Flight Review: HiSky New York JFK – Bucharest OTP

Disclaimer: In exchange for a one-way HiSky New York to Bucharest ticket, I am writing this review.

In January, I wrote about a flight from the United States to Eastern Europe. More accurately, it was the resumption of a nonstop route last flown by a U.S. carrier nearly 15 years ago. Recently, I was able to try out this new service, HiSky New York to Bucharest, Romania.

HiSky is a Romanian/Moldovan LCC (low-cost carrier) with hubs in Bucharest OTP, Chisinau ROM, and Cluj-Napoca CLJ. In addition to this unique Transatlantic route, HiSky also offers connections from Bucharest to Bordeaux BOD, Brussels BRU, Frankfurt FRA, and Málaga AGP, among other places. The airline’s first flight was only in 2021, but its route network has steadily grown since then.

Although its bread-and-butter comprises a small fleet of Airbus A319/A320/A321, an Airbus A330, the aircraft used for the New York route, is HiSky’s sole widebody jet.

On that note, let’s dive in to see what my HiSky New York to Bucharest flight was like.

Check-In

The flight’s ETD (estimated time of departure) was 13:25, but I only made it to check-in around 12:10. Normally, I’d be less cavalier about checking-in for international flights, but it’s Terminal 7, after all.

There are no compliments about Terminal 7; hopefully, the new terminal building will be a much more welcoming home.

Anyway, there was no queue, and the check-in agent was nice.

In case you wondering about the booking classes — it is an LCC — here’s a screenshot for another JFK-OTP reservation:

Notice how checked bags only enter the picture from Premium and thereafter.
Furthermore, all booking classes on the JFK routes include a meal and a snack. More on the eats later.

Standard issue security took around 15-20 minutes. There is TSA PreCheck, but HiSky isn’t party to it. Not to mention, there wouldn’t be lounge access. Anyway, why would someone want to rush to enter Terminal 7?

Boarding

Here’s where problem #1 of 2 appeared.

There were no announcements nor updates. For once, I joined my fellow gate lice (a sarcastic term for those who line up way too early to board), as I heard nothing about a boarding process. What further dehumanized things was that the HiSky gate was next to the ANA flight to Tokyo Haneda, along with its streamlined embarkation procedures and boarding groups.

It turned out that my flight was going to leave from the gate almost 70 minutes after the ETD.

But again, without feedback from gate agents, I wasn’t about to leave my spot relatively close to the door. There is a food court, and there are some “newsstands,” but I always take snacks and a bottle from home.

In-flight

Following the childish safety video, the flight was finally on its way to cover the eight hours and 30 minutes to Romania’s capital.

Surprisingly, all passengers received an amenity kit, which included an eye mask, toothbrush, and headphones:

Problem #2 was much less tolerable than problem #1, aka inefficient boarding. Simply put, the interior of the aircraft was incredibly dry and warm; within 30 minutes from take-off, I got a headache. The dryness really made for an unpleasant flight. It’s a shame, too, because I found the flight attendants to be helpful, and the food edible.

But I would recommend bringing your own form of amusement, as the HiSky IFE (in-flight entertainment) was expectedly lacking.

I appreciate that they did have a fair amount of Romanian programs, but no in-flight map was the biggest disappointment.

Food

As highlighted earlier, all passengers get meals.

Knowing a little about Romanian cuisine, I was crossing my fingers for something with pork and garlic.

Whoops.

Huh? Kosher? Why are you doing this me?

Remember when I listed a few other HiSky destinations? I deliberately left out Tel Aviv (TLV) for this photo. Considering the vast market between select U.S. cities and TLV, I suppose the airline could carve out a niche here. Besides, those particular meals don’t come cheap, so I guess the gambit is already working well for them.

Sandwiches were offered about two hours prior to landing; they included turkey and cheese, and a vegetarian option (Romanian cașcaval cheese).

Arrival in Bucharest

Even though the flight left ~70-80 minutes late, it still landed a few minutes early. That’s why a lot of flight times seem longer than expected; they try to incorporate short delays/taxi times. Don’t forget something else — planes could fly faster, but that just burns fuel faster.

As most Bucharest flights are from within the Schengen zone, I barely had to wait at immigration. Full disclosure: I did scamper there before just about anyone else.

Fortunately, airport trains are running at that time, so within 25 minutes I was at Gara de Nord station in downtown Bucharest.

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In all, my HiSky New York to Bucharest flight was a mixed bag. Staff were easy-going, check-in went without a hitch, meals were served, and the plane did land a bit early. On the other hand, boarding was a mess, and the plane was extremely dry. Still, I’m glad to know that there’s a new connection to Eastern Europe from the United States, and that Bucharest is an underrated spot for architecture fans.