Air Transat > Reviews > No leg room but gets you there on time!!

Author's product rating:   

Food Quality	Poor
Customer Service	Friendly and attentive
Punctuality	Good
Space	Terrible
Value for Money	Satisfactory

Advantages:	cheap, films reasonably up to date, staff friendly
Disadvantages:	no leg room, meals pretty poor

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

We fly with Air Transat to Calgary last month on a flight that goes from Gatwick - Calgary-Vancouver. We left very promptly from Gatwick and paid extra to choose our seats. We choose row 11 which I might warn you only has 1 window sort of behind you and otherwise a blank wall - so not the best for views but it is one row back from the exit which they use to get on and off the plane so great for getting off quickly and easily. The leg room is possibly one of the worst I've had, similar to Ryanair or a cheap charter flight but I guess you can't complain too much because the flights are cheaper than Air Canada for example. I found the food to be really basic, some pretty awful chicken and rice on the way out and pasta with tomato sauce and a few vegetables coming back. On a positive note I found the staff helpful and friendly and they did seem to come around reasonably frequently with water or orange juice (you have to pay for soft drinks or alcohol). Also the films shown were reasonably up to date (for UK people) Mission Impossible 3 and XMen 3 plus a girly film with Sarah Jessica Parker on the way out and another 3 films on the way back so not too bad for a 8.5 hour flight. We arrived back in the UK about 15 minutes delayed - not bad considering the pilot had to land twice - (very bizarre experience - we almost landed then the pilot pulled up and took off again)!! We think maybe the pilot was a trainee!! Overall a cheap charter-type flight - don't expect much from the food - bring your own snacks if you can and be prepared for very limited leg room. We were glad we paid extra to reserve our seats - it made queuing to check in less stressful - but I guess it isn't essential for everyone.