TRIP REPORT: Montenegro Airlines, Belgrade - Tivat
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Written by NGO85
Written by NGO85
After breakfast at the hotel, I walked to Slavija Square to catch the shuttle bus to the airport. Forty minutes later, the bus dropped us off in front of the terminal and I headed towards the international terminal.
The main departures hall at Belgrade has an old-school FIDS with the mechatronics and some cafes and shops off the side. At Belgrade, passport control is the first thing you pass through since security is done at the gate.
Some early morning spotting at Belgrade. Etihad A320, Montenegro Airlines ERJ195, Turkish Airlines B737-800, TAROM ATR42, Aegean A320, Belavia CRJ200.
The Montenegro ERJ195 lifting off for Podgorica.
The gate opened an hour before departure so I went in. As you reach the gate, you have your boarding pass checked and pass through the security checkpoint and into a quarantined room that, at least, has a restroom.
My Montenegro Airlines Fokker F100 arriving from Tivat
Montenegro Airlines, YM 201
Flight time: 0:37
Boarding started right on time. There was a call for business class passengers and passengers needing special assistance. This was then followed by general boarding.
The glass jetbridge
Traffic jam at the threshold of the plane
Fuselage shot.
I was welcomed on board by a male FA who checked my boarding pass and waved me down the aisle. The cabin on boarding.
My “exit row” seat
This is not what I had in mind when I picked an exit row; there was no extra legroom. Even though it was normal pitch, it was still good.
The tray table
My row would remain empty
The antimacassar
The vintage overhead
As boarding completes, a picture of the cabin
As we taxi off, the FAs do the safety demonstration in Montenegrin and English. The pilots also come on and announce the route for today in both languages.
As soon as we level off, the curtain for J cabin is closed and the drink carts show up.
I asked for a cup of coffee and the very friendly male FA asks me if that’s all I wanted. He offered water or juice to accompany it. So I took a glass of water too. This was actually some of the best airplane coffee I’ve had in a long time. It was very strong and not the normal dilute stuff you often get. He also saw my US passport and asked me what I was going to Montenegro for.
Sipping my coffee and enjoying the stunning snow-covered mountains of Montenegro
As we began our descent, we got a nice aerial view of Podgorica. We reached the Adriatic Sea and turned north to drop into Tivat
It was a wild landing with strong winds and high mountains around the airport so we had to dive bomb in there. We touched down a little bit late
There are no jetbridges at Tivat so we taxied around and just pulled up in front of the building.
The cabin deplaning
A farewell in English from the FAs as I headed down onto the tarmac.
Montenegro Airlines exceeded my expectations on this short hop from Belgrade to Tivat. It turned out to be very nice service aboard from a friendly crew that spoke English well with good on-time performance. I got to finally fly on my first Fokker.
Cabin comfort: This Fokker F100 is quickly approaching 30 years. You can't expect a pretty cabin, but it looked decent enough with old leather seats and no trash in sight. The pitch was okay (although I was expecting more in an exit row).
Crew: A friendly YM crew with fluent English ability (both pilots and FAs). My first experience with this carrier and they seemed very warm. It is a very small carrier and there seemed to be some pride in their country associated with their service. Offering a second drink and taking an interest in passengers is going beyond what is expected.
Meal and catering: A full drink service on a 37-minute flight is good in my books. As soon as the drink service was finished we began descent so it is a very tight window.
Entertainment: Standard seatback literature. No IFE.
On-time performance: We left a little late and arrived minutes late.
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