Flight Review: Jet2 737-300 Leeds Bradford Airport to Paris CDG

Introduction

On April 3rd 2023, I took a flight to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport from Leeds Bradford Airport. It was my first time flying with the low-cost leisure airline Jet2 but also my first time on board a 737-300! Naturally I was rather excited for this flight and I was certainly not let down! Read on to find out…

Airport Experience

Arriving into Leeds Bradford Airport via an airport taxi, I was greeted by a rather small terminal building that held a similar resemblance to “London” Southend Airport. Following signs that pointed towards departures, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Jet2 had their own separate check-in/service building. After entering the crimson-filled Jet2 area, I got my passport & visa checked by the very friendly agent at the Customer Helpdesk. Once my passport had been checked, I headed over to the security area which, like the check-in area, there weren’t many people in it.

After passing through security, I roamed the duty-free area and food court for around an hour before my flight was called for boarding. Leeds Bradford Airport has an ample range of duty-free stores selling the usual stuff; perfume, overpriced chocolates, alcohol and unique electronics. It also has a rather small food court, consisting of a sandwich shop and a Burger King. This was also the first time where I have seen a Burger King or a fast food restaurant selling beer on tap! The food court provides a nice, leisurely seating area, as well as a view of the airport apron.

Boarding

When my flight was called, I walked towards the departures hall and to Gate 2. The gates at Leeds Bradford Airport are very small with minimal seating areas, I’ve seen domestic airports in rural Thailand with larger gate areas. Luckily, Jet2’s boarding techniques were very efficient. The gate agents cleared families with small children, elderly people and all the usual people first. My boarding group was called next. After my boarding pass was scanned by the gate agent, I was directed towards the ramp where I walked towards the glistening 737-300. The first thing I noticed about the aircraft before I entered was the absence of “eyebrow windows” which had been covered up with white paint.

Upon entering the aircraft’s rear via the air stairs, I was greeted by the cabin crew who pointed me towards my seat (24F). The cabin seemed to be in good shape, although upon closer inspection, remnants of the past were still present. These will be mentioned later on. Jet2’s cabin features overhead bins, which are plastered with red stripes and holiday destinations that they fly to. This is also the first time that I have seen nets that have been attached inside overhead bins to stop bags from sliding out. The seats were in a red and grey colour scheme which added some colour to the cabin environment. Throughout the entirety of boarding, Jet2’s iconic boarding music; “Hold my hand” by Jess Glynne, was blasting through the speakers. This is the first time I’ve seen passengers singing along to an airline’s boarding music.

Seat Review

There are too many great things to be said about the seat so I’ll try to squeeze them all in. The seat, despite not appearing to have a generous amount of padding, was very comfortable. A very generous amount of legroom and knee room was given as well, this took me by surprise as this isn’t what low-cost airlines are known for. In addition to the great seat, it was well cleaned and the seat-back was modern and minimalistic.

The seat-back held a tray table that was clean and large, there was an exclusive metal cup holder which was very convenient for take-off and landing, although there was no seat pocket a storage rack on the seat that made up for it. The storage rack/unusual seat pocket is seen on easyJet’s A321 as well. It held an inflight menu, a safety card, an air-sickness bag and a magazine. One thing that was peculiar about this aircraft was that there was no window blind, it simply didn’t seem to exist. Overall, the seat was brilliant!

Take-off

After boarding, we pushed back and the cabin crew did the usual safety demonstration. One thing that I can credit Jet2 on is their pre-recorded announcements that make crew announcements audible.

The Boeing 737-300 taxiied towards the runway at Leeds Bradford Airport and the engines roared as we sped down the runway before lifting off above West Yorkshire’s picturesque landscape and over Calder Valley. The take-off was very powerful, with the cabin rattling so hard that one of the overhead bins opened! It wasn’t long after take-off when the seatbelt light was turned off, and the cabin crew immediately started the meal service.

Catering Service

Jet2 gives you the choice of pre-ordering a meal on all of their flights. On shorter flights, sandwiches, wraps and pizza twists are available. On longer flights (eg, LBA-PMI) meals such as pasta, curries and salads are served on board. I ordered a ham & cheese toastie and a margherita pizza twist when booking. The ham & cheese toastie was pretty average; easyJet wins this one, but the pizza twist wasn’t bad at all, just very damp. Jet2 serves a range of snacks, hot and cold drinks (including Yorkshire Tea) and hot meals on board.

Cabin Cleanliness & Lavatory Review

The cabin was bright, colourful and quite clean. There were no obvious uncleaned areas, but there were some bits of grime wedged in the ridges of the armest and windows. Jet2’s 737-300s are equipped with 3 on-board lavatories, one at the front and two at the rear. The toilets were clean and well stocked but noticeably quite old. The tap and sink had the old metal and plastic look from the “90s and the tap didn’t work very well.

Photo Gallery & Flight In General

The flight was smooth and short, while waiting to use the lavatory, I discovered the 737-300’s galley which was a real “blast from the past”. Much of the placards and signs in the galley were the originals from when the aircraft G-GDFM, flew with Virgin Express Ireland. In addition to this, lots of machinery and decoration was still authentic and hadn’t been retrofitted. This included the Passenger Announcement handset & system.

Descent & Landing

Shortly after the catering service had finished, another pre-recorded announcement played, indicating that our descent into Paris Charles de Gaulle had started. With around 10 minutes left of the actual flight time left, we descended below the clouds and the River Seine came into view. The cabin crew did a diligent pre-landing inspection of the cabin, and a few minutes later cabin crew were told to take their seats for landing. After passing by central Paris and the Eiffel Tower, we touched down at Paris CDG Airport. The landing was quite hard, and this time, two overhead bins opened. After taxiing to a stand, we deboarded via air stairs where an airport bus took us to Charles de Gaulle Terminal 3.

Paris Charles de Gaulle Terminal 3

After clearing a rather long immigration line at Terminal 3, I entered the baggage claim area and was pleasantly surprised by how spacious, clean, modern and brightly-lit the area was. Although Terminal 3 is the smallest terminal at Charles de Gaulle, it has a relaxed, laid-back environment. Upon clearing customs, I was let out into an even more brightly-lit arrivals hall. There aren’t many shops in the arrivals hall, one bakery and a few vending machines. I then exited the airport and took a taxi into Paris.

Conclusion

Overall, Jet2 provided a great flight experience from Leeds Bradford Airport to Paris Charles de Gaulle. Starting with the airport experience at LBA, there were short waiting times and the boarding was very quick. The cabin crew on my flight were very friendly, down to earth and made a real effort to engage with passengers. The seat was comfortable and provided great legroom & kneeroom, in addition to this the airplane was clean. The catering on board was somewhat mediocre but food and drinks were priced reasonably. I would fly Jet2 again any day!

Tantawat H

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