into VPS, but Delta seems to have the largest operation, as it occupies two jetway-equipped gates for its regional jets there were a good number of CRJ-700s and -900s. All other airlines use the commuter gate (A gates). Vision Airlines uses A gates for its Dornier 328 flights, and B3 for its Boeing 737 flight. The A gates can accommodate Boeing 737 too, but I presume Vision Airlines prefers to use the jetway-equipped gate. There are some expansion going on and if Vision Airlines survives, I presume there will be one or two more jetways to be fitted.
Vision Airlines Sole gate B3
The list of Vision Airlines flights on Friday
Departure Board
Arrival Board
The airport was very compact, and here is the baggage claim:
Bags came out eleven minutes after we parked at gate an impressive achievement! By the time I finished using the restroom and walked towards the baggage claim, my bag was already out.
Here are couple pictures of the airport and various planes I spotted throughout the day!
Lots of air force planes in display and here is one of them:
Vision Airlines main check-in area:
Delta, US Airways Express, Continental Express and American Eagles all operate flights into VPS, but Delta seems to have the largest operation, as it occupies two jetway-equipped gates for its regional jets there were a good number of CRJ-700s and -900s. All other airlines use the commuter gate (A gates). Vision Airlines uses A gates for its Dornier 328 flights, and B3 for its Boeing 737 flight. The A gates can accommodate Boeing 737 too, but I presume Vision Airlines prefers to use the jetway-equipped gate. There are some expansion going on and if Vision Airlines survives, I presume there will be one or two more jetways to be fitted.
Vision Airlines Sole gate B3
The list of Vision Airlines flights on Friday
Departure Board
Arrival Board
Jun 4, 2011 | 10:40 pm
#5
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Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: New York
Posts: 7,983
Vision Airlines advertisement board
US Airways Express CRJ to Charlotte
Delta Connections CRJ-900 to Atlanta N132EV
N743VA pushing back and heading to St Louis
Vision Airlines Dornier 328 Turboprop N330MX to Atlanta maybe I should fly Vision Airlines to get the Dornier 328 Turboprop!
US Airways Express CRJ to Charlotte
Delta Connections CRJ-900 to Atlanta N132EV
N743VA pushing back and heading to St Louis
Vision Airlines Dornier 328 Turboprop N330MX to Atlanta maybe I should fly Vision Airlines to get the Dornier 328 Turboprop!
Jun 4, 2011 | 10:41 pm
#6
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Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: New York
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Another Vision Airlines Boeing 737-400 N745VA arriving from Knoxville
N745VA pushing back from gate for a photo op on the tarmac
In conclusion, the flights looked fairly full especially those Dornier 328 flights from Orlando/Sanford or Tampa Clearwater, and Louisville. The business plan still looks a bit concerning and my honest opinion is that they really need a younger and more energetic image. Fort Walton Beach looks very conservative (Two out of three TVs were playing FOX News) and has a military background. People are more conservative, but the image is still a bit stuffy and the uniform red and black look rather dated. Some new image helps will be good keep it simple and bring some energy to it. The flight attendants are a mix of old timers and newly hired, and there were certain disconnections here. The cabin service was good with complimentary beverage and snack, but the boarding should be more organized and the F/As could give some help. Turnaround time is short and F/As need to talk a more active part. Yelling at the microphone is no help. The bins are small and it is not the passengers fault. I felt that the F/As need some training in customer service and needs to smile more. The older F/As are friendlier but the new F/As looked lost and not sure what to do! However Vision Airlines really needs to correct its promotional material you are not flying to Destin, but Northwest Florida Regional. Anyway, I wish them luck and I am glad I did a flight. I would try to see if I can do a Dornier 328 flight before end of summer.
Thanks for reading,
Carfield
N745VA pushing back from gate for a photo op on the tarmac
In conclusion, the flights looked fairly full especially those Dornier 328 flights from Orlando/Sanford or Tampa Clearwater, and Louisville. The business plan still looks a bit concerning and my honest opinion is that they really need a younger and more energetic image. Fort Walton Beach looks very conservative (Two out of three TVs were playing FOX News) and has a military background. People are more conservative, but the image is still a bit stuffy and the uniform red and black look rather dated. Some new image helps will be good keep it simple and bring some energy to it. The flight attendants are a mix of old timers and newly hired, and there were certain disconnections here. The cabin service was good with complimentary beverage and snack, but the boarding should be more organized and the F/As could give some help. Turnaround time is short and F/As need to talk a more active part. Yelling at the microphone is no help. The bins are small and it is not the passengers fault. I felt that the F/As need some training in customer service and needs to smile more. The older F/As are friendlier but the new F/As looked lost and not sure what to do! However Vision Airlines really needs to correct its promotional material you are not flying to Destin, but Northwest Florida Regional. Anyway, I wish them luck and I am glad I did a flight. I would try to see if I can do a Dornier 328 flight before end of summer.
Thanks for reading,
Carfield
Jun 6, 2011 | 1:42 pm
#7
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Wow!!!! What a fabulous TR & photos, too!!!! I'm glad you had a great flight FLL-VPS. I didn't realize know that you went to FLL. Next time if you want to check it out at DL terminals 2. You probably know FLL was too extremely overcrowded who came from cruises ship for everyday. There is more than 6 or 7 cruises ship came at Port Everglades.
You didn't check it out constructions doing at entire T3 & T4 connectors. Next time if you want go back to FLL in a distant the future. Hope you will enjoying to spent the time in FLL.
You didn't check it out constructions doing at entire T3 & T4 connectors. Next time if you want go back to FLL in a distant the future. Hope you will enjoying to spent the time in FLL.
Jun 6, 2011 | 3:55 pm
#8
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Great report, as always.
I first heard of this airline when they were chartered to take the group of Russian spies to Vienna for their handover.
Interesting story with these guys.
See, e.g.: http://www.aolnews.com/2010/07/09/qu...sion-airlines/
I first heard of this airline when they were chartered to take the group of Russian spies to Vienna for their handover.
Interesting story with these guys.
See, e.g.: http://www.aolnews.com/2010/07/09/qu...sion-airlines/
Dec 15, 2011 | 3:32 pm
#9
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Well, so much for their VPS service, I guess...
Vision Airlines is down to just several flights per week from VPS to ATL with continuing service to SDF via a Dornier 328 turboprop.
Perhaps they will resume all the flights they formally had from VPS this coming summer; however, I see no mention of this on their website.
We had Dornier 328 service LFT-VPS operated by Vision for a month or two last summer but it was abruptly terminated.
Vision Airlines is down to just several flights per week from VPS to ATL with continuing service to SDF via a Dornier 328 turboprop.
Perhaps they will resume all the flights they formally had from VPS this coming summer; however, I see no mention of this on their website.
We had Dornier 328 service LFT-VPS operated by Vision for a month or two last summer but it was abruptly terminated.