Thanks to everyone who rated my Princess review. Really appricated.
Thanks to everyone who rated my Princess review. Really appricated.
Member since:30.09.2003
Reviews:46
Members who trust:26
This was the first time I’d flown with Britannia Airways and thought I’d expect the same sort of cramped leg room you get with other charter airlines; I was wrong. It’s worse!
Booking and Tickets:
Let me start from the beginning. Our flights were booked by James Villa holidays from Birmingham to Malaga as part of our villa holiday. We could have got the flights cheaper, and from East Midlands, with EasyJet but we would have had to pay a surcharge for the privilege. Not wanting to pay for something twice, and seeing as it was a short flight, we took the ‘package’ deal.
The tickets arrived a few weeks before we departed and they came in this little booklet thing. This was the first time I’d seen airline tickets like this, but it seemed a sensible way of packaging them and ensures you either
had all your tickets (or lost them all!). Flicking through the booklet, it was clear that it was more tailored to customers of Thomson Holidays (and their other brands) of which Britannia is a part. We had lots of blank pages in ours which I would assumed would have insurance details and such like. They did include a plan of the aircraft and an opportunity to reserve seats or upgrade to premium seating.
I contacted Britannia through their website to ask how much it would cost to upgrade the seats. If it was going to be £80 or so, it would be worth it. The answer came back (2 weeks later) that premium seats weren’t available on our flight. Not to worry.
Outward Flight:
Anyway, come the date of travel, we arrived at the check-in desk at about 5:30am and there was no queue. The process was quick and painless (if a bit short on the friendliness), but at that time of the day, it did the job.
Our flight was called and we were sat on row 5, using the 4 seats across the middle. We had reserved 2 gluten free meals, so I assume that was why we were at the front. Out Boeing 767 was big, with a 2 – 4 – 2 seating configuration. There was plenty of space to put our hand luggage because it had overhead bins each side of each aisle. On sitting down, I noticed it seemed a little on the tight side. It was. Not only did the seat have little leg room, it also had no width.
We found the best way to sit down was to put the arm rests at 45 degrees, sit down and then put the arms down. You then had it pinching the side of your leg, but at least you were in. The safety video was shown in true patronising fashion with a brief appearance by the cabin crew (like a pair of cuckoos in a clock from each side of the galley) to point out the exits. Having dropped something on the floor, I realised that the brace position would be impossible for me, because there wasn’t enough space to bend forward! Least if we crashed I’d be so wedged in, I wouldn’t go anywhere.
The meal service started and we had our special meals first. Credit where credit is due, the food was pretty good and my Spanish omelette kept away the hunger pains for a bit longer. We only got one (very small) cup of tea and eating the food required skill not to thump the person next to you.
We settled down to watch the in-flight entertainment which wasn’t the best; but compared to the 7 hours of drivel I had on my last Continental airlines flight, it certainly wasn’t the worst!
The other odd thing about our outward flight was the fact there only seemed to be about 50 people on board. Loads of seats (including the premium ones we’d asked for) were sat there doing nothing.
The cabin crew kept themselves fairly to themselves, but what we did see of them they seemed quiet friendly.
Anyway, pretty non-descript, cramped flight.
The Return Flight:
The return journey was not only nearly 2 hours late, but heaving. After being seated, this time one row further forward, the captain tried to explain why the plane was late. In short, the plane was waiting for crew (I thought that only happened on trains?) so it was late leaving the UK and would be even later leaving Spain.
Food service was ok and the meal was quite good (again). This time we purchased extra drinks from the trolley (though why you can have a large can of full sugar Pepsi, but only a didi can of diet, I’m not sure). Our drinks and Pringles were expensive at about £6, but we paid with a 50 Euro note and got change from £50. We kept quiet; they should have been looking what they were doing!
While you might think I’m been picky about the seats, these were even worse. Being a row further forward meant you had to strain your neck to see the TV on the roof or use a pair of binoculars to see the TV on the wall. The seat were so short and badly shaped, I couldn’t get my head anywhere near the head rest, and I don’t see how anyone could (unless they had a double jointed spine).
They showed a good episode of ‘only fools and horses’, but we’d landed before it had finished. You’d think they’d put the longest programmes on first.
The cabin crew also came round to collect our charity donations, questionnaires and to have a few more mechanising opportunities. We didn’t partake in any of it so I got a trolley in my arm for a reward!
Summary:
In short, Britannia is an average airline. Not the worst not the best. The food is good but the seats are terrible. There’s better ways to fly for less money, which I would do next time. If you do get to fly with Britannia, have a meal and remove your arms and legs before sitting down and you’ll be just fine.
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Hiya good review what where the premium seats like where they worth the cost if u had got them ?? I also noticed that they do 2 upgrdaes one for £80 & one for £200 do you knw the difference ?
Karnage 05.06.2004 00:49
I've flown with Britannia 4 times (and granted they ARE the only times I've flown) but I can't say I was particularly cramped in the seats, and there's an awful lot of me to go around. Great review though, and a shame your experience of Britannia wasn't as good as mine.
- Karl
MissSurfer 05.05.2004 18:25
Good review, my experiences of Britannia were slightly better but as it was the first time I'd flown (and I was really, really, looking forward to it) it might have been a bit of a novelty...o well
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