After an enjoyable time in New York City, I was scheduled to fly on Norwegian Airlines to Shannon, Ireland to begin my tour of Ireland.
By this point, I was already one day behind my tour schedule due to my missed connection on Asiana Airlines. Turns out, this isn't my only flight disruption on this trip.
After some time, it was announced that the flight could not operate, so all passengers had to disembark and proceed back to the terminal. Over there, a Norwegian representative gave out hotel voucher for a one night stay at the Sheraton Hotel near the airport, together with a meal voucher for a free breakfast the following morning.
Norwegian Airlines aircraft sometimes features someone on its tail.
From Manhattan, I made my way to the coach terminal to board the coach to Stewart Airport. In New York City, Norwegian Airlines operates from the main JFK airport and the lesser known Stewart Airport.
Stewart Airport is further away from the city. There is no train connection at the airport. The only public transport option is on a coach, which is timed to Norwegian's flight arrivals and departures. I bought the coach tickets online and join the queue at the coach terminal.
The advantages of flying out of this airport? Being a smaller airport, it has way less crowd and hardly any queue. Also, the flight tickets are cheaper when departing from here.
The advantages of flying out of this airport? Being a smaller airport, it has way less crowd and hardly any queue. Also, the flight tickets are cheaper when departing from here.
I booked an overnight flight, leaving late at night and arriving in Ireland in the morning. So that I can begin sightseeing after I land and I can save on my accommodation costs.
Originally, the flight, operated by a B737 aircraft with 3-3 seating arrangement, was quite empty, and all passengers had three seats each to themselves. This of course makes for a very pleasant flying experience. However, after seated on the aircraft, the captain informed all passengers of a technical issue and will be delayed.
Meanwhile, the flight attendants gave out free packaged snacks. Twice, in fact. Kudos to the flight attendants for working hard during the delay and ensuring the few passengers were well taken care of !
Free water and snacks after the delay was announced
In the Christmas spirit !
A comfortable hotel room to spend the night
He also arranged for us to fly on next day's flights. We were given options to either fly on the daytime flight to Dublin, or the overnight flight to Shannon, both in Ireland. I opted to fly to Dublin, since my intention was to get to Ireland soon and shorten my Ireland trip to make up for my second flight delay.
Taxis were arranged to fetch us to the hotel, free of charge. Once at the hotel, the check-in process was relatively fast. I was then given a key to my room. By this time, it was already in the wee hours of the morning, so I just had a few hours of rest.
The next morning, I exchanged the meal voucher for a free breakfast at the hotel's restaurant. And this is what I could order with the voucher.
Quite a delicious, filling meal
After breakfast, I took the hotel's free shuttle to the airport for my new flight to Dublin.
The flight itself is uneventful but pleasant. Despite being a budget carrier, I actually enjoyed flying on Norwegian Airlines. On its widebody B787 aircrafts, there are PTV to enjoy some entertainment options. On its narrowbody aircrafts, there is free wifi and free streaming of its entertainment portal. Sadly, it is no longer flying to Singapore.
After landing in Dublin, I was surprised that Norwegian Airlines announced in flight that it had arranged for a free transport to ferry the affected passengers from Dublin airport to Shannon airport.
After landing in Dublin, I was surprised that Norwegian Airlines announced in flight that it had arranged for a free transport to ferry the affected passengers from Dublin airport to Shannon airport.
At this point, I had to make a quick decision. Should I head to Shannon airport to begin my whole of Ireland tour, and thereby giving up visiting Morocco? This means that I will forfeit my flight tickets to Morocco and will have to visit that country another time. Or should I begin my shortened Ireland tour in Dublin, then move on to Morocco. This means that I will have to visit Ireland again on another trip.
In the end, I opted to proceed to Shannon airport. I thought of visiting Ireland just this once, so I need not make a repeat visit in future.
For a budget carrier, Norwegian airlines handled almost all aspects of this delay very well, from the transport to the hotel, and the alternative flight arrangements.
The only issue, if it is even considered one, is the free transport from Dublin airport to Shannon airport. We were left waiting at the Dublin airport coach parking area for quite a while before the driver of the coach showed up. It was winter and Dublin was really cold at night.
Soon, I was on my way on the coach towards Shannon. The coach ride lasted only a couple of hours and I reached Shannon in the wee hours of the morning. Fortunately, Shannon airport is open 24 hours despite no flights operating, so I can wait till daylight in the airport terminal.
As day breaks, I begin my tour of Ireland, a country with amazing scenery. In the end, I did not regret having to cancel my Morocco trip. It is absolutely worthwhile to spend more days in Ireland. In my next post, I shall review my stay in Ireland with the incredibly scenic sights of this country.
