Don't bother registering for the surveys. latest customer service has really set me off on a tangent...
Don't bother registering for the surveys. latest customer service has really set me off on a tangent. Because I don't have a fax, I didn't qualify. I couldn't really use the one at work, would have been a bit cheeky.
Member since:25.01.2001
Reviews:39
Members who trust:7
Our annual jaunt to hot and sunny climes began on 17th August getting up at 2.30am so at least we looked like we were awake, we had a 7am flight to catch and this time I didn't want to miss the plane like we did last year.
We'd booked to go with Airtours to Belle Vue Apartments in Alcudia, we’ve been there before twice so thought we knew what to expect. We only went with Airtours because they worked out the cheapest for us.
I’ll review Airtours the airline first and then Airtours coach pick up and transfer and resort rep services secondly.. amended 14.9.01 and put on a separate Airtours the Tour Operator review.
AIRPORT / AIRLINE REVIEW
A couple of days prior to flying I had a brain wave about trying to get seats near the front of the plane because my cousin who was going with us is quite badly epileptic and excitement and hustle and bustle sets it off. I rang the special request helpline and was told we needed a fit to fly letter stating what medication, how often the fits were, how long they lasted etc this was just prove that
we had a medical reason for requesting these seats. Well as usual it all went pearshaped, my cousin’s GP was on holiday and she couldn’t get an appointment. We decided to just go with the flow at check in and ask for seats nearer the front of the plane without going into explanations. “Oh no you can’t sit near each other the 2 pre booked seats which my Auntie and Cousin had couldn’t be amended so that we (8 of us) sat together. So we were placed 12 rows further back so we kept walking up and down annoying everyone.
Airtours also made a booby by allocating a lady with some children emergency exit seats, so we did them a favour by doing musical chairs for take off and landing. In actual fact we wouldn’t be so accommodating next time.
A few valuable lessons learnt for next years holidays.
1. Sort out fit to fly letters earlier – not that my cousin actually need them to fly its just to request certain seats if for a medical reason. 2. Request assistance at the airport as my cousin did actually feel faint and dizzy as we started to walk down the corridor to the departure gate so we had to keep stopping. A lift down to the gate would have helped her a lot and if she had been allowed to get on the plane first as some other disabled passengers did would also have been helpful.
We had a pick up at 8.30am, so did what looked like 100 or so other people, 4 or 5 coaches arrived all within minutes of each other, only one of them had a rep on, so it was guess which coach or try and get the driver to understand. Then my youngest daughter decided to be ill and had an accident so we had to dig out some spare clothes from the suitcase. She looked extremely pale and ill all the way back on the transfer, the coach didn’t have a loo, and as she had had a stomach bug for all the 2nd week of the holiday, we didn’t fancy having to beg the driver to stop the coach somewhere where there was a loo, if a rep had been on the coach it wouldn’t have been as bad. Luckily we didn’t have that problem.
Once arrived at Palma, a rep appeared and said very cheerfully considering we’d been up since 6am that we had a 2hour and 5 min delay, we weren’t pleased. Then the time went up and up and eventually it turned into a 3 hour delay, annoyingly they knew the plane had broken down in the early hours of the morning but as usual still dragged us out there 2 hours earlier for the 11.45 flight that we didn’t get on, 3.10pm we eventually flew.
We then started wondering once it was 1.30pm what was happening, should we be given meal vouchers or whatever, we’ve been lucky and never had more than an hour delay before. So it was off to hunt for the Airtours reps. None were upstairs at all, we had to go back to the check in area and look for the Airtours office, luckily someone was there, they weren’t very helpful but did say that the meals would be given out in the departure lounge.
Off we trotted found the rest of our gang and went to passport control, we were convinced we were going the wrong way but eventually found the bar that was giving out our free snack, a fizzy drink and a dry baguette, or a soggy butty with some concoction on it, that even the kids said was yuck.
We got on the plane finally and thought thank god for that, the meal was nice on the plane, the stewardesses were ok, nothing to write home about. But my eldest daughter and my 15 year old cousin were allowed to go in the cockpit and talk to the Captain and see all the controls, they were in there for about 20 mins, so that made their day and the flight. That was much appreciated.
Inflight entertainment outbound I think there was some, but it was that boring, I can't remember what it was, we were in the air for 2hrs 5 mins so wasn't really expecting anything of any good. Headphones could be purchased at £2.75.
Leg room, pah, fine if you're 5ft. I didn't have to lean far forward for my head to touch the seat in front wouldnt be any good for me in the crash position. I as usual sat sideways in the aisle and did the dance of avoiding the trolleys.
Homebound after the delay, 1/2 inch more leg room we were nearer the front. The seatbelt had shrunk by a good 6 inches, I couldn't fasten it and had to get an extension belt, even my mum noticed the difference in length of seatbelt and she's smaller than me. The Wedding Planner was put on, so we tried to lip read it, my daughter used her walkman earphones to listen to it. Stewardesses weren't particularly helpful, but we all just wanted to get home, we had had enough by then.
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There are two ops here, and both could do with a quick tidy up on the grammar front - they both appear rushed. More info on the airline (which belongs here) please and move your holiday experience to the correct section. Please let me know if you do either/both of these things! Regards, TT.
KathrynE 13.09.2001 11:55
An interesting opinion but it doesn't really tell me a lot about Airtours as an airline, more about them as a company. How cramped was the seating, what was the inflight entertainment like, were the staff pushy, etc. You could really make two ops out of this, the one on Airtours as a tour operator is very good.
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Advantages: Staff try their best in a bad situation, its just a shame about the company they work for, and the flights are cheap (you get what you pay for) Disadvantages: Too many to list!
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