Skywork Airlines – A journey through Bern-Belp Airport

[Carfield]

Skywork Airlines – A journey through Bern-Belp Airport


Here is Part II of my European journey in August 2011! As inspired by a number of travelers in airliners.net, SkyWork Airlines looks like the type of airlines that I will enjoy and the hip re-branding of the airlines, along with free catering and I-Pads sound like a good product. I also am desperate to fly on the Dornier 328-110 Turboprop, so I have thought about the routing a bit, which was difficult because of the limited schedule in and out of Bern-Belp, not to mention the extraordinary fares that Cirrus wants to charge on the Bern to Munich route, and Air France is also temporary suspending the Orly service for a few weeks in August. I finally settled on a Berlin Schönefeld to Barcelona flight via Bern on SkyWork. I bought two separate tickets, as SkyWork does not allow thru flights yet. But knowing the small scale of the airport, it is doable with not too much risk. So here is the report!

Link to full albums:
SX 118 – http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...8QbNHDNy5bqThI
SX 101 – http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...8QbNHDNy5bqTjA

August 23, 2011
SX 118 SXF-BRN Lv0905 Arr1045 Dornier 328-110 HB-AER
SX 101 BRN-BCN Lv1220 Arr1400 Dornier 328-110 HB-AER

Booking:
SkyWork Airlines has a fully functional website and the booking process is pretty straightforward. It has no advanced seat assignment, so no need to worry about that. On a side note, it also does not have an online check-in function too. Given the small operation of this airline, it is not a big deal. The fares were also quite reasonable, and the fares seem changeable and refundable with a percentage change fee. Very reasonable! The categories of fares available are a bit vague, but I booked early enough. The website is average.

Check-in:
Berlin Schönefeld is the second major airport here in Berlin – a bit further out, but is home to a number of LCC, including Germanwings and Easyjet. It has four terminals – A, the major one with jetways on some of the gates, B, the Easyjet terminal, but sort of connected to A, C, a private terminal, and D, the major hub for Germanwings, Condor, El Al, and other smaller airlines with no jetways – only stair gates.

Sign of Berlin Schönefeld – Terminal A


Outdoor Flight Information Display System – cool


Terminal C


Terminal D




Germanwing Purple Bear



Check-in area – Germanwings



Desk for SkyWork flight

[Carfield]

I arrived at SXF around 7:10am, and check-in had already begun, but there was no wait at all. I guess I was early and the load was not really that great. Most traffic seemed to from Berlin to Bern in the morning, and the return back to Berlin in the evening. The SkyWork agent was kind and explained the location of the gate and boarding time. I got a window seat, and got the row 2 to myself. A nice start, after a rather unimpressive stay at the Holiday Inn Berlin International Airport – the hotel was nice, but the a/c was insufficient, and the window opening was small. Anyway, I grabbed breakfast at the Cindy’s Diner, and then walked around the airport. There was an observation deck in Terminal A, but they did not open till 10am. Anyway, it was a small enough airport to walk around, and then proceeded to the secure gate area.

Germanwing had a number of flights and their 6:45am flight to Munich was delayed and finally cancelled due to maintenance issue. It was interesting to observe the gate area. Everyone just lined up in two queues, and then a third queue for passengers who want to travel the next day or cancel the trip. There was no commotion and a number of folks with connections were rebooked through the Bonn flight. It was very orderly and quiet event. The passengers were civilized and the gate agents knew what they were doing and not stressed out. For a LCC, that was impressive.

Shot of the tarmac with the Bonn bound flight and broken plane


Gate area – very basic warehouse structure



The inbound plane arrived on time from Bern, and boarding began shortly afterward at 8:41am. The same check-in agent is not the boarding agent.

HB-AER at Berlin



“Your Personal Way to Fly”


A LH Classic Junker JU-52 next door


Various cabin shots

[Carfield]

Entrance – built in stairs


Goodbye SXF – Terminal A with SU A319 parking


Door was closed early at 8:57am, and we taxied towards R/W7 at 9:03am. With no traffic, we took off at 9:08am. Unfortunately, SkyWork does not have any English announcements, which I found odd. Every announcements, safety demonstrations, and pilot announcements were conducted only in German, which I found rather concerning. Switzerland is a very international and I doubt any of the crewmembers have issues speaking English. The F/A spoke English to me and the pilots obviously use English with ATC control. The lack of English announcements is the only major complaint I had with Skywork. Flying time ended up being an hour and thirty-nine minutes.

I-Pad was first passed out and only a few takers, including me. It was very nice to have some sorts of entertainment, despite the fact that Skywork has an in-house magazine. The contents include variety of music, music videos, games, magazines, city guides and Skywork commercials. Nothing out of the ordinary!

Contents of the In-Flight pockets – safety cards, magazine, and bistro menu


I-Pad




City Guides


Magazines


Business Traveler German


Breakfast then commenced at 9:28am, and the menu was different from the bistro menu.


The breakfast tray contained a freshly baked croissant and a bowl of muesli mixed with dried fruits/berries and yogurt. The croissant was very flaky and it was a very good continental breakfast. There was also a bottled of water and the F/A made an effort to place the bottled water in the cup holder. A wet nap was also provided. All other beverages and snacks were buy on board, and only a few takers for coffee. Please note that sodas were sold by glasses, and came from a plastic bottled, not individual can. It is possibly a big waste because if only one passenger bought a cup of soda, the F/A still had to open a new bottle, and obviously they could not serve flat soda.

Breakfast tray

[Carfield]

Interesting mat



Bottled water



The cabin was arranged in a three abreast seating, and it has a gray/cream colored schemed for the few few rows, and then blue for the rest. The leather seats are comfortable, but legroom was a bit limited. The cabin was very clean and I was impressed with the pristine condition of the seats. However they don’t really run a full schedule (well winter will be a bit busier) so plenty of time to clean the planes.

Cabin shot




Overhead panel


Window


Seats



My seat 2F

[Carfield]

Tray Table


Propeller in flight



Final Approach to Bern




Descent began at 10:30am, and we landed at R/W14 on 10:47am, a few minutes behind schedule. Taxi involved backtracking down the runway, and parking in front of the terminal building, which was quite nice and minimalist! F/A passed out herbal candies as we deplaned. We parked at Spot Y2, and then nobody barked at me for taking pictures and I took my time.



Cabin shot after everyone deplaned – very nice leather seats and clean interior


Almost perfect, and this SkyWork ground staff came out of nowhere, but it is interesting to see the ground staff’s uniform matching the color scheme of the plane


HB-AER at Bern

[Carfield]

Bern Terminal Building



Baggage hall was small, as expected, and it might be quite crowded though with a full load of Fokker 100 passengers waiting for bags.



Bern-Belp Airport
Very small and functional! There is a small arrival greeting area, a check in hall with airline counters and offices, and every airline share the same check-in counters. There was a coffee shop and snack bars at the other end. There was a small observation deck, as well as an airport hotel just across the street with a restaurant.

Helvetic Airways Fokker 100 HB-JVH parked next to the control tower


SkyWork Dash 8-Q400 HB-JIK resting – thought that it would take me to Barcelona, but I presume it had some issues


Cirrus Dornier 328 D-CIRB heading to Munich as C9 1622


More HB-AER taken from various positions and spots at the airport




View of the airport from the outside

[Carfield]

Switzerland Cow Statue


Nearby Airport hotel


Bern-Belp airport promotional materials and commemorative signposts




Small plane hanging under the ceiling


Check-in hall





HB-AES – the other Dornier 328 heading to Hamburg this afternoon


Departure hall

[Carfield]

Gate Area



I had to re-checkin at Bern, and the whole process was quick and easy. I got a window seat and the agent told me that it was 2/3 full this afternoon. I was impressed if it was a DH4 load. The LH/C9 flight looked pretty busy though, as many connecting passengers to many parts of the world, and lots of US/Canada bound passengers. I waited a bit in the coffee shop before entering the secure area. Boarding began at 12:05pm at Gate 1 and I was surprised that HB-AER was continuing my journey to BCN. I did not mind, as I flew the DH4 quite often. This small plane flew a bit slower, but the flight was tolerable.



HB-AER at Bern again and the Spanish family in front of me snapped pictures too. The pilot and F/A just welcomed us aboard. The flight was a bit fuller than the morning SXF flight. The F/A on this segment was a bit younger but less detail oriented. Door closed on time at 12:11am, and we took off from R/W28 at 12:22pm. It was very powerful takeoff due to its shorter runway. It was definitely different from the takeoff earlier in the morning from SXF.

Once again no English announcement and I did not know anything about routing and cruising attitudes. It really bugged me and the F/A did not pass out I-Pads or herbal candies prior to arrival. She made the snack round, and then a BOB round, and then trash pickup before chatting with the cockpit crew and seating at 1F doing paper work. She was still friendly and polite, but just forgetful.

Lunch was disappointing – instead of cold cut plate, we got a boring brown bread sandwich with ham and cheese – not to mention a bit dry. However I was hungry enough to eat the whole thing even bought a Snicker bar and coke light.

Lunch service



Bottled water again


The rest of the flight was uneventful. I read a bit and took various pictures of the planes. Since the F/A was at 1F busy, I took my time and nobody bugged me.

More cabin pictures



Legroom shot of course

[Carfield]

Last row – one blocked seat too


Closeup of the blue headrest


Picture of the galley – pretty amazing considered they double-catered


Toilet shot – fully equipped with running water




Refection of the plane


I had a feeling that we were placed on a hold in Barcelona, but it was a good chance to take a few pictures.



Descent finally began at 1:39pm and we landed on R/W7L at 2:10pm. Barcelona was a very large airport, and Skywork used Terminal Two, which all the LCC and regional airlines use. We parked at spot “115” and here were a few pictures of the planes at BCN.

I love the blue sky and wing shot!



Undercarriage

[Carfield]

A final goodbye


Baggage Claim


Conclusion:
Skywork Airline is definitely an interesting experience and I am glad that I get Dornier 328-110 on both segments. The plane was a bit slower than Dash 8, but it was not too bad in terms of noise. The plane was pretty stable most of the time, and nothing out of extraordinary. The service was very good for a regional airline and the F/As were all young and attractive. It is also nice to get some free catering and bottled water too and I like its refund policy. Everything seems simple and straightforward. The new branding is smart and I am happy that I give it a try. Of course not having English announcements annoy me and even for a regional airline, that is not acceptable.