TRIP REPORT: Belgrade - Tenerife and back

Written by Aleksandar Karić

Belgrade - Vienna - Tenerife - Austrian Airlines

Tenerife - Frankfurt - Belgrade - Discover Airlines and Lufthansa

I purchased my tickets for this trip just 11 days before departure, meaning that the timing of the purchase significantly influenced the price. However, considering the length of the flights, the total fare of €341 for a round-trip ticket in Economy Light does not seem unreasonable. There was a cheaper option available with a layover in Zurich, operated by Swiss, but it involved an overnight stay in Zurich and arriving in Tenerife a day later, on March 21st. Initially, I considered flying via Amsterdam with KLM to Amsterdam, followed by Transavia on their new A321neo. However, these options were quite impractical, if not price-wise, then in terms of scheduling - similar to the Zurich layover.

During the booking process, I also paid extra for seat selection: 27F on the Vienna - Tenerife leg for €17 and the first available priority seat, 8A, on the Tenerife - Frankfurt leg for €23, given the very short layover in Frankfurt of just one hour.

Belgrade - Vienna - Tenerife - March 20, 2025 (OS740, OS9505)

I arrived at the airport about 2.5 hours before departure. Since I had already checked in online, I headed to one of the scales at Terminal 1 to check the weight of my carry-on. However, it was out of service. The night before my flight, I had received an email recommending that I check my carry-on bag for free due to the fully booked Vienna - Tenerife flight, but I decided against it for fear of lost luggage. One thing I noticed was that Lufthansa Group airlines no longer use check-in counters 401-410 but have moved to 601-605.

I proceeded to passport and security control. Thanks to the new e-gate system, passport control took no more than 10 minutes. However, as has been mentioned multiple times on this forum, after passing through the e-gate system, a border police officer was stationed nearby to stamp passports as official proof of departure.

After passing through duty-free and Tesla Square, I grabbed a sandwich at In-N-Out and got a coffee from one of the Kafeterija stands.

At around 6:30 AM, I headed to my gate, where boarding was about to begin. As is standard for Lufthansa Group carriers, boarding was done in groups-first business class passengers and those with high status in the Star Alliance frequent flyer program. I was in Group 3, seated in 18A. The boarding process was relatively quick due to the low passenger load. By my estimate, the load factor was no higher than 50%.

Pushback and taxiing started about 2-3 minutes ahead of schedule, but due to de-icing procedure, we took off with a total delay of around 15 minutes. The flight itself was extremely smooth and pleasant.

During the flight, the crew provided service consisting of a cup of water and a Lindt chocolate. Additional food and drinks were available for purchase. We landed in Vienna about 10 minutes ahead of schedule and taxied to a remote stand opposite the F gates.

From there, a bus took us to the airport’s central area, where I passed through passport control for transfer passengers. I then took a second shuttle bus to the F gates. This second bus, which operates between the B,C,D and F,G gates, seems like a temporary solution due to ongoing construction at the airport.

During my layover, I walked around the airport, took some photos of planes, and bought an Aviationtag - a piece of an old Austrian Airlines 767 - at the Worldshop by Miles & More.

Boarding for the Tenerife flight started with a slight delay at Gate F04 and was conducted in groups. Flight was as previously mentioned totally full. The flight took off with a delay of about 14 minutes, but due to strong winds, we landed approximately 30 minutes late. This meant the total flight time exceeded the scheduled duration, which is rare, as this route usually takes about 5 hours, but this time it lasted 5.5 hours, while the airline allocates 5 hours and 20 minutes.

The flight was smooth, offering stunning views - first over the Alps, then Spain, Morocco, and finally the Atlantic. For the meal service, the crew served a hot sandwich containing ham, cheese, grilled vegetables, and tomatoes. They passed through the cabin multiple times offering drinks, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, including beer, wine, soft drinks, water, coffee, and tea. Shortly before landing, they distributed the Lindt chocolates again. The flight had onboard Wi-Fi for messaging, which was fast enough to send pictures.

Before disembarking, I asked the crew if I could visit the cockpit, and they kindly allowed me. After leaving the airport, I took bus 40 to Costa Adeje which costs 3.5 euros.

OS 740 EMBRAER E195 LR OE-LWY 13 YEARS OLD

OS9505 AIRBUS A320-214 OE-LBO 27 YEARS OLD RETRO LIVERY

Tenerife - Frankfurt - Belgrade March 27, 2035 (4Y307 and LH1410)

I arrived at the airport about three hours before my flight due to the need to return a rental car. After completing this procedure, I headed to the terminal, entering through the first entrance marked for departures. Most flights operating at this airport are run by low-cost airlines, as well as companies with their own travel agencies, such as TUI or JET2 Holidays. I did not go to the check-in desk for my flight, despite receiving another email notification stating that both my flights for the day were fully booked and advising me to check in my hand luggage.

The security check at this airport is located in what appears to be a completely new part of the terminal and is very efficient. I can say that it functions even better than the one in Barcelona, which belongs to the same airport operator. After passing through security, I walked through the duty-free shop, which looks identical to the one in Belgrade. I spent the remaining time before my flight on the first floor of the airport, where there is a Starbucks and a Burger King, taking photos of airplanes, primarily a Boeing 757 owned by the German airline Condor.

Boarding for my flight to Frankfurt started on time at gate B27 and was relatively quick. Although the flight was supposed to be fully booked, some passengers did not show up, so the total load factor was about 90%. Fortunately, the seat next to me was empty. One thing to note is that the system changed my seat from 8A to 7A during online check-in, but this didn't make much of a difference.

We took off about 20 minutes late, and the rest of the flight was quite smooth, except for a few minor episodes of turbulence. We arrived in Frankfurt about five minutes earlier than scheduled, and the flight lasted about four hours. Regarding onboard service, Discover offers passengers in economy class only one free glass of water. Of course, you can buy additional items from their menu, which I did. I chose currywurst and a beer and asked the flight attendant to serve it to me later, as it was too early for a meal when service began. She gladly accommodated my request. The total cost for the food and drink was €11.50 - €7.50 for the sausage and €4 for the beer. Besides food, like on any low-cost flight, you can also purchase perfumes, watches, and similar items. There is also an inflight entertainment streaming system that provides information about the flight and destination, including a map display.

Upon landing in Frankfurt, we were met by a bus, which took almost half an hour to reach the terminal building. At that moment, I honestly started to panic a little because I had only about 15 minutes until the start of boarding for my connecting flight to Belgrade, and I needed to get from the BSO arrival area (B gates) through the tunnel to the Z gates, and then to gate Z62. Fortunately, I managed to reach my connecting flight even before boarding had started.

The flight to Belgrade was completely full, and due to the high number of passengers and the lack of adherence to the boarding group system, boarding was prolonged, contributing to a nearly 30-minute delay. Landing in Belgrade was about 15 minutes behind schedule.

The flight itself was very smooth, and the onboard service was Lufthansa’s standard - a Lindt chocolate and a bottle of water. As for the buy-on-board food selection, only snacks were available since there were no sandwiches or other baked goods left in stock. The flight had onboard Wi-Fi for messaging, which was fast enough to send pictures.

Upon landing in Belgrade, I headed to passport control and successfully passed through the e-gates on my second attempt.

47Y307 AIRBUS A320-214 D-AIUZ 9 YEARS OLD

LH1410 AIRBUS A319-114 D-AILU 27 YEARS OLD LU STICKER

Conclusion

Overall, this trip was truly wonderful. The crew on all legs of the journey were very polite, and the service - especially on the flight from Vienna - was completely satisfactory. I believe the price was reasonable for the overall experience. However, despite being categorized as a low-cost airline, I believe Discover could offer a slightly better service, perhaps with a small chocolate or snack.

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