girly swot alert! have got 3 'A' grades for my first 3 assignments on my course! don't know if i flu...
girly swot alert! have got 3 'A' grades for my first 3 assignments on my course! don't know if i fluked it but we'll see.
Member since:20.04.2001
Reviews:57
Members who trust:15
On 2nd June we embarked on our first holiday abroad with the children. Booked via Direct Holidays, the airline turned out to be Airtours (or Airtours international as they seem to be called on all the paperwork).
Our flight from Birmingham international airport was scheduled for take off at 4.10 pm and was pretty well on time – so far so good. However, on getting to our seats which were right at the back of the plane, we found that my husband was sat on the other side of the aisle to us and our 4 year old was sat in a seat next to the fire exit which apparently wasn’t allowed during take off and landing. Due to this, the chap sat by my husband was kind enough to swap seats for the time it took to take off (admittedly this was no fault of Airtours, just the dimwit that booked us in at the check in counter and the stewardess was very apologetic at having to move my little one around).
Once we were off the ground, I couldn’t fault anything. All of the cabin crew were extremely helpful and polite – if you called someone, they got to you as soon as was humanly possible due to the number of people on the flight (the aircraft was apparently a Boeing 767 with 4 seats down the middle and two seats either side by the windows). The kiddies got a little pack with puzzle books and colouring things to keep them occupied – a god send for anyone with kids flying for the first time (by the way – my 4 year old absolutely loved the take off as she was looking out of the window)
When it came to dinnertime, it was announced that the day’s menu was chicken casserole. I know airline food has a reputation for being like mush but it was actually quite edible. It was more like chicken in some kind of sauce with potato on top with carrots and peas. There was also a bread roll with butter, cheese and crackers, and a lovely little piece of fudge brownie that went down a treat, not forgetting the tea or coffee to wash it down.
Comfort wise, was pretty much average. There wasn’t a huge amount of legroom but it wasn’t really cramped either – if you’re on a package holiday, you don’t expect to get 6 feet of legroom do you?
The return flight wasn’t so straightforward. We got to Palma airport and duly checked in and proceeded to our designated departure gate – C41. As we waited, we got chatting to other passengers who included a group of downs syndrome people with their carers. At some point, the display showing that we were at the correct gate went blank – Birmingham flight AIH574 was nowhere to be seen. People duly went to see the Airtours reps who assured us that all was ok and told us to stay put – on several occasions. Someone heard that the boarding gate was changed to b25 on the other side of the airport, still we were told to stay where we were. However, someone came and told one of the passengers (another passenger, not a rep) that our flight was boarding at another gate and sure enough, it came over the tannoy – ‘flight aih574 to Birmingham is now boarding at gate b25’!!! At no point whatsoever did any representative from Airtours (considering the number of queries re the change) come and tell anyone that we had to board at another gate – pretty disgusting considering the group of disabled people who had to trudge across the airport again. The flight was delayed for a short while – only about half an hour to an hour – apparently due to staff shortages at London’s air traffic control but all went well and we landed safely back at Birmingham at 11.30pm – home at last!!
Would I travel with Airtours again? Definitely. It may seem strange after the fiasco at Palma airport coming home but the cock ups or misdirect ions of one person within a company shouldn’t mar your opinion of the whole company. On the whole, I think there an ok airline and I would recommend them to anyone.
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Good, honest and comprehensive op which I enjoyed reading.
I've flown AIH twice this year and to be fair they do ok for the price.
Regards.... Dave
Dalesman 18.07.2001 10:16
Being a memeber of the Aviation Society I viewed your Op with much interest, Airtours is gaining in popularity and I was impressed that your Op was well balanced and that you could easily have given them a much worse rating....Well presented and written Thanks Andrew
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Jun 20th, 2001
very helpful by (100%):
