|
THE ALVIATOR'S VERDICT
Low-cost carriers intra-Europe are largely the same as each other. This one had a wacky (though pricey) onboard food selection and a generous 8 kg cabin bag policy for the cheapest fares, though the price point isn't cheap |
3.5
|
In May 2025, I flew Smartwings’ 737 from Split to Prague with my family. This was part of a family trip to Croatia and Czechia (I flew from London to Split on Jet2, which I reviewed here).
Why did we choose Smartwings? Well, Smartwings offered a more conveniently timed flight for us than Croatian Airlines, the other airline operating this route. I’d also never flown Smartwings before, so was curious to see what they were like as a European low-cost carrier.
Smartwings has operated since 1997, though became significantly larger when it merged with CSA Czech Airlines, taking on the former’s branding. Flag carriers usually want to keep their home country’s branding as much as possible, so it was an interesting move that the airline decided to take on the Smartwings branding as opposed to the CSA branding.
Well, how was it? Given how watered down intra-European inflight service is, I felt like the onboard service provided on this Czech low-cost carrier was similar to what I’d expect from a full-service carrier in Europe, save for the strict baggage limitations. The (paid) hot meal was more in line with what I’d expect from an Asian low-cost carrier as opposed to a European one, onboard service was great, and an aggressive onboard duty free push was absent.
Booking Smartwings’ 737 Economy Class
Our one-way Smartwings flight from Split to Prague cost 4384 CZK (£150/HK$1,604) per person. This was the Smartwings Plus fare bucket, which included a 23 kg check-in bag and a 3 kg personal item. Without these items, the fare would’ve cost 3500 CZK (£120/HK$1,280).
Smartwings allows all passengers to bring an 8 kg cabin bag, though a personal item isn’t included free of charge (this is opposite to most carriers). In practice this turns out to be a very similar policy to what you’d find on an airline such as Ryanair – those on the cheapest fare would be able to bring a backpack, though not much more.
You could then buy up to increase your baggage allowance from 23 kg to 32 kg for 40 EUR (£34.06/HK$363). I felt like the IT could be better configured so that you couldn’t accidentally buy a 32 kg check-in bag without buying a 23 kg bag first, though I personally managed to figure the system out in the end.
As someone on a Smartwings Plus fare, I could select our seats for free, unless we were selecting an Economy Comfort seat. That would’ve cost 875 CZK (£30/HK$320). It’s worth noting that our plane was switched to an A320 around a month before departure, before being swapped back to a 737 on the day of departure.
Smartwings 737 Ground Experience at SPU
Unfortunately, online check-in wasn’t functioning properly for our flight from Split to Prague. Online check-in typically opens 30 hours before departure for Smartwings flights. I wasn’t particularly fussed as we’d be checking our bags anyway, though the bag drop line did end up being a fair bit shorter on the day of our departure.
We arrived Split’s small but stunning departures hall at 12:45 PM ahead of our 2:40 PM flight – this was mainly to hit our return window for the car we’d rented in Croatia, as we realised this was plenty early. All airlines at Split share the same check-in desks, and as this was “peak” departure time at Split, we faced a queue that took a while to clear during check-in.
Departures was located one level up from check-in, so we got to see a couple of angles of the beautiful new departures hall, which opened in 2019.
Split Airport Departures Hall
Despite the fact that it’s architecturally impressive, there’s not much going on at Split Airport. The only open landside food and beverage stall at Split Airport was a little cafe upstairs, serving some rudimentary coffee and salads. We still decided to sit out here for a while, as there was a good view of the departures hall.
Split Airport Landside Café
Security was uneventful, though the airport sure does give low-cost airlines a huge leg up in terms of supporting their baggage policies – any carry-ons were weighed to make sure that they were under the respective airlines’ baggage limits.
After perusing duty-free, we headed to the departures hall, which featured high ceilings and floor-to-ceiling natural light. Split Airport does have one airport lounge, though it’s not open to any credit card holders or Priority Pass holders.
Split Airport Airside Departures Lounge
Unfortunately, while there was a ton of natural light in the departures hall, the windows were fritted, so it wasn’t easy to photograph the tarmac.
While a departure delay was never posted, I knew that we’d probably board late, as the inbound flight from Prague arrived 15 minutes behind schedule (not big in the grand scheme of things, but considering the 15-minute turnaround time, a 2:10 PM boarding time was literally impossible). We were able to see our Smartwings 737 land from Prague, and it taxied to gate 6, where our flight was scheduled to board. Split Airport doesn’t use jetbridges, so we saw all of the passengers coming inbound from Prague walk all the way towards immigration, which was on the other side of the terminal.
Smartwings passengers walking towards immigration
Priority boarding on Smartwings was only set up for infirm passengers, and there wasn’t otherwise any boarding group arrangement.
Smartwings Gate Area
At 2:25 PM, the gate agent simply called “Prague boarding”, and the gates were opened. I headed down the air stairs, and was excited to try this Czech low-cost airline for the first time.
Smartwings 737 at Split Airport
Also, while I would’ve preferred a jetbridge, how cool is this airport?
Lineup and beautiful Split Airport
After being held up for another minute on the tarmac, we were invited to walk around the Smartwings 737 and begin the boarding process.
Smartwings Flight QS1083
Saturday, May 17, 2025
Origin: Split (SPU) Gate: 6 Dep: 14:40 (14:40)
Destination: Prague (PRG) T: 2 Gate: A9 Arr: 16:15 (16:05)
Duration: 1 h 35 min (1 h 25 min)
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800 Reg: OM-TSG
Seat: 4F (Economy Class)
Smartwings 737 Cabin and Seat
Smartwings’ 737s feature 189 seats in a 3-3 configuration. While Smartwings has some planes with “real” business class seats (rare for intra-European flights), this 737 wasn’t one of them – those planes are usually confined to flights to the Canary Island, including Tenerife and Las Palmas, and occasionally run flights to Hurghada, Rhodes, Varna (Bulgaria), and Marsa Alam (Egypt).
Instead, this Slovakian-registered plane had seats that were oddly familiar – I quickly realised that these were the same seats that Ryanair’s older aircraft have, except for the fact that they recline.
Smartwings 737 Cabin
I’d selected seats 3D, 3E, 3F, and 4F for us (so the one who couldn’t sit together could have a window on this scenic flight). I ended up taking seat 4F.
The seat reclines a negligibly small amount, as pictured below.
Smartwings 737 Economy Class Recline
Legroom is a supposed 30″, and didn’t feel overly tight, though these aren’t slimline seats.
Smartwings 737 Economy Class Legroom
In terms of other seat features, a tray table folded out from the seat in front. It was large, though not bi-fold.
Smartwings 737 Economy Class Tray Table
These are bog-standard intra-European seats, though they were probably on the more comfortable side, all things considered. There’s no in-seat power at these seats.
Just a brief note, in case you’re searching for what Economy Comfort is like on Smartwings. Smartwings designates the first few rows as Economy Comfort onboard their 737s and A320s, which is reservable for an extra charge – when we were equipment-swapped to a 737, my parents and Hailey were “upgraded” to Economy Comfort. There’s absolutely no perk to sitting in Economy Comfort, apart from the fact that you’re first to leave the plane – even the legroom is the same (unless you’re in row 1), there’s no priority boarding, and you don’t receive any extra service.
Smartwings 737 Lavatory
Before departure, I visited the unremarkable Smartwings 737 lavatory at the front of the cabin. The cabin manager kindly opened the door for me so I could use the bathroom.
Smartwings 737 Lavatory
Taking off from Split Airport
The load on this aircraft was extremely light. Boarding was completed at 2:35 PM, less than 10 minutes after it started. I had all three seats to myself, and because the load factor was so light, my parents moved to seats 1F and 2F, so we all had window seats on the right side (after a few passengers moved, a “weight and balance” announcement asked passengers not to move away from their original seats until after takeoff, though the cabin crew didn’t enforce this). I also found it interesting that BYO alcohol was explicitly allowed on the flight – the crew granted permission for BYO alcohol over the PA.
I continued to peruse the narrowbody aircraft on the tarmac. Between boarding and departure, a Vueling A320 pushed back from the stand next to us, and an easyJet A320 pulled in.
Tarmac traffic at Split Airport
After an announcement of our 1h 17m flight time and a manual safety demonstration, pre-flight cabin checks were carried out, and we began our taxi to runway 23. We back-taxied on the runway, and were airborne at around 2:50 PM, 10 minutes after our scheduled take-off time.
Our initial climb-out featured gorgeous views, as we flew over Trogir and turned right by 180° to fly northeast towards Prague.
Takeoff from Split Airport
Smartwings 737 Buy-On-Board Meal Service
Smartwings features a very extensive buy-on-board meal service on their flights. The one thing is that the prices aren’t cheap at all. It’s also an unconventional menu – you’re welcome to spend €49 (£41.82/HK$442) on 1 kg of pork schnitzel, though we didn’t opt for this. You can also buy a 750 mL bottle of Moët and Chandon champagne, which will set you back €106 (£90.46/HK$956).
The full buy-on-board menu read as follows:
To Smartwings’ credit, the food was delicious. I ordered 250 g’s worth of pork schnitzel, which set me back €19 (£16.21/HK$171). This was served 15 minutes after wheels-up. Schnitzel is very popular in Czechia, so I appreciated that there was a good amount of local flair. The pork itself was moist and flavourful, and I particularly appreciated that the breading was crispy, which is hard to get right on a plane.
The star of the show actually wasn’t the schnitzel, good as it was – both the bread rolls served were extremely moist on the inside and crisp on the outside, and very flavourful. So I’d actually say that this was one of the best buy-on-board meals I’ve had on a low-cost carrier – the only low-cost carriers I can think of with this good food quality is Jetstar Asia (RIP) and Norwegian. It’s difficult to pull off a crispy dish on a plane, so hats off to Smartwings.
The meal came with a free drink, including tea and coffee. I was feeling quite wired as I’d had a couple of coffees already, so settled on a Diet Coke. This was served in a plastic cup, and the crew came around once to refill.
Smartwings 737 Economy Class Buy-On-Board Schnitzel
My dad also enjoyed the schnitzel. My mom had the roast beef rolls, which she enjoyed a little less.
I’d say the overall food quality onboard Smartwings is very good, and I love the variety and local flair. However, I also find the menu to be a bit bizarre – there are three portion sizes of schnitzel available, you can get 20 canapés (?!?!), and the pricing is generally quite odd.
I won’t be dedicating a separate section to the crew for this low-cost carrier review, though they were very friendly. They were on the older side on this flight, and clearly had worked as cabin crew for quite a while. They were hospitable (to the point where they would help open lavatory doors and say “please”), and never felt rushed or frazzled.
Enjoying the scenery over Eastern Europe
It was a very nice day for flying on this mid-May day, and I loved seeing us depart Split, fly over Bosnia and Herzegovina, a bit of Slovenia, and Austria, before eventually entering Czechia, where we’d be landing.
Scenery on the Smartwings 737
Ultimately this was the best form of inflight entertainment we could afford on this 1h 35m flight, as Smartwings’ 737s don’t have WiFi or streaming entertainment of any sort.
Landing into Prague Airport
It was soon time to land into Prague’s Václav Havel Airport. From the right side of the cabin, we had a great view of Prague’s city center, as we began our final approach onto runway 30. I’d never been to Prague before, so my eyes were glued outside the window as we descended into Prague.
Landing into Prague Airport
We touched down onto runway 30 at 4:05 PM, and from there it was a very quick taxi to gate A9.
Taxiing at Prague Airport
I bid farewell to the friendly crew, and caught a final glimpse of our Smartwings 737.
Smartwings 737 at Prague Airport
Although we parked at a jetbridge, unfortunately we were assigned a jetbridge in the non-Schengen area of the airport, so had to take a bus back to the Schengen area.
Bus to Schengen Area at Prague Airport
The load factor on our flight was so low that the bus managed to fit us all with plenty of room to spare. We had a 5-minute bus ride to Terminal 2 (the airport’s non-Schengen region). We passed by a couple of airlines that I’ve neve heard of before, including a 737-300 (!) from Bulgarian charter airline ALK Airlines, as well as a 737-800 from Polish charter airline Enter Air.
Charter airlines at Prague Airport
From there, we retrieved our bags very quickly from the carousel, and made it to the Airbnb where we were staying.
Conclusion: Smartwings 737 Economy Class
While my standards for intra-European flying are generally quite low (especially amongst low-cost carriers), I found this a fun intra-European flight to fly. Both the ticket cost and the service received onboard made my flight feel a bit more like flying a full-service carrier in economy class, as opposed to flying a low-cost carrier. I particularly enjoyed the slightly wacky and extensive onboard food selection, as well as the friendly service onboard this flight.
I’d be keen to know what their business class is like on one of their flights between Prague and the Canary Islands, as they offer “real” business class seats (as opposed to the industry standard, which is just economy class seats with a blocked middle).
Have you flown Smartwings before? How was your experience?