I am copying my trip report,posted on another forum,for your delight and,no doubt,dissection.
"Check-in for an FR flight at BHX is traditionally a nightmare – our check-in in June took 70 minutes for 165 PAX with only one desk open.So we arrived early for our flight FR9163 to GRO last week and to our delight there were 3 desks open, non destination specific, and we were through in 5 minutes.
Then BHX terminal 2 Security - what a joke, twenty minutes to get through with one X-Ray machine working and about 12 staff behind it!
However BHXT2 is well served for outlets so, having bought our Boots £3.49 lunch pack to take on board, we settled down at Wetherspoons.
Departures board then shows 15 minute delay, immediately countermanded by gate staff shouting “Girona flight,Priority Boarding” As usual at BHX they get departing PAX down the passages to the air-bridge before the incoming arrives, and this was the case as the “delayed” Reus flight had caught up, and landed pretty well on time.
We were the fifth group of PB PAX and as there was some delay with an slow walking person struggling up the front steps we boarded the rear steps and were in our favourite seats (trade secret, but better legroom than Club Europe) before she appeared up front.
Good safety briefing, and good information from the Captain, as is always the case with BHX based aircraft. On GRO based aircraft the opposite is the norm-are they dumb or shy up front?
Trolly sales seemed to be mainly hot drinks-not much food or booze appeared to be sold as many PAX had brought their own. The usual smokeless cigarettes and scratch cards were offered but on neither leg did I see any purchases.
Smooth flight, landed on time to the Ryanair on time tootle fanfare.GRO is dominated by FR (for the moment but MOL is threatening to move to BCN#) and the handling is efficient, and inspite of 4 aircraft in, we had our luggage in 15 minutes.
After 8 glorious warm days the weather broke throughout Iberia on the last day with many storms so we set out early, aquaplaning on the autopista, to check-in for our return flight FR9162 GRO/BHX.As usual there our check-in (and security) were a doddle - 5 check-in gates open, non destination specific and four X-Ray queues at Security. We were through the lot in 8 minutes.
UK take note.
We noticed that the FR Stanstead flight was just departing, an hour late and the next flights before ours were FR internal flights (Malaga,Palma and
Seville).
At GRO,they announce the gate an hour before departure which does mean a lot of queuing and this was made worse for our flight by an announcement of a 30 minute delay and the gate allocation of number 2 - the only gate that does not have the split queue of PB and nonPB.So a queue starts at 19.50 for a flight not expecting to board till 21.15 at the earliest.
In the meantime the skies darken and rain and lightening starts. Aircraft in unusual liveries for GRO start to land with no PAX disembarking - Easyjet,Vieuling,Air Berlin etc and a further announcement is made that our incoming from BHX is 75 minutes late. It eventually arrives and the bedraggled and ill dressed PAX disembark wading the 200m from the aircraft-
Welcome to Sunny Spain.
By this time the boarding staff have announced “Priority Boarding Only” to looks of thunder from those at the front of the queue watching us who have been sitting in the cafe, in the know, waiting for the signal to stride to the front.A quick sprint in the rain, tiny brolly’s up, and we were third to board and into our “usual” seats.
It was a full aircraft and the FA’s really did work hard to get everyone out of the rain and boarded.
Captain then apologises for the delay-“we have had a terrible week as the French ATC have been playing up, and that combined with the storms and all these diverted aircraft has caused the delays-I have a takeoff slot in 25 minutes and will get you out of here at best speed then”As he predicted he started engines and we made our way the runway for take off to the North-and we waited, and waited with all the sky around us lit by lightening and the rain bounced off the wings. A few PAX had white faces and a few held their heads in their hands but eventually we took off & although I am no expert I felt he had full power, with no noise abatement, till we cleared the thunder tops. Surprisingly little turbulence but loads of lightening all around.
At a cruise of 38,000ft there was the usual trolley service (suspended briefly for some CAT) which was cheerful and efficient from again a BHX crew.A delighted Captain came on to say how pleased he was to be on his way home, and with an unexpected tail wind, our flight was 10 minutes shorter than normal.
Cold and dry in Birmingham and as the aircraft was parked for the night we were bussed to Arrivals and again, unusually for BHXT2, there were 3 Border desks open for a quick(ish) passport check and an unusually short wait for luggage.(30+minutes average for us at T2)
We paid for our tickets in March, £97 return each to include hold luggage and PB, HALF of what we would have paid 8 years ago on BA-BHX/BCN.
FR has many detractors and many fans.However they are a highly succesful business model and are very profitable although the pathetic headline grabbing spouting that comes from MOL does,in my opinion, detract from the good work of the employees.
For my part it an airline of necessity as it is the only one that flies from my local airport to where I want to go to.
Follow their rules -hand luggage/hold luggage weights and sizes, pay for PB if you desire and check in on line and at the airport on time.
If you don’t want to pay their F&B prices, or as we do, don’t want to wait for it to get to us, then take your own on board."
# I see an earlier posting has picked up on this
SSF