Flying a Bizzjet
- KGO
- Jun 23, 2018
- 6 min read
Updated: Jan 7, 2020
22/06/2018
Zurich - Brussels
AHO891W Embraer Phenom 300
14:30 - 15:32 / 1hr02 flight time
no seat assignment, but the whole plane to myself
Today I was lucky to fly an empty leg on Air Hamburg's Embraer Phenom 300, this company is a private company and has a floating fleet meaning their planes are constantly flying from one destination to another. As they don't leave their plane parked for a week at the same airport or simply because their client only need a one way flight. Today's flight was on D-CASH and flew from Zurich to Brussels as they continued to Casablanca for their client
This report will highlight the check in procedure and in flight experience as this is pretty amazing.
After arriving from Brussels on Swiss' A319 I traded the regular airport for the General Aviation which is on the left side of the airport when leaving. If you go by foot it's a 10-15 minutes walk as you have to walk past Swiss HQ and the cargo docks. If you don't know it you would just walk past it as it looks like an ordinary office building with a drop off zone for taxi's. When flying a private plane you don't go through immigration or check in which makes flying even smoother and more relaxing. Once arrived at the center I asked someone of the staff where I needed to present myself or where to find the pilots operating my flight. As there are a lot of private companies in charge for every airline it can be confusing but helpful as they are they guided me to my Captain who was still busy with acquiring the flight plane and fuel figures. After a short chat he guided me back down to the lounge area where other clients were waiting too. Once settled he gave me some pre-flight info about the flight time, slots and estimated departure but nothing to worry about as he would come and find me and take me to my ride.
Near 1400 the captain came to see me together with the handling agent, another advantage of flying on a private jet is definitely the fact you don't need to take out any liquids. As there is no check in counter you take your own luggage with you through the check and then it'll be loaded in the aircraft or you take it with you in the cabin depending on the size of the aircraft. My ride today was the Embraer Phenom 300 D-CASH (catchy registration and only one year old DD 04/17) it holds place for 9 passengers in total but that would be a bit tight, in general it's occupied by 4 or 5 passengers which is crowded already.
After a short photo tour of the aircraft I boarded the aircraft and took any seat I liked , the First Officer was already on board but busy with the radio so I couldn't greet him. Another great thing is you don't have to wait until boarding is completed or anything. Every seat was equipped wit the standard things as an ordinary flight. Life vest, seatbelt and oxygen masks above the seat in a small compartment of course. The minor difference was that the seatbelt was one like in the car as there's no seat in front of you it was one around the waist and another piece over the shoulder. After a quick briefing from the Captain himself where to find everything in case of an emergency we were good to go... until ATC decided differently .. we had to wait another 10 minutes before we could leave the parking position. And as this one doesn't have any APU the Captain opened the door again to have some fresh air. The departure was already delayed by 20 minutes but I didn't mind as you're not flying on a private jet every day right... As soon as the engines were running we headed to the runway, again some waiting time as commercial planes have priority I guess… but front row seating for spotting WITH clean windows without greasy stains or scratches.
After some commercial planes took off we lined up and took off, great thing is the lack of cockpit door so you really have the front row on all the action. Very smooth take off and climb out through the clouds, you wouldn't even notice you're in a small plane. A little while after take off and as soon as the plane was above the clouds the First Officer left his seat and came to great me and apologized for not doing it on the ground but explained he was busy with the radio. He also proposed a small snack on this 1hr flight, had the choice between a fruit/vegetable plate or a fruit/sandwich plate and besides that there was also a snack basket on the couch with sweet and savoury snacks.
Both of the pilots were very friendly, said I was welcome to the flight deck anytime but didn't want to bother them either as it still felt unreal not to have the usual sounds and things as on a commercial plane. The fact that there was no cockpit door still needed to process in my mind. Once I had finished the very taste tray I took a little tour in the airplane. In the back there was a small toilet (with a window on each side) and a marble sink with premium products and real towels. Furthermore 2 seats had a pillow and a blanket laid on them for the next flight which would be a little bit longer. Next to every seat there were cupholders with a bottle of sparkling and still water/a refreshing towel and some sweets. where I was seated there was this huge table to be folded out at both side and considered to be the dining room. Also each side was equipped with a power outlet you can find on long haul planes nowadays and a telephone to make long distance calls or a short distance to the flight deck. Only at my side of the cabin there were control buttons for the main light, temperature, reading light and another light switch. Right behind the flight deck there was a small kitchen with cupboards filled with glasses and chilled drawers with drinks. On the other side there was the couch with 2 containers hidden in soft material covers not to scratch the leather seat of course ;-) and to hide it from the passengers.
Also a little while before the landing the First Officer left his seat again to clear away my tray and handed over a small present which was the flight routing just like you would get back in the days on a charter flight which I find very cool to get as I haven't seen those since I was a little boy.
That being given was sadly also the end of my amazing experience flying a bizzjet as a little later the descent to Brussels started with a later landing than foreseen.
After taxiing past the airport terminal which was unusual for me the plane parked at General Aviation at Brussels Airport where a van of the handling agent was waiting to bring me to the building. Both pilots came out of their seat and plane to say goodbye to me as there's no cabin crew on this small jet. One last look at the plane before leaving the airside and going back to my car where I left it in the morning.
The pilots were both very friendly and a lot less stressed than they sometimes appear to be on commercial flights, when flying on a bizzjet everything runs smoother as there's no useless waiting for boarding or busses to bring you to the plane. It's a whole different experience and you might forget you're flying from one major airport to another or even flying on an airplane as it's so comfortable it's like you're in your living room.
A massive thank you to Air Hamburg for this incredible experience and if you want to find out more about their activities or fleet don't hesitate to visit their website on https://www.air-hamburg.de/de/
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