Britannia Airways - BAL

Author's product rating:   

Food Quality	Good
Customer Service	Unhelpful
Punctuality	Satisfactory
Space	Terrible
Value for Money	Good

Advantages:	Good food; large route network; mostly on time
Disadvantages:	Sleazy cabin crew; old planes; sometimes expensive

Recommend to potential buyers:

no

Full review

Going to Alicante for a nice, relaxing holiday, I felt at ease with the choice of airline – Britannia – as it seemed a very prestigious and professional company to take to the air with. Certainly, Britannia today is a prominent player in the airline industry with annual passenger numbers exceeding eleven million, providing over 100 destinations from eighteen UK airports. Its fleet consists of five Boeing 737-800s, eighteen Boeing 757-200s (in addition to another four being Extended Range versions), six Boeing 767-200ERs and nine Boeing 767-300ERs. It is down to this extensive fleet that Britannia can offer such a wide range of destinations from so many different airports within the United Kingdom.

Britannia is based at Luton Airport and now directly employs over 3,100 people. The current airline image is being revitalised and instead of a more ‘traditional’ livery, they are changing all of their fleet to come into line with the Thomson light blue winking logo. Due to this change, the planes now look very stylish in comparison to many liveries that can be seen today.

(NOTE: Although most of this review is generic from airport to airport, I flew from Cardiff International Airport to Alicante and back again before writing. Some references to the airports may not therefore be suitable, however the information on booking and the flight itself will of course be of use to you whichever route you are flying on)

Booking

In addition to being able to buy holidays with Britannia from travel agents (they are part of the same company as Thomson so you may get the best deals from them), you can also purchase your flights on the Internet. By booking on the Internet, not only do you do it from the comfort of your own home but you also get up to £15 per person off. Britannia have recently modernized their website and as such it is now much easier to navigate around and much more attractive to potential customers. Saying that, many parts of the site are still being worked on – such as the airline shop (from which you can only purchase by mail order with a check at the time of writing), where you can obtain a variety of novelties if you / your children are either interested in aircraft or simply to remind you of your holiday.

The booking process is surprisingly easy and smooth. Compared to most airlines, booking is exceptionally straightforward and if a flight does not specifically match all of your criteria, alternatives are shown to you and the price (excluding taxes and charges, which are usually between 10 and £20) is honestly given in a prominent position on the page. I found this function extremely helpful; you can, at a glance, view your options and pick which you would like after weighing up the different airports, departure/arrival dates and prices.

After you have chosen your flights, a FULL and detailed itenary of your travel is shown. It is of an ideal size to print out and carry with you so that you always have an idea exactly which flight number and time you are travelling. The FULL price is then shown to you, including ALL taxes and charges. If you wish to proceed with the booking, you can then do so via their secure order form. If you do not like the price, however, you are free to go back and start again. Accommodation can also be booked at the same time as your flight and the prices for both the flights and accommodation are often very competitive. After all, I chose to fly with Britannia because they had the cheapest deal to Alicante from any airport nearby – just £90 return, although I did book somewhat in advance.

On the actual order form, you can specify if you would like a meal on board the flight – if you have any special dietary requirements, simply choose which meal you would prefer. There are various options, all at £5 one way, including vegetarian, vegan and no-nuts meals. Your tickets are then sent to you after confirmation of your payment has been given.

All in all, booking with Britannia is a hassle-free task. I found that all the options I could have asked for were presented well, except the seat selection service which is priced a hefty £10 each way. In addition, ‘premium’ seats are available for both long and short haul flights, but they also cost a small fortune (starting from £150 for long haul, £40 for short). More details on this are available from the Britannia website; I cannot comment on these features as I have not used them.

At the Airport

Cardiff Airport has superb parking and boasts that it has the cheapest long-stay car park South of Manchester. Although the car parks are quite close to the airport, there is an airport bus that operates between the car park and the main terminal building. The bus was very good and took us right up to the front doors.

Although there was quite a long queue for check-in, there were many refreshment machines dotted around and with me in eager anticipation for a nice holiday the time seemed to fly past. The check-in staff operating on behalf of Britannia at Cardiff were Servisair, and truly provided ‘service with a smile’. We then went upstairs to have a quick meal, which was reasonably priced for an airport.

We were soon called out to the departure lounge and, after browsing through the stores, preceded to the gate. All of the airport staff were extremely helpful and did their jobs very well.

On Board

The first thing I noticed as soon as I boarded the aircraft was how much the cabin crew were like stereotypical ‘dollies with trolleys’. One of the men guided me to my seat, but when I arrived I found that someone else was sat in it. A disgruntled cabin crew member came stampeding down the aisle and hastily ordered me to “sit down anywhere for now”. Creating a minimum amount of fuss, I quickly sat down but I had sat in somebody else’s seat – thus creating more and more unnecessary confusion. It was like the domino effect, until the irritated stewardess marched back and shouted at everyone to sit down so that we could have an on time departure. It really was a mess, and we were all being treated like children. Even so, we took off on time (and as a result, landed just on time, too).

The aircraft itself (a Boeing 757) seemed very, very old. It was quite dirty (especially the windows) and, when we were taking off, rattled like an angry lion trapped in an undersized cage. Being on this aircraft was the first time I was actually worried about flying – the weather was perfect, yet the plane kept swerving from left to right and back again. Not an experience I want to repeat. The legroom on board was atrocious and to make matters worse the person in front of me insisted on placing his seat back for the whole duration of the flight, from start to end. I was extremely uncomfortable all the way.

It wasn’t long before the food cart came along and the cabin crew pushing the cart looked like gangsters from New York. When I asked politely what they had on offer, one of them sighed angrily at me before proceeding to roll her eyes and give me a memorised list that she regurgitated. The food I chose, a sandwich with a ribena drink, was a little on the expensive side but enjoyable all the same. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of it; even if it was served to me as if I was a ghost from planet zonk.

The toilets were adequate but small. The flush was VERY loud; I nearly hit the door off its hinges when I jumped from the noise. Like in most aircraft, the toilets were quite cramped but, in comparison with the rest of the plane, at least they were clean. Convenient lights in the aisle told us whether the toilet was occupied or not; more often than not, however, there was a long queue for each.

The duty free magazine was full of interesting items but, after deciding I did not want a memory of a cramped plane that should be in an antiques gallery, placed the booklet quietly back into the pocket in the back of the seat in front of me. The television was OK for some; a few comedies and The Simpsons. You can decide for yourself on this one!

It was soon time for the decent into Alicante, which went exceedingly well. We hardly turned off course and before I knew it we were on the runway taxiing to the gate.

At Alicante Airport

Again, all the staff were very good at the airport. For some reason, all of the passengers were directed past passport control and straight to the luggage – the reason by which I still have not been able to figure out. The airport was extremely modern and looked as if it had been refurbished just the day before.

The Return Trip

The return trip was pretty much the same as the first, except the landing was as terrible as the takeoff. When landing, a few of the women let out shrieks of fright (literally) as the plane was swerving from side to side and, due to the position of Cardiff Airport, it looked as if we were landing into water. Also, there was a major whiff of aircraft fuel on the way down. We did land safely and without any word from the captain, but the amazingly loud creaks of the aircraft made me just want to jump out; so much so that when I was back on the ground, I walked into the terminal building like I had just survived some sort of crash. Not an experience I would like to repeat.

Overall

Not an airline I would like to deal with again. The planes (that I flew on, at least) were old and looked like they hadn’t been cleaned since they were bought. The cabin crew also looked quite fed up; even the occasional fake smile quite literally told you that you shouldn't come near. I've heard so many good stories about how amazing Britannia is; you have such a big reputation for being a good airline, don't risk it all now !!

Further Information

General information: www.britanniaairways.com
Cardiff Airport website: www.cial.co.uk
To book a flight, your best option is to go to http://www.thomson.co.uk and choose ‘flight only’ when selecting your destination and desired dates (remember that their other airline, Thomson Fly, is a cheaper alternative but does not have such a vast network of routes as Britannia)
You can also visit one of many of the high street travel agent that Thomson owns; usually one can be found in each city. Check the website for details of your nearest if you prefer to book in person.

Thanks for reading; I hope it was as useful as I planned it to be.

Chris