We flew from Gatwick to Orlando on ATA in October 2000. Although the flights were ok the planes that we flew on where outdates and uncomfortable. To start with the planes were so old that they needed to refuel in Canada. The refuelling process requires all passengers to disembark (down steps into the cold Canadian weather) for safety purposes and then wait in a horrible terminal building for 45 minutes before getting back onto the same plane to carry on the journey. We left all of our belongings on the plan. This is not too bad if done during the day – however, the return flight also requires that every passenger leave the plane. That’s no fun with three kids at one in the morning in the middle of October. Apart from having to disturb everyone’s sleep, they made us get of the plane via a stairway and walking across the tarmac to the terminal building. Being 100 feet up @ one in the morning carrying two children on those steps is, in my opinion, more of a safety hazard than staying on the plane!
The ATA flight lasted 10 hours, including stoppage. The aeroplane that we flew on was a Lockheed Tri-Star – Very old!!!! The screens were too small to see and the legroom was enough only for the smallest of people.
On top of this we were offered no “usual” flight freebies like eye masks or earplugs. Not even on the night flight which made me mad because a guy sitting next to me chose to read all night with his light switched on that covered more of me than him!
Don’t fly ATA if you can help it!
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good op - we flew with monarch from gatwick to orlando (both ways) and on the return we stopped at Shannon airport in Ireland to refuel and they let us stay on so there must be some sort of regulation meaning everyone has to get off.
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Oct 25th, 2000
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