Eurowings has returned to Scotland’s largest city for the first time since 2019, with a 3x weekly service from Hannover operating for a short season over the peak summer season.
Hannover is an exclusive route to Eurowings not only in Glasgow, but from Scotland overall, with no other airline offering this route from another Scottish airport. I decided to put this route, and Eurowings, to the test as part of a trip home from Prague, but are they any good as an airline?
Who are Eurowings?
Eurowings is a German low-cost carrier which is also part of the Lufthansa Group and has bases across Germany, as well as a small number of bases across Europe. The airline currently operates an all Airbus fleet, consisting of A319/320 and 321 aircraft, however, the carrier has 40 Boeing 737MAX8 on order.
Getting to Hannover Airport
I arrived at the airport by train, there is a service every 30 minutes from Hannover Hbf to the airport costing €4.70 and taking 18 minutes, although my service was 36 minutes late.
Unlike a lot of other German airports, Hannover Airports train station is only served by a local “S5” service to the main train station, with no other local service, or any inter city services calling at the station.
I actually arrived in Hannover from Prague via Berlin, with the total journey scheduled to take 5 hours and 57 minutes, however, Deutsche Bahn was running approximately 20 minutes late.
For passengers flying from Glasgow to Hannover, I should point out other German cities can be reached easily by direct train from Hannover, these include;
- Berlin – approximately 1 hour 40
- Frankfurt – approximately 2 hours 15
- Hamburg – approximately 1 hour 20
- Dusseldorf – approximately 2 hours 40
Bag Drop Experience
Eurowings bag drop at Hannover airport is located in Check-in area A, with the airline claiming they were using desks 107-111, however, as soon as I arrived it was clear from the queue that this was clearly not the case.
The airline was only using two desks, with the queue of passengers growing pretty quickly, I would say it peaked at around 60 people, with a 3rd desk eventually being used.
From joining the queue until dropping my bag and receiving my boarding pass took just over 30 minutes, not great seeing as the Glasgow flight was the only Eurowings departure that night and it seemed that the airport staff were not fully prepared for it, however, I do want to say that the check-in staff themselves were very friendly and trying their best.
Security and Airport Experience
Passengers travelling to countries outside the Schengen Area will be required to pass through security in Check-in Area C, so bear that in mind if you are travelling on this route and have some mobility issues, it is roughly a 4/5 minute walk from where the bag drop desks are.
Security in Hannover Airport is still enforcing the 100ml rule, with electronics also needing to be placed in a tray rather than staying in your bag. As there was only two flights departing at this time security was not busy, however, security staff didn’t do what I have experience in a lot of other European airports, asking between the native language (German in this case, or English), its a small thing, but I do always appreciate it in Prague T2 when they ask.
Immediately after clearing security there is a passport control checkpoint, on this specific day two counters were open, one for EU passports and one for all other passports. I entered the Schengen Area in Italy where EES checks appeared to have been suspended due to significant queues, so I was required to do them when leaving Hannover, with my passport also being stamped by the agent, despite this I was through in a little under 2 minutes, and most of that was spent by the agent double checking for an entry stamp.
Hannover Airport is basic once you pass through security, with a very small duty free shop and not much else apart from the boarding gates and seats, so be prepared to buy out of vending machines as I didn’t even see the German equivalent of WHSmith after security.
Boarding the Flight
This flight boarded from gate C20, and boarding began at 1835, although it did appear that boarding groups were not being used.
Announcements in the airport were made by both an automated system and staff at the gate, and crucially in both German and English.
I was one of the last to board this flight, and boarding was through the front door only through a covered walkway.
The cabin crew were greeting passengers at the front door, and I made my way to row 26 to take my seat.
After taking my seat I placed my backpack under the seat in front of me, and quickly realised I had the row to myself.
For those who like a seat lined up well with the window then I would recommend row 26, as seen by the picture I have provided above.
While waiting for the crew to begin the safety demonstration I took a look at the inflight map, and it was great to see that Glasgow is not only showing, but also highlighted by the airline as a new destination for this summer, alongside London Gatwick and Madrid.
Inflight Experience
This particular flight was operated by Eurowings Europe on an Airbus A320 (9H-EWD). This particular aircraft is 9 years old and was delivered to Eurowings in March 2016.
After a short taxi to Runway 27L, and holding for a Lufthansa flight to land, we were able to depart at 1905, I have uploaded a video of the takeoff below.
The flight crew had warned in advance that the seatbelt sign would remain on for a while after departure due to some storms near the airport causing some strong turbulence.
The climb up to 38,000ft took around 20 minutes, and the seatbelt sign was switched off shortly after we reached our cruising altitude, with the crew then commencing the onboard service.
Eurowings operates a “buy onboard” service, with a range of drinks and snacks available for purchase. I did not buy anything on this flight, however, prices looked reasonable for a budget carrier, and I have included a copy of the inflight menu below for you to judge for yourself.
The rest of the flight was rather uneventful, and I passed the time by watching a YouTube video I had downloaded the night before, however, Eurowings does also offer an inflight streaming service through your device which can be accessed by following the instructions in your seat area.
After 30 or so minutes at our cruising altitude we commenced our descent into Glasgow, where for once the weather was actually better than our departure airport – not often I can say it was raining in Germany and not raining in Glasgow!
The approach to Runway 23 into Glasgow on a night like this might not be winning awards, but it is one of the nicer approaches into a UK airport, with passengers on the right side of the aircraft being treated to some incredible views of the Campsie Fells before turning left to line up with the runway. Passengers on the right are also offered some incredible views looking over Glasgow City Centre.
Arrivals Experience at Glasgow Airport
This particular flight arrived in Glasgow approximately 18 minutes early, arriving at 1937, and a short taxi to Stand 33 had us on stand at 1939 – at this point I started my stopwatch to time the arrivals process.
I disembarked the aircraft at 1945 and made my way to passport control. After a short queue I cleared the border at 1956 and was able to immediately collect my checked bag from carousel 1 at 1958, and was outside the airport by 2000.
Personally I think 21 minutes from pulling onto stand until being outside the airport with my hold bag is very good, and should hopefully have helped create a good first impression on those arriving in Scotland for their holiday.
Public transport at this time is alright for passengers travelling into Glasgow with the Airport Express service still operating every 20 minutes, however, if like me you were travelling to Paisley to connect with a train, then options are lacking. I decided to walk into Paisley as it was faster than waiting 45 minutes for the next McGills 757 service.
Final Thoughts
Eurowings offers a very solid product and I would recommend you try this route, or a route available from your local airport.
It is great to see another airline returning to Glasgow Airport, especially with an exclusive destination from Scotland, and that this route has the potential to do very well once it becomes more well known at both ends of the route.
Hannover airport is on the basic side, but is crucially functional and does what it needs to do, with the only real mark against it I can give being the long wait for the bag drop desks.
Glasgow Airport International Arrivals was quiet at this time of night, but that allowed passengers to be processed very quickly which is a good thing, and Swissport were very on the ball with this arrival in terms of getting passengers off the aircraft and their bags to the carousel.
I do hope this route continues to grow, and that Eurowings expands its offering from Glasgow, with easyJet not really offering a consistent Berlin schedule it will be interesting to see if Eurowings responds to this and launches their own service, or indeed a service to one of their other German bases such as Dusseldorf, Hamburg or Cologne.
Cost of Flight and Extras
Disclaimer: I did have a voucher worth £40 that did not show on this booking summary.
George Nugent Travels 