Baboo Dash 8-Q400 Economy

Published: 03/12/2009 - Filed under: Tried & Tested » Airlines » Tried & Tested » Tried & Tested » Airlines » Baboo »

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BACKGROUND Swiss regional airline Baboo, founded in 2003, is a newcomer to the UK having only recently opened its London City to Geneva service. The LCY-GVA route is served by a 74-seat turboprop Dash 8-Q400 which flies twice daily during the week and once on a Sunday. Other Baboo destinations via its Geneva hub include Venice Marco Polo (for a review of the GVA-VNC flight, click here). The airline, Geneva-based and as such more inclined to the French-speaking population of Switzerland by its own reckoning, recently announced a new London Oxford to Geneva route for the winter schedule.

CHECK-IN I arrived at LCY at 0830 for my 0900 flight (F7902), which I thought was cutting it a little fine as that was when the gate was due to open. However, check-in at the jointly operated Air France/Baboo desks was pain free as there were no queues, anywhere. Security was a little crowded, but from what I was told it was a lot better than if I had arrived half an hour earlier, in other words I’d avoided the rush. I was amazed that I was not forced to remove my shoes and belt (no alarms raised), and as such there was no panic-tinged scramble to get dressed on the other side. Once airside, I had a few minutes to kick around the departure lounge before making my way to the gate.

BOARDING The embarkation time on my boarding pass said 0830, but I left for Gate 40 at 0845 which was a short walk from the departure lounge. After a few minutes the doors to the gate were opened onto the tarmac and we were invited to walk across to our waiting plane. As it was my first time at LCY I found this very exciting. As one of the first on board (victorious in my imagined race to the plane), I was in my seat and settled by 0955. The cabin crew, dressed smartly in red and white, were extremely amiable, greeting everyone with a friendly ‘bonjour’.

THE SEAT Baboo’s seats are in tasteful beige leather in a 2-2 configuration. My seat, 15D, was on the right hand side (if facing forward) by the window, to see the seatplan click here.

I’m fairly tall at six foot but the legroom was fine, I did not feel at all cramped. There was the usual fight for the middle arm rest but I decided I didn’t need it rather than come to blows. The first five rows of seats are reserved for SMART ticket holders (Baboo’s ticket upgrade package), but on the Dash 8 there’s no actual difference in space, just a little extra service.

WHICH SEAT TO CHOOSE? Having walked up and down the plane, I’d say seats 1A and 1B were the seats to go for, however as mentioned above these are reserved for SMART passengers. 1B is particularly spacious as it’s by the exit. 2C and 2D are by the toilet wall but there was still a fair amount of legroom. The Dash 8 has huge turboprop engines which hang down under the top-mounted wings and block the view from the middle third of the plane, which is something to consider if you like a window seat. However the engine was adorned by Baboo’s distinctive flowery branding, which some might consider arty giving the feeling that I was somewhere altogether different, Ikea perhaps.

THE FLIGHT After a 15-minute wait the plane taxied and eventually took off at 0910, ten minutes behind schedule. At 0925 a deliciously fresh mango and banana smoothie was served, followed by a breakfast of cakes, tea and coffee. The cake went down very well, and to my surprise was followed by a second round. About 20 minutes later small bottles of water were handed out, followed by little Swiss chocolates. Being a small plane on a short flight, there was no IFE. The magazines included Baboo Time and Edelweiss. The latter, which appeared to be some kind of lifestyle magazine, was still wrapped in cellophane and remained so. We landed in Geneva at 1150 (+1 hr, local time), making the flight about an hour and 40 minutes long.

ARRIVAL As I was actually connecting on to Venice, I did not disembark. However, the plane was refuelled, given the once over by a posse of cleaners and a loaded with fresh passengers within 40 minutes. The plane was up in the air again and on its way to VNC in just under an hour.

VERDICT A very different experience from other short haul airlines and great value for money if connecting via Geneva. The cabin crew had a rapport with the passengers and the branding (and food) was stylish and fresh. There was very little if anything to fault on this flight, other than the slightly bumpy ride and noise from the prop engines.

PRICE From Baboo’s website, a mid-week return in January starts at £78.60.

CONTACT flybaboo.com

Andrew Gough

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