Easy's first A319
 

Was lucky enough to get a good look at easyJet Switzerland's first, brand spanking new Airbus A319 today!!

It had flown in from GVA to LGW to pick up some 'VIPs' to take them to GVA to show off the new plane!! The plane was gorgeous, nice and clean and fresh - very sparkly, still with the plastic covers on the carpet in the aisles!! The crew (cabin and the 2 Captains who were flying it) were very accommodating as I sneaked on board to take a glimpse and wander around on the tarmac!!

Can't wait to see more of these - very nice planes, and a wise decision by easyJet!

Alpha - before this gets moved -- can you update your profile please? What's a student from London doing wandering around on planes airside at LGW?!

THANKYOU!
 

Alpha Charlie!

Was one of the said "VIP"s - well not really, blagged a jolly to GVA and back. Have to say, for an aircraft packed with 156 seats it seems really spacious with a v.wide aisle. Funny smelling a new aircraft too, just like a car! Not sure what it will look like after a few flights with punters in though!!

Did you see the touchscreen for controlling the aircon and lighting etc? Very snazzy, the cabin crew certainly seemed to like the aircraft so thats a good plus.

I'm sure it will perform well, the wide aisle in particular helping when the mad rush for seats takes place on the EZY/EZS flights! Means you dont have to squeeze past people.

Interiour aside, the 319 seemed like a dream to fly as we took a tour of the Alps well beneath the summit of Mont Blanc. Then on to the Matterhorn and Grand Dixence dam etc. Wish I'd taken the bl**dy camera now! Some of the best flying I've seen/experienced too...I'm sure the pilot used to fly Swiss F-5s along the same routes previously!

So a BIG word of thanks to the crew on board EZS9002 today for what had to be my best flight so far! Pulling G in an Airbus A319 was quite an experience as we did a 360° around a mountain lookout!

Thanks again
NC

Why did EZY management choose to fit 156 seats into the 319s? The last six seats cost them an extra c/a.

One should think taht it would be more costefficient only to fit 150 seats (just my thoughts, dont want to start a EZY/LC bashing thread)

FS

Dogma,
If you're having to build a certain number of hours on a new aircraft before it enters revenue service (i.e. carry people who will complain if it breaks down) then whats the problem with taking it somewhere nice? I think I'd rather take a look at the Matterhorn from 1000ft than do circuits and bumps at East Midlands or cruise 20,000ft above the North Sea for a while... seeing as the aircraft was positioning to Geneva anyway whats the problem.

From your attitude towards the subject I get the impression you only fly for the money (or the uniform) and not the sheer enjoyment of it. If thats the case, Virgin Trains will pay you a packet for driving trains from London-Scotland so you might as well jack in flying...

ZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!

I love flying, enjoy yourself. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzz

P.S What happened to my posts! :mad:

....and there was another sparkling new EasyJet A319 sitting out in the sunshine at Finkenwerder today, ready for delivery :ok:

Flap Sup:

I believe that the legislation on CA numbers is 1 per 50, or part thereof, passengers carried.
If only 150 seats are occupied, only 3 CA's are needed. If EZY were to carry 150 on every Airbus flight, they would have a load factor of 96%. The publicly stated load factor each year is some way below that, nearer to 80%. Therfore there are going to be very few flights that actually need the 4th CA. Should one be needed ever, I believe an airport standby CA will be utilised.

Sorry Morrocco but you are wrong. It is one Cabin Crew member per 50 seats. So this means they will always have to carry four Cabin Crew. Even if they only have 1 pax.

Tower you are correct, but perhaps they can just take a few seats out and use them as spares.

Did the Swiss FOCA not approve the use of three cabin crew when under 150?

Hmmm.. I'm not sure about this c/c required thing.

When I went on MYT Lite from BHX to BVA the aircraft had just arrived on stand from ALC (packed full) and then proceeded to do our flight with the same crew, with about 50-60% load.

One cabin crew member, however, got off and went home. I can't remember whether that left us with three or four though, four I think.

I doubt MYT would fly an aircraft with more than legal minimum cabin crew on any sector, so why was the extra crew member needed for the previous (fuller) flight if the regs are only about number of seats?

Under current JAA/CAA rules it is 1 CC per 50 seats - whether or not there are bums on them.

Likewise under the same rules, it is possible to get 'one off' approvals to carry less than the legal minimum. This is normally for 1 flight only and requires a bucket load of paperwork to go with it - both before and after the flight

It's laid down in JAR OPS.

no sig,

It looked like the FOCA were going to approve this, but last minute change of heart.

Main argument for 3 on the eJ A319 is that it has the extra 2 exits (for just the additional 6 seats) and the self-help exit capability now beats pretty much any other aircraft on the market, given fuselage lenth, distance from exits, etc.

Perhaps, as a minimum option, eJ could gain agreement to "lock out" 1 row of seats as unusable (perhaps with tech log 'downgrade' entry?) and fly it as a 150 seater, but 'unlock' these seats on certain chosen sectors.

In any of these configurations the exit capability still beats 737-700 with 149 seats, A320 with same number of exits and 180 seats, etc.

In trim


p.s. Very nice aircraft, and that nice wide aisle should help with boarding and disembarking on those quick turnrounds. :ok:

And the second aircraft is at LTN now and just about to go off on a company jolly. HBJZB.

And, interestingly enough, it went tech in GVA earlier today. I was on it a few hours ago, lots of room in the flight deck, especially compared to the 737, and a little more spacious inside. due to the wider aisle. I'll miss "squeezing" past the flight attendants on turnarounds, which is what makes the 737 such fun!
I have always been pro Boeing but this aircraft looks great, and I may have been converted................................................... ......!!!!:ok:

Saw HB JZB in the hangar yesterday. Took off around lunchtime looking great in EZY/S colours.

Anyone know when the first commercial flight is?

Easy (Top Swiss) A319 at Gatwick again yesterday.

It was fully ready to go but the flight plan had been submitted as a B737. ATC wouldn't let it go until a new flight plan with the correct type had been filed!

:O

It happened 2 days ago.