Our second trip to the incredible Victoria Falls was an unexpected treat. We were thrilled to join Rovos Rail for a press trip and the route available was between Pretoria and Victoria Falls. Sadly, they wouldn’t just let us ride the train back again (that would have been too crazy), so we booked a couple of flights. We had tickets with reasonably new airline Fastjet, based out of Johannesburg, South Africa. So how was it taking this flight on one of Fastjet’s little Embraers, rather than the bigger jets of their rivals on the same route? Read on for our review of Fastjet.
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Airport Experience
Check In
It’s not too often that we check in luggage but our abundance of formalwear for the Rovos Rail train meant we had an awful lot more luggage than normal. We decided to check in both bags and joined the queue to do so. The check in agent was polite and friendly, remembering to ask all the relevant questions about dangerous goods and hand luggage restrictions too. As a check in agent myself, I appreciated her work! We mentioned that our smaller bag had a bottle of wine in and she popped a couple of fragile stickers on it for us. The bag arrived without the stickers but with the wine in tact.
Baggage
Speaking of luggage. Every fare includes two pieces of hand luggage:
- 1 piece up to 7kg with dimensions of 55x35x20cm
- 1 personal item (a handbag, man bag, laptop bag) with dimensions of 40x30x15cm
Every fare includes at least one piece of check in luggage up to 23kg.
Departures
We were through security quickly with some strategic queue picking (that older couple who are still wearing their belts, shoes and sunglasses on their heads are NOT the ones to follow). Just past passport control (one guy behind a desk) was something called the Wilderness. It was a little area of rainforest with some nice hanging chairs in it. We couldn’t figure out how to get through there at all though.
With about 40 minutes, we had just enough time for a wander, a pee and to buy some water. We walked the length of the departures concourse, nosing casually into the souvenir shops. There was a lot of gin on offer. You can tell it is the G&T crowd that comes here!
Victoria Falls Airport has three main gate areas. Each is a round section that seems quite 2001: A Space Odyssey when you’re inside. Taking off, I realised they are based on rondavels, the round houses common in Southern Africa. It looks pretty cool.
From our gate (gate 5) we were invited to walk across the tarmac in a surprisingly casual manner. It was nice to soak up one last bit of heat and it was all very relaxed. It was really nice not to feel like cattle, herded across in tight groups and to get up close with our little Embraer.
The Seats
The seats are set up in a 1 by 2 configuration and Mr Fluskey and I were across the aisle from each other. I hopped in the single seat to snag the window but the plane’s small size meant that we both had a good view.
The seats themselves are a combo of navy leather, and a taupe and grey plastic frame. The headrest covers with the Fastjet parrot are a nice touch but in general, they are a little dull. In terms of pitch (leg room) there are 50 seats, all with a 30 inch pitch. this is only an inch shorter than Virgin Atlantic’s economy so really pretty good. However, there aren’t any bells and whistles here, just lights and call bells above.
Storage
The under seat storage is meant to be used for everyone’s personal item. There isn’t any room for anything bigger. Here is a my small rucksack tucked in as far as it will go.
Of course, as with every flight, people stashed their personal items in the overhead lockers. This left people trying to cram their larger hand luggage under the seats and they just don’t fit. The overhead bins were also pretty small for the full flight. Anyone with a larger cqarry on was asked to check it in at the pane side. This is something to bear in mind if you are taking carry on only. Make sure anything you actually need for the flight is in your personal item.
Entertainment
If you can catch a view of the Victoria Falls as you ascend from the airport, you are on to a winner. I tried to look out both windows but couldn’t spot it. Other than that, bring a magazine, a podcast or a blogging app to keep yourself entertained. Oh, and don’t forget your charger, there are no plugs. In the seatback pocket, you will find a sick bag and the safety card. It doesn’t take long to read both of these.
The Bathroom
At the back of the plane was a little bathroom. I had heard someone tell their friend at the gate that there wouldn’t be a toilet and how glad I was that they were wrong. It was surprisingly roomy. I mean, not huge, but bigger than some on larger planes. The soap was industrial so bring hand cream if you have sensitive skin. The crew kept the bathroom nice and clean, what more can you ask?
Food and Drink
Being such a short flight, and such a teeny plane, I wasn’t expecting anything to eat. We were surprised and delighted by the cart coming down the aisle. Everyone was handed a snack pack with a cheerful, “Good Afternoon”.
It was a great little snack pack with:
- A Bottle of Water – A nice surprise and we felt a bit silly fr buying one in the terminal.
- Apple Juice – Yummy and sweet, a lovely way to stay hydrated.
- Sour Cream Pringles – Who doesn’t love sour cream Pringles?
- A Tex Bar – This Nestle chocolate bar is popular in South Africa. It has an “aero centre” bubbly chocolate and wafer. It was pretty good.
- Something called “Stokkies” – This is a biltong/jerky stye met snack which took some serious chewing. Tasty though. We had to throw Mr Fluskey’s away in the arrivals hall at the airport to make sure we weren’t fined for bringing meat products into the UK….doh!
- A Refreshing Wipe – To get all that snack off our fingers. Great stuff.
Final Thoughts for our Review of Fastjet
This is third time we have flown this route and I definitely enjoyed this flight more. We didn’t feel crammed in like you can do on the 3 by 3 airbuses and it felt so nice to be in the smaller chassis with light pouring in compared to the large planes. Plus, it was so fun to stroll up to the plane. The crew were all really friendly and even the announcements from the flight deck were nice and cheerful. Mind you, we would have struggled with the lack of entertainment if we hadn’t been prepared with our phones and chargers.
If we return to this amazing part of the world, we would definitely consider flying with Fastjet again. For a lower cost airline they really do provide a lot: food, drinks, check in luggage and a reasonable hand luggage allowance too!
Rosie xx
