I visited Rennes in France in November 2018, flying with Flybe from London Southend Airport. The flight to Rennes is 425 kilometers long and takes an hour and ten minutes on an Embraer plane.
London Southend Airport is about an hour from London on the southeast coast of England, just north of the Thames River. If you thought Stanstead was the furthest London Airport, then you were wrong!
London Southend Airport
Southend Airport is even further east, but this does not make it any worse! In fact, I would say it is one of the better airports I have flown from because it is unpretentious and easy to get from the car to the gate in under 15 minutes.
I have written a separate review about London Southend Airport so please read that for more information.
Flybe Ticket Cost to Rennes
I booked my flight to Rennes on flybe.com for £145 poounds return, flying out Sunday 19 November at 1740 PM and back the next day on Monday at 2030 from Rennes.
The flight out to Rennes from Southend departed on time and we actually landed 20 ahead of schedule which was pretty good but on the way back there were some problems and in the end we departed nearly 45 minutes late.
The Outbound Flight to Rennes
The outbound flight from Southend to Rennes was a narrow-body plane with two engines and a two by two seating arrangement. This was my first such flight so I was quite looking forward to it.
In the end, to be honest, it was exactly the same as any other flight as the engine was the same kind as on larger planes, and it made the exact same sound.
The seat was a bit narrower and the legroom a bit tighter, but otherwise it was almost completely the same. The overhead compartment was slightly smaller so I had to fit my rucksack in sideways as well, therefore I would think travelling with the wheelie suitcases may be a bit of an overkill, although I saw people fitting them in easily.
I arrived at Southend Airport an hour and a half before the scheduled departure time and that meant I had a LOT of time to spare! They called us to board at Gate 2 about 25 minutes before departure and we walked to the plane on the tarmac before takeoff.
Stobart Air Operated Flight
What I did not know was that the plane was going to be operated by Stobart Air, even though the painting on the outside displayed Flybe and I bought the ticket on flybe.com. I knew Stobart operates a trucking service and it is a big logistics company but I had no idea they actually owned Southend Airport and operated airplanes in a code share kind of thing.
Not that it made any difference! The staff was very friendly, probably local Southend stock with their nice accents and friendly smiles. I was sitting in row 6 in seat D, which was quite conveniently located at the front of the plane.
Nobody sat next to me which meant I could stretch out nicely and enjoy the flight on my own. The windows were pretty small but large enough to record the outside world on my camera.
Video of Flybe Flight to Rennes
If you want to know what it was like flying on this Stobart Air operated flybe flight please watch this short video below!
We pulled away from the gate on time and made our way to the runway, during which the stewardesses gave the safety demonstrations.
Once we took off the stewardess came around with the usual trolley service offering drinks and snacks but I already bought some snacks at the airport so I did not get anything on board.
Flybe Onboard Toilet Facilities
Out of curiousity more than anything else I visited the toilet to find out if it’s any smaller than on a usual size plane but guess what, it was exactly the same! The only difference was that the baby changing desk was a slight bit smaller but otherwise all fine, as the photos below testify!
Around 40 minutes into the flight the captain announced we would land 20 minutes ahead of schedule which proper cheered me up and half an hour later we duly began our descent at Rennes Airort.
Now, if I thought Southend was the smallest airport in the world I was quickly proven wrong! Rennes Airport is even smaller and as soon as we landed they opened the doors and a hostess from the airport led us to the passport control on the tarmac then I was on my way to downtown Rennes to the Mercure Hotel by Place Bretagne.
Return Flight Details
My return flight from Rennes Airport to Southend Airport was also operated by Stobart Air but this time an even smaller plane re-routed from Manchester.
The original Embraer flight was cancelled for some reason and Flybe sent this replacement plane from Manchester. This caused a delay of about 50 minutes and I was completely bored out of my mind at Rennes Airport.
Otherwise it was all fine except for the landing in London where it was so windy I was scared for my life. In the end we landed just fine and I was on my way home in the car!
