Jet2 Airbus A330 Manchester-Tenerife South

Jet2 / AirTanker A330-200, G-VYGL

Background

I’m a big fan of Jet2 for its consistently strong service and the ability to pre-order a hot meal - something that really makes a difference on longer flights. They often take me to the glorious Canary Islands, and long-time readers will know I head there whenever I can.

So, with a rare spare weekend and one item ticked off the ever-growing “to do” list, I set about trying one of Jet2’s leased-in Airbus A330s on a flight to Tenerife.

Jet2 regularly leases wide-body Airbus A330 aircraft to support high-demand leisure routes, particularly to destinations such as Tenerife, Lanzarote and Palma. What began as ad-hoc summer leasing has evolved into a more established seasonal strategy, with multiple A330s operating during peak summer periods. Both the A330-200 and A330-300 variants have been used at various times depending on availability and leasing partners.

Today’s aircraft, registration G-VYGL, is operated by AirTanker Services, the provider of the Airbus A330 Voyager fleet used by the Royal Air Force for air-to-air refuelling and strategic transport. The fleet is primarily based at RAF Brize Norton, with aircraft also deployed globally as required.

For civilian operations, these aircraft are configured without their military refuelling role and operate in a standard passenger layout.

The arrangement between Jet2 and AirTanker is primarily an ACMI (wet lease). In practice, it resembles a damp lease, with AirTanker supplying the aircraft, pilots, maintenance and insurance, while Jet2 provides the cabin crew and onboard service.

So, back to today's flight and I have my boarding pass in hand.

My boarding pass and the aircraft being brought onto stand at Manchester Terminal 2

Check In

This is where I sigh.  I entered the queue to check in my bag but for an unknown reason I was then passed to a queue across the other side of the check in area, in a different roped off section.  Then was asked "why are you here..you need to be over there"..thus ensued a heated discussion between Jet2 staff.

Once I reached the hideously over engineered and overly complicated check in machines, a helpful chap did actually sort out my luggage label at the crazy machine.  I fly at least 100 sectors a year and can attest that Jet2's automated luggage label system is truly terrible.  It takes more staff to help passengers than it would if they just went back to checking in luggage with humans.  Make sense of that!

Then, when I finally got to the bag drop I was scorned for not laying my bag on its side.  

I have, over the years, been told that Manchester Airport staff are just demonstrating typical Lancashire hospitality.  But I know that Jet2 can be better than this.  Today it was ghastly.

To be honest though, a former Jet2 CEO himself had a pop at them a few years ago.  Put this down to it being Manchester Airport.  It's just a place where passengers and staff get angry.

The Lounge

Well that's simple..I tried to book one but they were all full.  All part of the Manchester Airport experience sadly.

Boarding

This was exceptionally well managed.  Jet2 boards by group number, similar to BA and others.  Groups A and D were called forward and being a large aircraft I was dreading everyone just surging forward at the same time.  Credit to the boarding agent though, he wasn't having any of it.  Anyone not in Groups A and D were told to stand to the side.  There's no point having boarding groups if they're not enforced.  We did have to stand on the stairs ala Ryanair style for about 20 minutes - not sure why as the aircraft was brought onto stand over an hour before departure.  

On entering the aircraft I cheerfully said hello to the flight attendant manning the door.  I got a stony grimace faced response.  Likewise the girl stood manning the jump seat opposite - I said hello, but again, just a grumpy sour look back.  Very unlike Jet2 it has to be said and is it really that difficult to be nice?  

All told though, I was sat in my exit row seat of 10H soon enough, with simply the best legroom you'll ever get on low cost (or indeed many business class cabins).  The one pitfall though, you do get people congregating around the toilet cubicle, so you will get someone's backside in your face from time to time.  

My seat 10H and the forward cabin of the A330-200, and the pitfalls of having an exit row seat!

Food and Drink

Shortly after take-off, the crew announced that pre-ordered meals would be served first, followed by the standard onboard hot food service. It’s worth noting that Jet2 offers a much broader menu when you pre-order compared to what’s available onboard.

I always order in advance - mainly for the meal deal. At £10.50, it includes a hot main, a dessert, and a tea, coffee or water, which is solid value. On this occasion, I went for the Beef Casserole, one of my usual Jet2 favourites.

I then waited… watching the hot food trolley make its way down the cabin. And waited a bit longer.

By the time the drinks service reached me, I asked about my pre-ordered meal. It did eventually arrive - but noticeably later than expected, which is unusual given Jet2’s typically excellent service.

The Jet2 Beef Casserole..which turned up, eventually

The Flight

The Captain warned us early on that strong headwinds would extend the flight time - and he wasn’t wrong. What would typically take around 4 hours 30 minutes stretched out to a rather lengthy 5 hours and 9 minutes. I’ve done this route in just over 4 hours before, but of course, there’s not much Jet2 - or the A330 - can do about the weather. Not that I mind too much… I enjoy flying!

The rest of the journey passed without incident, and notably, there was no Jess Glynne soundtrack - something I suspect AirTanker may have quietly vetoed (and quite right too).

One slightly odd moment came during the announcements, when passengers were told not to cross the aisle at rows 1 or 10. It didn’t appear to be enforced, but it struck me as an unusual rule - I’ve flown on plenty of wide-bodies over the years and never heard that one before.

That said, it reminded me of an equally bizarre announcement I once heard on a TUI Airways 767: “please don’t sleep on the floor.” Aviation certainly has its quirks!

Verdict

Make no mistake, having a spacious wide body on a short to medium haul route is a quirky bonus.  But it's not without its flaws.  This was far from Jet2's usual polished service which underlines my belief that low cost short haul airlines shouldn't fly wide-body aircraft, end of story.  You just can't get the service right.

The Manchester Airport experience gets you off to a bad start to begin with and the Jet2 crew today, whilst most were very pleasant, this was the first time I've come across two really glum crew members and typically of course they were allocated to row 10 where my seat was.

Regarding the A330 itself, my experience with wide bodies on short/medium routes has always been less than stellar whether that be trying to fly Berlin to Athens on Scoot's 787, BA's former 777's from Heathrow to Madrid, or, as we saw more recently, my dire experience on the now retired TUI 767 from Gran Canaria to Manchester.  Jet2 was no exception: 

Roomy? Yes  

Novelty value?  10/10

Up to the usual Jet2 standard? Definitely not

Sadly, long range airliners and shorter routes are not natural bedfellows in Europe.  Japan Airlines does it well on domestic pan-Asia routes, but not here for some reason.  

Airlines often see economies of scale with larger aircraft ie get 327 people onto a big plane, charge the same as a smaller airliner, but benefit from one set of crew, one aircraft to maintain and so forth.  Jet2, like any other airlines with both short and long haul aircraft, would argue that the crew-to-passenger ratio is the same as any of their smaller A321 or 737 aircraft, in fact it's mandated by law.  But it just isn't as simple as that.  

For me, trying the A330 was something that had been on the 'to do' list for a while.  I'm glad I tried it and I'd do it again - but set your expectations accordingly.  This isn't the same polished Jet2 service you'll receive on their beautiful new A321's or their 737's.

Flight Facts

Aircraft Type:  Airbus A330-200

Flight Duration: 5 hours and 9 minutes

Price: £176 inc meal, extra legroom seat and checked bag

Seat Configuration: 2 x 4 x 2