Monarch Airlines

Advantages: CAN NOT THINK OF ANY ADVANTAGES
Disadvantages: TATTY PLANE, POOR FOOD, DELAYS

MONARCH PREMIUM SERVICE? – IT CERTAINLY IS NOT! This was our first and hopefully our last flight with Monarch; we have in the past avoided flying long haul to the Maldives with Monarch, mainly because of the many bad reviews we have seen. However this year the island we wanted to stay on was only offered via Cosmos and they used Monarch flights during the summer months. We were offered to upgrade to Premium service for a bargain price so we bit ...
...we would have to call Monarch direct 12 weeks before the departure date and request these. Which we did and the very nice Lady on the phone even asked us which seats we wanted, she put all these details on their system and explained that there would be no problem at check in. CHECK IN We arrived at Manchester airport early and we were the first couple to check in at the Premium desk. Our cases were weighed, and we were about 5 kgs over. We explained ... Read review

Advantages: It gets you to your destination
Disadvantages: Cons customers, horrendous customer service, bad food, too many to list here

...had spoke to people at Monarch before we left the UK and they had informed us that we were allowed an extra 5kg luggage allowance. He rolled is eyes and said "there is what you have been told, and there is what is printed on your ticket". We had been staying at an AI hotel and hadn't eaten out through the holiday because the food at the hotel was fine but we had planned to treat ourselves on our last night to go and have a meal out and we had saved ...
...whether that is Cosmos or Monarch at fault. We eventually boarded and despite having paid for seats together were sat across an aisle. Now it is in the small print that 'seats together' can be classed as across and aisle or in front and behind of each other. This isn't exclusive to Monarch most airlines say this so I can't particularly complain in that sense but it still isn't what you would ideally want on such a long flight. Okay we could talk ... Read review

Advantages: Reliable
Disadvantages: Hidden Costs

This is about Monarch scheduled flights not charter, I thought it best to make that clear! Monarch scheduled flights operate to Spain including Alicante, Barcelona and the Balearics, the Canary Islands, Portugal and Cyprus. It uses most UK airports, but mainly Birmingham, Luton, Gatwick and Manchester. I have used them regularly over the past four years and 'touch wood' have not had too many problems. They are certainly not the cheapest no frills ...
...Next is baggage and Monarch have jumped on the 'bandwagon' and started to charge for hold baggage. The cost is £3.99 per bag each way or £10.00 if you do not pre-book and pay at the airport! Hmm bit more expensive now! Then the killer! Credit card charges, oh yes! £1.75 per passenger each way, which adds a whopping £10.50 to our bill for three people, if that isn't enough they also levy a 50p per passenger each way for debit cards. That really ... Read review

Advantages: good staff, good service, very helpful
Disadvantages: low budget and it shows

...a flight to Spain with Monarch airlines (aha - we finally get to the Monarch bit I hear you say!). I searched for ages on the net to find a flight on the days I needed, I was flying out on a Monday and back on the following Thursday. Monarch were the cheapest flying direct from Manchester, and had a good selection of flights and times to choose from, which was good because I needed to get into Spain and then get a train to where my boyfriends band ...
...few more shows. I phoned Monarch on my mobile and within 5 minutes I had changed my flight from the Thursday to the following Monday. They were very helpful and quick and it only cost me £10. On the Monday, I went to the Monarch info desk at the airport and collected my new ticket. No fuss or messing about, it took seconds before I was on my way to the check-in desk. Again the check-in staff were great, as were the gate staff, although I felt comfortable ... Read review

Advantages: excellent service, staff, food
Disadvantages: hard to get out of seats when everybody's food trays are down

...lasted for very long. Monarch insist on having numerous desks, all labelled as check-in for 'All Monarch Flights'. I'd imagine that as the day goes on, this could get extremely inconvenient, especially for anybody who suffers from traffic delays, and arrives at the airport having to queue behind people not scheduled to set off for another two hours!! But, as I say, this wasn't any problem for me, because we got there so early and there were only ...
...I got the impression that Monarch wanted us out of the small and cramped airport as quickly as possible, and everybody boarded at the same time. Different parties' arrivals onto the plane was staggered slightly due to the different buses which were taking us to the plane, but there were still queues to board. ~*~ COMFORT Our plane for both journies was a Boeing 757, and it can't be faulted for comfort. The seats were absolutely fine. Leg room isn't ... Read review