I remember the first time I consciously saw an EMB-120, a now out-of-production Embraer turboprop. It was at Bratislava Airport, back in 2005 when I was just starting my plane spotting and aviation geek journey.
While I took photos of the type a number of times since that moment, it took me nearly 20 years from seeing the aircraft in the now-defunct SkyEurope Airlines’ livery to getting a chance to fly on one in September 2023. While the Aeroexpress Regional flight from Cluj-Napoca in Romania to Budapest in Hungary was short, it was fun and memorable.
Continue reading to learn more about Aeroexpress Regional and the EMB-120, and to see what the flight was like.
Budapest Air Service: The Company Behind Aeroexpress Regional
Aeroexpress Regional is a relatively new venture. However, rather than being an airline actually operating its flights, Aeroexpress Regional’s flights are operated by one of its shareholders, Budapest Air Service (BASe).
Budapest Air Service has been around since 1991 when it started operations using leased Let L-410. Today, it operates three Embraer EMB-120s. All three of the aircraft were originally delivered to Denmark’s DAT and (with stints with other airlines in between) joined Budapest Air Service in 2005 and 2008.
The three aircraft were built roughly in the middle of the EMB-120’s production run of 357 airframes and include:
- HA-FAI (MSN 123; delivered in 1989 to DAT as OO-DTJ; joined BASe in 2005)
- HA-FAL (MSN 104; delivered in 1988 to DAT as OO-DTH; joined BASe in 2008)
- HA-FAN (MSN 176; delivered in 1990 to DAT as OO-DTL; joined BASe in 2008)
These aircraft are the last EMB-120s flying on scheduled passenger flights in Europe and some of the last few in the world. While “FAN” is still flying in BASe’s basic livery, both “FAI” and “FAL” are wearing Aeroexpress Regional’s livery.
In addition to operating Aeroexpress Regional flights, Budapest Air Service also operates domestic public service obligation (PSO) flights in Finland. Namely, as of the time of writing this article, it connects Helsinki with Pori on behalf of Karhu.aero and Savonlinna on behalf of Norppa.aero.
Aeroexpress Regional: BASE’s Venture Connecting Hungary and Romania
Interestingly, Aeroexpress was founded by Daniel Somogyi-Toth – the head of Aeropark, an amazing aviation museum with a collection of Soviet-era airlines including the Tu-134 and Tu-154. The museum is located right next to Budapest Airport and is well worth a visit if you have some time in the city.
As mentioned earlier, Budapest Air Service owns a part of the airline.
Aeroexpress Regional launched its first and so far only route a few months ahead of its initial plan, Budapest – Cluj-Napoca, on December 16, 2022. The route is currently operated three times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, with two rotations on some of the days. The flights are easily bookable on the airline’s website.
At between $60 and $80 one-way, the flights give people wanting to travel between the two cities a very affordable way to cut their travel time from more than a 5-hour-long drive to less than an hour-long flight. The flights also give aviation enthusiasts based in Europe a very affordable way to fly on the elusive EMB-120.
Whether and how the network of Aeroexpress Regional will expand remains to be seen. Potential other connections between Hungary and Romania including between Debrecen and Târgu Mureș were hinted at by the airline in the past.
Onboard an Aeroexpress Regional Embraer EMB-120
The Aeroexpress Regional Embraer EMB-120s seat a total of 30 passengers in an all-economy class configuration.
As with other aircraft with similar cross-sections including Embraer’s ERJ-145, the seats are in a “1-2” layout. In other words, there is a row of single seats on the left side of the fuselage and a row of pairs of seats on the right side of the fuselage. In the case of Budapest Air Service aircraft, the left side are “A” seats while the right side are “D” and “F” seats.
The seats, while showing their age, were comfortable enough for the short flight that I took. The legroom was sufficient too and the extra privacy that the single “A” seats provided was nice to have given that I was traveling on my own.
What I found interesting about the aircraft were the tray tables – both the regular ones, as well as the one mounted on the bulkhead at the front of the aircraft jointly serving passengers in seats 2D and 2F.
The former had metal supports holding it in position while the latter looked more like a diaper-changing table than a tray table. While there was no one in the seats during my flight, I can imagine the awkward situation of 2D and 2F being occupied by passengers who do not know each other and one wanting to use the tray table.
The aircraft’s overhead panels with large red rectangular flight attendant call buttons and reading light switches were a good reminder of the era in which the aircraft entered into service. Individual air vents were nice to have.
Interestingly, in addition to English and Hungarian, the emergency exit signs also featured French. That was likely a remainder from the time the aircraft operated for Regional, a French regional airline.
Flying on Aeroexpress Regional from Cluj-Napoca to Budapest
When planning the trip on the EMB-120, I was sure that I wanted to fly it. That said, it took me a while to figure out the best way to fit it into the schedule of my month-long family trip to Europe. Ultimately, rather than flying on the flight from Budapest to Cluj-Napoca, I settled on a flight in the other direction.
Check-in at a Lone Desk & Boarding
I could select my seat and check-in online the day before. That said, after arriving in Cluj-Napoca from Bucharest on TAROM’s 737-700 retro jet and waiting in the terminal a bit, I still decided to look for Aeroexpress Regional’s check-in counters to get a proper boarding pass.
Walking almost the entire length of the fairly small terminal, I reached the airline’s sole check-in desk, desk number 14. A bit less than two hours before the scheduled departure time, I approached the agent who, after confirming I had no checked baggage, printed my boarding pass.
There was one other passenger who came to the desk shortly after me, but otherwise, it was deserted. Presumably, most passengers either checked in online or arrived at the airport closer to the departure time. The rest of the check-in hall was deserted too.
That said, there was a pigeon walking around. Maybe he got tired of having to flap his wings and decided to catch a flight on a jet instead…
With a boarding pass in my hand, I went through security and immigration both of which were a breeze.
My flight was departing from gate B2 which was in a temporary building connected to the main terminal part of which was being reconstructed. Since I still had some time before boarding would start, I went to Cluj-Napoca’s sole and aptly named international Business Lounge.
I left the lounge around 10AM and headed to the temporary building which, surprisingly, had not only seating and toilets but also a number of different shops.
While waiting for boarding to start, I watched the EMB-120 that would be operating my flight (reg. HA-FAI) arrive from Budapest through a narrow window.
Around 10:15AM – half an hour before the scheduled departure time – the same agent that was handling check-in came to the gate and started preparing for boarding.
Boarding started about 20 minutes before the scheduled departure time when a bus arrived to pick us up.
A few minutes and a short bus ride later, I found myself in front of the aircraft, excited to be taking my first ride on the EMB-120.
Before climbing the short airstairs, I waited for other passengers to board so that I could take a photo of the aircraft without people in front of it. While doing so, one of the airport’s ground staff approached me and offered to take a photo of me – thank you!
Flight RP571 Departure: Not a “Goodbye”
Stepping onboard, I was welcomed by the friendly flight attendant serving the flight and headed down the aisle to my seat 4A. Soon after, the captain welcomed us onboard through the PA and mentioned that we would be flying for 55 minutes and that the weather in Budapest was roughly the same as in Cluj.
Then, at 10:41AM, the flight attendant closed the aircraft door and we were ready to go.
At that point, most of the seats on the plane were taken. The cockpit jumpseat was taken too which meant the cockpit door couldn’t be closed. Unfortunately, there was still a curtain which made it impossible to see inside the cockpit.
Not long after that, the engines were started one after the other and, at 10:50AM (five minutes behind schedule), we taxied out of our parking spot.
Once on Cluj-Napoca Airport’s sole runway, we backtracked a bit to reach its 25 end.
At 10:55AM, we took off, accompanied by a great buzzing sound and vibrations.
A Free Drink and Snack Service
Just five minutes after take-off, the seatbelt signs were switched off.
Not long after that, the flight attendant started the onboard service. It was great to see Aeroexpress Hungary offering free service even though the flight was less than an hour long. That’s not something one sees every day in 2023.
The service consisted of a snack run followed by a drink run.
Two types of brownies and salty sticks were available in the snack basket. I went with the salty sticks which are one of my favorite snacks overall.
Drinks offered included water, coffee, and tea. I found it especially nice that both still and sparkling water were offered. Not feeling like having a hot drink, I enjoyed a cup of sparkling water.
About fifteen minutes after the snacks and drinks were served, the flight attendant passed through the cabin to collect trash.
Arrival at Aeroexpress Regional’s Base
The rest of the short flight, I enjoyed the views, looked in the seat pocket (there were just a safety card and a waste bag), and took some photos of the cabin.
Then, at 10:35AM Hungary time (11:35AM Romania time), the seatbelt signs were switched back on.
A 180-degree turn above the outskirts of Budapest and 10 minutes of descending later, the landing gear was lowered.
Another three minutes later, at 10:48AM, we landed on Budapest Airport’s runway 13L.
We then taxied to our remote parking stop where we stopped at 10:54AM – 16 minutes ahead of schedule.
Before disembarking, I took a couple of photos of the cabin and then headed down the stairs onto the apron and the bus that was waiting to take us to the terminal.
I got off the bus around 11AM. In the terminal, I went through immigration and then drove back home, to Slovakia, bringing this great aviation-filled side trip to an end.
Summary
Aeroexpress Regional, together with Budapest Air Service, provides an opportunity to fly on the now-rare Embraer EMB-120 turboprop on scheduled flights within Europe. Whether you choose to fly the former’s flights between Hungary and Romania or the latter’s PSO flights within Finland, I am sure you will have a good time.
I thoroughly enjoyed the hour-long flight between Cluj-Napoca and Budapest. I did so not only because it gave me a chance to fly on the EMB-120 but also because of the friendly and, for 2023, generous service that Aeroexpress Regional provided.
