VLM Airlines Review (London City to Manchester Airport)

Route: London City Airport to Manchester Ringway International

Departure date and time of flight: 16th March at 07:50

Flight Number: VG210 (Has a VLM Code but was operated by CityJet). At the time of the flight, the airline was just known as VLM, however now it has merged with CityJet.

Flight duration: 1h 10m (excludes the 15 minute delay to the plane)

Class: Economy

Aircraft type: A Fokker 50 aircraft was used for this route (these have now been phased out of the fleet).

Punctuality of the flight: The flight departed around 5 minutes late because there was a delay in the in-coming flight, and so this had a domino effect for flights going back to Manchester. Interestingly enough, the flight back to Manchester only took around 25 minutes from London LCY.

Any baggage issues: There were no baggage delays on this flight.

Comments on the check- in staff and any issues:

No issues. London City Airport is an airport which predominantly caters for the business community- with the close proximity to Canary Wharf, and the Square Mile. The beauty of departing from London City Airport is that no matter what the time of the day it is and irrespective of how busy the airport terminal is, the process of catching a flight seems to be a very smooth one. There is no rush and no long queues for check-in or security. Indeed, most of the time you can easily complete the whole process, right from checking-in to the waiting lounge, in around 10-15 minutes.  

Comments regarding the pre-meal service:

Choice of drinks (tea, coffee, orange juice, apple juice, lemonade or coca-cola)

Comments regarding the first meal:

The passengers were treated to a cold bap consisting of salami meat and salad. Simple, easy and neat. Only took a few bits to finish it off!

Comments regarding the drinks service:

A second round of drinks were offered after the sandwiches.

Comments regarding the in-flight snacks (if any):

Lovely Fox’s boiled sweets were offered by the cabin crew

Comments regarding the second meal (if any):

None

Comments on the in-flight system (if any):

None

Comments of professionalism of the cabin crew:

Very professional and polite.

Improvements that could be made:

This was a great flight, and on such a short flight, it is difficult to find any faults. Everything was just fine.

Comments on the interior of the aircraft (including seat comfort): 

The Fokker 50 aircraft is tiny....with a seat configuration of 2-2 it was still a bit uneasy to cram into the seats. The seats themselves are narrow and seem rugged.

Overall rating 1-10 (worst-best):8