Pond Hopping: From Cork to Providence with Norwegian - Part 1: Time to get out of here!

Vacation – Now there’s a word I haven’t used in a long time. In fact, the last real vacation was in May 2017, after that, almost all trips I took either dealt with the death of my parents, their respective funerals, or the mountain of administrative and legal issues arising from these events. By 2018, things had started to calm down, however I decided to hold off on a longer vacation due to the prospect of a business trip that I didn’t want to miss, but that subsequently didn’t materialise. However, by the time this fact transpired, the ticket prices for my primary vacation goal, Canada, had reached eyewatering levels. At the same time, repeated trips to Dublin, mostly for dealings with the German Embassy, had significantly whittled down my vacation balance, so that anything beyond a week and a half was completely out of the question.

So, what to do? Well, since I was in NO mood to fly from Dublin, as usual, I was limited to the destinations available from Cork, which of course includes the three weekly flights to Providence T.F. Green Airport operated by Norwegian, the only transatlantic flight available from here. A quick check of the ticket prices showed that yep, this was actually affordable. Hotel prices were a bit more of a shock, especially if you wanted a city centre hotel. So, my plans to be based out of Boston for the entire trip quickly went out the window, quickly followed by any hope for a city centre hotel in Providence. I finally decided on a hotel right out by T.F. Green Airport, the Hyatt Place Providence Airport. Given that the hotel is right next door to the airport train station, and only a few minutes away from the airport terminal and the bus stop there, this was the optimum choice given the circumstances. Still, this was going to be an expensive undertaking, and if it hadn’t been for some bonus payments at work, I wouldn’t have been able to afford it. So, I decided to go for it.

To The Airport

Getting on the bus at Parnell Place. Seriously, why is Bus Éireann still around?

Traditionally, I’ve flown out of Cork Airport in the early hours of morning, catching the 6 AM flight to Amsterdam, so having an afternoon departure was a nice change. Unfortunately, the bus connection to the airport is piss poor, and Bus Éireann a disgrace as usual. Seriously, what kind of mentally challenged son of a motherless goat thinks that it is okay to serve an airport like Cork with only ONE bus line, and not even a dedicated airport service at that? Instead, we get the „fabulous“ 226 service to Kinsale, and even that runs only every thirty minutes. Seriously, whoever cooked up that „brilliant“ idea deserves to be tied to the back of a bus and dragged all the way from Cork to Kinsale and back. Oh, and the powers that be didn’t even think it necessary to deploy a large, or even modern bus on the line, instead we got a decrepid claptrap from the last century. I seriously hope Bus Éireann is shut down sooner rather than later. But anyway, despite the overly crowded sardine can, I get to the airport in good time.

That queue at the back had me worried for a second. Thank God (Pun fully intended), that's a queue for a pilgrim flight to Lourdes

Norwegian to Providence, Air France to Paris - Good to see more airlines and destinations turn up at Cork Airport.

Once there, I almost get a heart attack once I see the queue for the check-in counters, with one particular queue almost reaching to the curb outside the terminal. Turns out this queue is for a pilgrim charter flight to Lourdes, allowing me to relax a bit. In fact, the queue for the Norwegian flight to Providence is mercifully short, and I‘m checked in in no time. I am a bit amused at the security questions regarding my luggage, but hey, it‘s a US bound flight. I shouldn‘t be surprised. The actual security check is a breeze as usual, and once airside, I quickly make my way to the newly opened Aspire Lounge at Cork Airport. This is all the more prudent given how crowded it is in the gate area. Several Ryanair and Aer Lingus flights are boarding, and all airside shops and venues are doing a roaring trade. This includes the Craft Lane pub, which emanates not only a loud ruckus, but also the „wonderful“ smell of spilt beer and stale alcohol. Good thing I haven‘t had lunch yet. My destination lies right around the corner from the pub, across from Gate 8, where a Ryanair flight is just boarding as I get there. I do get quite a few quizzical and some envious looks as I make my way into the lounge.

The new Aspire Lounge at the Airport is a real asset for Cork!

Given the size of the lounge, even the limited food selection is pretty impressive.

Not to mention the Quality. The coffee is par for the course, but that pastry was to die for!

As for the lounge itself, that opened back in May 2018, replacing the old Jack Lynch VIP Lounge. Operated by ground handling company Swissport, it is the first lounge to operate under the Aspire brand in Ireland. It follows the general branding of other Aspire Lounges I‘ve used, such as the ones at Schiphol or Bristol Airport, and looks slick and modern. It is loosely divided into a general „lounging“ area, a dedicated work area, and an area with tables and chairs for those who want to grab a quick bite. Speaking of food, the actual selection is rather limited, which is understandable given the small size of the lounge. However, there are several salads, a pretty impressive selection of pastries, as well as a soup option and two hot meals available, with both vegetarians and „carnivores“ catered for. Drinks are a bit of a schizophrenic affair, although it makes sense if you look at it more closely. Non-alcoholic drinks, including tea and coffee are available on a self-service basis, while alcoholic beverages are served from behind the bar. I can only imagine that this is a measure to prevent passengers from drinking themselves into a stupor, and given the amount of stories in recent months about drunk passengers causing trouble on a flight, I fully support this.

The Flight

By the time I‘ve finished my lunch, and followed it up with an excellent cappucino, my flight is almost ready to board. My ride today will be EI-FYC, a Boeing 737-8MAX, the latest generation of the venerable 737 series. Sporting the likeness of Irish-born writer Jonathan Swift on it‘s tail fin, this particular aircraft is little more than a year old, being delivered to Norwegian Air International, Norwegian‘s Irish subsidiary, on July 18th, 2017. It is equipped with the new LEAP-1B engines by Franco-American engine manufacturer CFM, which are more powerful and fuel-efficient than their predecessors of the CFM-56 series that are used in older Airbus or Boeing 737 aircraft. In fact, it is these engines, together with the reworked geometry of the 737-8MAX‘s wings that make services like the one from Cork to Providence possible on a reliable, and profitable basis. The aircraft in question had arrived from Providence early in the morning and spent most of its stay in Cork on a remote stand near the northern end of the airport. 

There she stands, my flight to Providence: EI-FYC

Busy afternoon at Cork. The Air France Regional flight from Paris has just arrived, while a Ryanair flight is boarding in the background.

Yes, it's a short-haul cabin, but thanks to Boeing's Sky Interior and the rather thin seats, it doesn't feel too cramped.

The brand new nature of the aircraft is obvious inside as well, with Boeing‘s new Sky interior dominating the cabin. This new design concept was originally introduced by Boeing for the 787 Dreamliner, before being adapted for all Boeing aircraft a few years later. The new interior features completely redesigned overhead luggage bins that not only provide more storage space, but also more headroom when closed, creating a more spacious feel in the cabin. In addition, this new design eschews much of the traditional fluorescent lights in favour of LED based mood lighting, something that does wonders for the atmosphere aboard. Unfortunately, the seats are less spectacular. Here, Norwegian opted for second generation Slimline seats by Recaro, something that should seem familiar to anyone who has flown either Lufthansa or Swiss in recent years. Don’t get me wrong, they’re not uncomfortable, although the padding is a bit thin for a seven hour flight, but these seats are designed for short haul flights. Well, at least the seat next to me remains empty, providing that little bit more space that makes the flight, and the legroom, tolerable. 

Boarding is completed pretty quickly, despite only using the jetway and the front door, and our flight is pushed back from Gate 4 pretty quickly. We taxi out for take-off on Runway 34, where the LEAP really show what they can do. Where many aircraft have that moment where the acceleration eases off at some point during the take-off roll, the 737-8MAX just keeps on putting out more and more power, resulting in a surprisingly swift take-off and climb-out out of Cork, similar to that of an intra-European flight, despite the fact that our aircraft is almost full, and carries a full load of fuel for the transatlantic flight. I was expecting a more “sedate” departure, something akin to an over-eating albatross, but I’m getting side-tracked here. 

Taxiing out to take-off from Runyway 34. Great variety of tails at the airport. 

And we're off!

One last view of Cork before we head out over the Atlantic.

Apple's EMEA HQ in Hollyhill. Am I glad I've escaped THAT rat race!

Did I mention that I love the new Sky Interior+

We leave Ireland behind somewhere over Kenmare Bay, although this is purely based on Flightradar24 data I accessed after landing, as the ground is swallowed up by clouds shortly after leaving Cork behind, but not before getting some shots of the Apple Campus in Cork as well as the city centre itself. From then on, the flight is actually quite unremarkable. Meal Service is started about an hour after take-off, with pre-booked meals like mine being prioritised over the buy-on-board service for the lower fare classes. The choice is the pretty much stereotypical “chicken or beef”, and while the presentation and style leave a lot to be desired, the quality is pretty much on point. After that, it’s just hours and hours of keeping yourself busy, which is made all the more difficult by the fact that, while the Norwegian fleet is equipped with satcom domes for onboard WiFi and internet, the service isn’t switched on for transatlantic flights, for whatever reason. Thankfully, I’ve come prepared, with not only my trusty B&O H8 headphones, but also with Sid Meier’s Civilization 6 installed on my iPad. Mind you, this is not some  scaled down “mobile” rip-off version, but a full port of the PC version, only scaled down with some animations. And yes, it has both the “just-one-more-turn” factor, and that double-crossing, nuke-throwing bastard Gandhi. Civilization players will get what I mean. What’s more, it also has the amazing original score by Christopher Tin, including the amazing title theme Sogno di Volare. 

Arrival, Immigration, & Accommodation

By the time I’ve had enough of the game, the engines have been throttled back, and we’re slowly descending. We make landfall somewhere on the southern coast of the Cape Cod peninsula, passing over Hyannis, New Bedford, and Fall River before beginning our final approach across Narragansett Bay and into Providence T.F. Green Airport, landing on the newly extended Runway 5.

Landfall over Cape Cod.

Yep, definitely not Ireland anymore!

On the ground at T.F. Green Airport.

Parked at the terminal. Now those are some tails you don't see in Cork!

Immigration Control is slow due to the small number of actual CBP officers on duty at the airport, although this is understandable, given the fact that T.F. Green Airport serves mostly domestic US flights. The positive side of this is that my suitcase is waiting for me once I finally get my passport stamped. Getting to my hotel is pretty straightforward, as it is almost directly connected to the airport’s Interlink facility, which consists of a glass walkway between the terminal, the rental car centre, the airport train station, and a large multi-story car park. The path is extremely well signposted, and only takes a couple of minutes, thanks to the moving walkways within the Interlink. What's more, a covered walkway extends from the Interlink all the way to the back door of the hotel, something that will come in very handy in the not too distant future.

The Interlink connector between the Terminal and the Train Station & Parking Garage. This facility also holds all rental car providers at the airport.

And there's the train station, with my hotel right behind it.

My room at the Hyatt Place. Nice. Really nice.

I've never touched the TV, but that desk is great.

I've seen apartments that are smaller than this.

As for the hotel itself, the Hyatt Place Warwick / Providence Airport is a brand new hotel, only having officially opened in mid-June. It’s a more relaxed, slightly scaled down version of the more famous Hyatt brand, although it still offers a broad selection of services and a generally high quality of service. My first experience in the hotel is reflective of that, the lobby is small but stylish, the staff very friendly. It’s my room that’s the real surprise though. Seriously, that thing is big, larger than the suite I had in Dubai, with a dedicated living/lounge area, and more floor space than my first apartment. The view isn’t impressive though, looking out over the Interlink car park, and the train station. Well, I didn’t come here for the view anyway. I briefly consider going to the “Gallery”, as the hotel bar is called here for a light dinner, but simply decide to call it a night. I still feel the long transatlantic flight and the time difference, and I’ve got a busy day in Boston ahead of me the next day.

This is the first part of a five-part series that I'll be publishing over the next couple of weeks. Be sure to check out Part 2, which takes me to America's most Irish city, including some genuine Irish weather!