- Oh, my goodness! This is the biggest heap
of junk I've ever flown on. I have no idea what's going on. (shouting) I hope this is going to Dar es Salaam, no one's checked my boarding
pass or anything, (laughs). Now, smaller airlines here in Africa can be tremendously difficult to find any information about on the internet. Several issues here, FlightRadar doesn't pick up most of the airlines that operate here. Most of the smaller ones at least, so you will never see any
of their aircraft on, there. You could look at
Wikipedia for the airlines. That's often years out of
date with no information whatsoever about what
they're doing these days. And even their airlines own websites can be notorious out of date with no information on about
what aircraft they're operating what routes they're doing
or anything like that. The only way really to
find that information out is to come here and have
a look at the airport and see what aircraft
are flying in and out and make a decision from there. That's exactly what I'm doing today. Today, we're heading on a little adventure to check out this airline, see
what aircraft we ended up on, and just what it's like to
fly, on a mystery airline. Now I got a lot of questions last time about the COVID situation
here in Tanzania. Now, officially, there's
been no COVID cases here since May, 2020, when the
President sent samples from a goat and a papaya
fruit to be tested and they came back positive. Since then there's been no
lockdown, no mask requirements. In fact, you rarely
see anybody wearing one and, dare I say it but, life here
actually feels pretty normal. So I'm flying today with a
company called Flightlink, and they, seem to have, a mix
of some quite rare aircraft. I saw a Beech 1900 here,
which is pretty rare. there's not many of those left and I've also seen an Embraer 120, So it's going to be interesting
to see what they operate. Morning. Hello. Hi. Checking
in for Arusha please. - Arusha. (airport announcer announcing) Mr Noel - [Noel] Yes. Hi, how are you? - Fine. I'm good. - What aircraft are we
flying today? You know? - Yes, the small, small aircraft. - Small one, yeah. It's
a Beech or an Embraer? Don't know.
(laughing) - But it's a small, very small. - All right, is it possible
to get a window please? - Yeah, you'll choose a seat
when you get into the aircraft. - Oh, okay. Free seating,
yeah. Just sit wherever, yeah. Okay. No problem. Thank you. - You have a gift for us?
- [Noel] I'm sorry. - [Receptionist] A gift for us? - [Noel] A gift for you?
- (indistinct). - I have a gift for you?
- [Receptionist] (indistinct). - I can get you a gift, yeah.
(gentle music) After a few minutes I successfully received my boarding pass all be it in exchange for a
jift of a Noel Philips sticker. Time to head through to departures then. So airside at, Dar es
Salaam's domestic terminal. Still no clue what sort of aircraft I'm going to be flying onto. And I asked the guy at check-in and his answer was, a small one. So, read into that what you will, it could be anything (laughs). So, we're not going to find out, I don't think until we get to the plane. And there's also, there's
no seat allocation. So I can't even get a clue, from the seat that I've been allocated, 'cause it's just free seating on board. So, we'll see, when we get there, as to what sort of aircraft
we're going to get. The flight today, heads across,
I think to Zanzibar first, and then up to Arusha, in the, sort of, north of Tanzania. So, little multi-leg flight, as they like to do in
this part of the world. So we're going to get on board
then in a few minutes hopefully, and see, just what aircraft
we're going to get today for our ride up north. It was soon time to get on board. Where else, but from the
magical gate number five. - [Announcer] Is now ready for boarding through gate number five. (indistinct) passengers
(indistinct) flight. - [Noel] Thank you. - Wait there.
- Yes. Boarding was of course, via a bus today out to a remote stand. So I headed down the steps, and that's where a bus that would take me across the airport. After a ride right across
Dar es Salaam Airport, we finally pulled up, next
to an old Embraer 120. So here it is then the
mysterious Airline, Flightlink who somehow seem to have borrowed the logo of an old British bus
company, from the 1990s. I mean, surely, just a coincidence, right? Either way, time to get on board. And boy was I in for
a treat with this one. - [Noel] Hi, good morning? - Welcome. - So now is the part
where I normally tell you the history of the aircraft. However, in this case it wasn't that easy. See, the aircraft doesn't
appear anywhere on the internet at all, not even on the
Tanzania aircraft register. I ended up taking a photo
of the plate inside the door and I found that this
aircraft was actually flying for a regional airline in the Congo where it's been for a number of years. I've no idea when and how it made its way across Africa to Tanzania, but either way, it seems it's now flying
for Flightlink buses. I mean, Airlines. In any case, it doesn't appear to have
had a single piece of TLC applied to it, since it was
first delivered in 1989. First hop today then was the
short hop over to Zanzibar. And yet I forgot to set
my flight tracker going. It was a 30 minute flight though, cruising out some sort of
altitude, I don't know. So let's have a look then around the wonderfully rustic Embraer 120. So then first leg then today, a short hop across to Zanzibar, and oh my goodness! This is the biggest heap
of junk I've ever flown on. Let me show you. So down here, we have the seat
back pocket, which is just... Any safety card that was
in there is long gone. So there's no safety cards. There's not even one on the other side. Seat at the side of me, conveniently just pops off like that. This is the biggest heap
of junk I've ever flown on. But it's an Embraer 120 and he's the first one I've ever been on so, small wins and all that. There's a panel missing,
through the flight deck door, which is pretty handy for me
'cause I can see the pilots. I'd see the flying deck
or part of it at least. Such a lovely little plane.
This is the Embraer 120. You can't beat that view though. Like even the phone that
the flight attendant uses to talk to the passengers is
patched up, with parcel tape. I mean, even the phone. After a few more minutes, we started our descent
for first stop today, the Island of Zanzibar where, it would see my
relatively empty flight would soon gets a lot busier. We pulled on stand next to
a Boeing 767 holiday flight that had just arrived in from Moscow. So on the ground in Zanzibar. We've got about 20 minutes here. Leg one done, three to go, with Flightlink on this, wonderful piece of architecture from the, late, 19th century I believe. The cabin filled with steam as I enjoyed a bit of peace and quiet from the ear shattering noise of the Embraer 120 engines. We didn't have long to wait though before the Moscow flight next to us, disembarked into our aircraft and started a little game of
how many Russians can you fit in an Embraer 120? The only question I now had
was who would be the poor sod ending up on the broken seat next to me? - Our expected flight to
Arusha will be one hour, at 18,000 feet above the sea level. The Captain's command (indistinct)
on how to use the exit. (indistinct) devices. - Next leg today then took
his Northwest from Zanzibar, direct to Arusha. Flight time for this leg was 59 minutes, cruising at 20,000 feet. So we got invaded by Russians down on the ground in Zanzibar. The aircraft is now a
hundred percent full. Very busy flight now, everybody... I presume off that Azur Air,
767 that was on the ground there at Zanzibar, heading up to Arusha. Arusha of course is the
gateway to the Serengeti for safaris and stuff. So it's no surprise that
there's a lot of tourists coming into Zanzibar then
heading off to Arusha to go off and, spot some animals,
up there in the Serengeti. Due about an hour now to run, on the world's most bunted
airplane, up to Arusha, in northern Tanzania. After a couple of weeks in Africa, today was the day I finally
got to see Mount Kilimanjaro, rising like Olympus above the... Oh, hang on a minute I've already
done that joke, haven't I? In any case, that meant only one thing, it was time to start our descent down into the city of Arusha. Somehow I turned into David
Bailey for the landing, filming not only with my own camera, but for the Russian
guy next to me as well. - [Noel] Still, he very kindly slipped me
some Russian chocolates as I got off the plane. What a lovely guy. - And this from Russia for you. - Great, thank you from
St. Petersburg, yeah? - From St. Petersburg. - Awesome. Have a good
day, thank you very much. Thank you. After disembarking, it was time to queue behind the passengers having their ride photos
taken in front of the plane. Presumably even the Russians haven't seen a plane in this
old for quite some time. Needless to say it was quite clear that ramp photography
was perfectly fine here. So, I jumped at the
opportunity to grab a few shots of the plane myself. You can literally walk
anywhere on the apron at Arusha without being stopped. So it was great to have the freedom to take a few photos of the plane. Photoshoot complete, I
headed into the terminal where I'd have to figure out what I was going to do for a few hours before my flight back to Dar es Salaam. So he then in Arusha, after arriving on the
Rusky express as it turned. Even got myself some
little, Russian sweeties from the nice, Russian
chap at the side of me. Heading up from Zanzibar. Yeah, that was an interesting
experience. Wasn't it? On the Flightlink Embraer. From down there in, Dar es Salaam. - Time for the check in, okay? - As I had a few hours
until my flight back to Dar, one of the airport workers
arranged for a taxi to take me for a quick tour,
of the bright lights of Arusha. Jambo. Jambo. - Jambo. How are you?
- I'm good. How are you? - I'm fine. You are welcome.
- Thank you. - I'm (indistinct).
- Hi, I'm Noel. So how is life in, Arusha? - Ah, it's good. - Life is good, yeah. Ah, good. - And weather, is good
- Weather is good yes. Not too hot. It's like England. Very nice. First stop on my tour of Arusha today was the Natural History
Museum of Tanzania, which, didn't quite seem to live up to its rather grand title. Here for the multi sum of seven pounds you get to look at a few photos that you could probably
find on the internet. And this exhibit is what is known as the
letter spotted twig. Next up on the tour today was the nightmare of every
single introverted Brit abroad, the tourist market. They haven't seen a tourist in days here and they were hungry for a sale. Still, I stood my ground
and resolved to escape with my wallet just as
intact as when I started. For cheap, yeah. - Yeah very cheap. Can I show you? - [Noel] I think I'm good. I
think I'm good. But thank you. Very nice. - [Seller] Why you don't need to see? - No I'm good. I'm good. I'll just walk around and I'll look. - Yeah. I was not going to give in. I wasn't going to buy anything but, I think I fit in. 30 pounds lighter but now
rocking it like an absolute boss, it was time to head back to the airport. Still, at least I had a chatty cab driver to keep me company. So usually you have a lots
of tourists in Arusha? - Yes. Yes.
- But hardly, I guess. I don't think that Bald
and Bankrupt has to worry about anyone matching his skills chatting to locals just yet. Thank you for showing me around. Well, there we are then, back at Arusha. Fitting in like a local. Let's get the flight then
back to, Dar es Salaam and let's see what aircraft
we get on the return leg. I wonder if it's going
to be that same thing that we came over on this morning. I don't know. But let's go find out. Hello, sir. How are you? - Fine Mr. - Thank you very much. Hello. Hi, check in please. Arusha Airport's pretty different to anywhere I've flown through before. It's all in the open air with
just a few shops and cafes, feeling more like an outdoor
shopping mall than an airport. Hello. How are you? - Hi, karibu. - Good. Thank you. Asante. - Chicken mayonnaise? - Let's have chicken and fries please. Chicken with fries, yeah
And a Coke as well, please. All right. Thank you.
- Your welcome. - DIY Nando's coming here. Have the chicken, chili. That's good chicken. So the departure lounge
here is just as rustic as the rest of the
airport but it's lovely, because we're kind of all open and then you can see, over there, it's the apron. It's all, quite nice. You sit out here great view of
the planes waiting to depart. And it looks like we might
just have us, Beech 1900 for flight home. Talk about getting two
nice planes in one go. And the guy earlier mentioned that we might be having a Beech 1900. So, fingers crossed. It soon turned out, the Beech 1900 was somehow even more
broken than the Embraer 120. So, it was back onto the Embraer for the ride back down to Dar es Salaam. We on the Beech 1900? - [Traveler] Huh?
- Were on the Beech? - [Traveler] No not on
the Beech, on the Embraer. - [Noel] On the Embraer. - [Traveler] Beech
can't operate right now, it's unserviceable. - Oh, okay. Thank you sir, you have a
good day nice to meet you. Thank you. Hello again, how are you? - Hi. Welcome. - Thank you. So back on the Embraer again
because the Beech is broken. So, you're back on the same
plane that we come over here this morning on. Boo! It would turn out that this
would be my final sector on this aircraft today, as
once we got to Zanzibar, things turned even more interesting. So no safety demo today, presumably, because I had one earlier, we don't get two in one day. Can't give away more than one surely. The next and, as it would turn out, the final flight on this plane
today was down to, Zanzibar. Flight time today was
one hour and 26 minutes cruising at 19,000 feet. So back on the way down to Dar es Salaam, just like on the way up, we've got to stop first
though in Zanzibar. So, I've got about an
hour to run to Zanzibar and then about two minutes on the ground before, a 10, 15 minute flight back
across to Dar es Salaam. Going to sit on this side on the way back because it's a, row of one we tried sitting on the other side. It's just as uncomfortable, and the seat is just
as broken and knackered as it was on the other side but hey, we're still on an Embraer 120,
and it's still pretty cool. So I forgot to say this
thing is just so darn noisy. I can't even hear myself talking,
while I'm talking to you. That's how loud this plane is. So I'm hoping that you
can actually hear it that's why I've moved my
microphone right over here. I can't hear what I'm actually saying. It could sound like anything, (laughs). It's probably the noisiest turbo
pro that I've ever been on. That's so rattly as well, like the seats of vibrating
and everything is just crazy. But also fun. So we'd landed once again at Zanzibar, surely this day couldn't get
any more interesting now, could it? So then on the ground here in Zanzibar. 20 minutes or so here again until we head back
across to Dar es Salaam. And oh look, here comes
the rain down in Africa. So rather worryingly, the
crew have all just got off and I'm just kind of here,
with a few ground crew. All the pilots and everything, the cabin crew have all just, walked off. With all their bags and everything. So I don't know what's going on. Another 20 minutes later and things starting to
get exciting once more. Were going to another plane. I have no idea what's going on. - Can you show the bag? - [Noel] I don't have one in there, no. Just hand baggage only. - Only hand bag--
- [Noel] Just had baggage, yeah.
- Okay. - Where? To this, 208, yeah? To the 208? Yeah. Okay we're, saying good bye to the
Embraer for some reason and heading across to, Cessna 208. So this one, yeah?
- Yeah this one. All right. Thank you. Bye-bye. I hope this is going to Dar es Salaam no one's checked my
boarding pass or anything. I have to admit, I was
pretty worried at this point. I'd, just been grabbed off a plane and bungled onto another random aircraft which, to be honest could
have been going anywhere. There's nobody had
checked my boarding pass. I just crossed my fingers and hoped it was going
somewhere vaguely close to Dar es Salaam. After around 20 minutes, we started an approach to what
looked like a major airport. And from a distance, it did
seem to resemble Dar es Salaam. It soon became clear that it was indeed Dar es Salaam Airport and I was back on the mainland, all be it on the opposite
side of the Airport to where I needed it to be. This airline uses a
completely different terminal to Flightlink which, is around three miles from the main Airport complex. I did feel quite sorry
for any of the passengers who should have been connecting onwards, and instead now had to get a taxi across to the correct terminal. - Welcome to Dar es Salaam. Thank you flying with Costal Aviation. please remain seated until
the back door is opened. Have a good weekend guys, thank you. As I got off the plane, I noticed the crew of the original flight
were also on this one. I just wish one of them
had bothered to tell me before they got off the original plane. Jambo. Hi. So we appear to have been dropped off at the Coastal Aviation
Terminal here at Dar es Salaam which is miles away from
the rest of the Airport. So for me, so I'm just going
to grab an Uber or something. Hopefully, unless he doesn't turn up, but, for the passengers who were kind of, needed to get to the
main terminal, (laughs), where they should have been going they've all kind of been deposited on the opposite side of the airport. So, I'm going to try and get
an Uber now, across there. But it's an interesting
little terminal this one. A little charter terminal here. So, let's wait and see if
I can get me an Uber. For the first time since
arriving in Tanzania an Uber I'd booked actually turned up and, around an hour later
I was back in my hotel room in central Dar es Salaam. Oh! Not this again. Right back, in Dar es Salaam. That was a fun adventure, wasn't it? Over to Arusha and back with Flightlink on that really old plane. I've no idea, what happened at Zanzibar but they ended up of course,
putting us on the other plane. Just, utter, utter chaos and I'm still panicking thinking I might have left
something on the plane. I need to check because we
left so quickly but never mind. So here back in Dar es Salaam (sighs), after an interesting day. An interesting day, heading
over to Arusha with Flightlink. It was nice to fly in an
Embraer 120, I will say that. I won't be rushing to do it again, but it's another one
ticked off in my book. Anyway, let me know
what you thought to this down in the comments below. What did you think to Flightlink? And if you had the choice
of flying on the Embraer 120 or the Beech 1900, that we
didn't get to ride in the end what would you fly on? Let me know down, in the comments below, in the meantime don't forget
to hit that subscribe button. More videos coming out of
Africa, over the next few weeks. So, looking forward to
sharing them with you. So make sure we hit that subscribe button. In the meantime, thank
you so much for watching. Take care, and I'll see
you on the next one. I'm off for a lie down. Bye-bye.
