FULL FLIGHT!! Aboard the mighty Boeing 747-400 from Paris to sunny Pointe-à-Pitre (Guadeloupe).
Corsair International operates the last three Boeing 747s in France, as Air France retired its own Jumbo Jets in 2016. The aircraft that operated my flight (reg: F-HSEA, previously owned by United, N188UA), which was a 25-year old baby at the time, just returned from China where it underwent a Check D in order to extend its lifetime beyond 2020. Corsair International does not seem to have plans to replace the three 747, and it's very good news for us, avgeeks!!
Flying in a Boeing 747 and hearing its melodious engines (Pratt & Whitney PW4000 here) is always an inestimable pleasure, even more now that these birds are getting rare. French West Indies airports are lucky to see the 747 still operated, as Corsair primarily sends them to Point-à-Pitre and Fort-de-France, along with Saint-Denis (Reunion Island) and Maurice.
It's not difficult to see (or hear) the age of this aircraft. For example, the material around the windows is getting a yellow tint, just like the ceiling. Or the absence of mood-lighting. In this video, you will hear some weird noises as well when the aircraft is turning, surely caused by friction somewhere in the nose wheel steering mechanism. The age of the aircraft might also be the reason behind the late departure. In addition to late passengers, we also faced technical issues in the ECS (a failed component in the cabin temperature regulation system).
Despite the delayed departure (2h40 delay, not the airline's fault tbh), I've had a good flight, mostly due to a nice and friendly crew. The drawback is that I missed my following flight to Fort-de-France, Martinique, and that I've been transferred on a later flight, which had itself a 1h30 delay. I was not very lucky this day. Good point is that the delay was enough for a sunset approach is PTP. This was for sure one of the most beautiful approaches I've seen. I've included in the video a map view with our trajectory until touchdown (video captured from Flightradar). And the fact that I was seated on the left side of the aircraft offered me a perfect view on the "Butterfly" - as we call Guadeloupe due to its shape. The sunset lights added even more beauty to this approach.
The copilot made a visual approach which made us pass near the Pointe de la Grande Vigie, and the town of Anse-Bertrand during the downwind part. The approach then offered a stunning view of the two largest islands of the archipelago: Grande Terre (the Eastern part of the butterfly) and Basse Terre (the Western Part, recognisable thanks to the mountains). The little island of "Fajou" can also be seen. The trajectory then made us overfly the towns of Sainte-Rose, Morne-Rouge and Le Lamentin, before passing over Mahault Bay in short final. On the left side of the aircraft we also had a perfect view of the wonderful seabed and the heavenly turquoise water. We ended the flight with a firm landing, just as I like it.
It originally did not intend to make a full flight video of this one, which is why it is far from being a complete Flight Report (no footage of the cabin, for example). I will try and do better next time!
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MORE DETAILS:
Airline: Corsair International
Aircraft: Boeing 747-422 (ex-United Airlines)
Registration: F-HSEA (ex N188UA)
Flight No: SS926
Origin: Paris Orly - ORY
Destination: Pointe-à-Pitre - Pole Caraibes - PTP
Time of departure: 2:00 pm (2h40 late)
Time of arrival to the gate: 3:00 pm local time (2h05 late)
Flight duration: 8h05
Seat: 25A - Economy
Camera: GoPro Hero 5 + Suction Cup, Nikon D3100 + 18-55mm lens
Thanks for watching!
© FERNOUSDU972, 2018
