Having had a bit of a nightmare holiday experience last year with Travel City Direct (see review - incompetence of TCD) while trying to get to Florida, I was a little alarmed, when my better half came home one day and told me that she had booked our holiday for this year - to Florida again. She eventually talked me round by saying that this year we will have the holiday we should have had last year, the clincher was that we were flying from our regional airport (not Gatwick) and that we were flying with Monarch Airlines. Finally accepting that this was a done deal and I could do nothing about it, I started to warm to the idea of another Florida holiday. I started then to speak to friends who had used Monarch and also read the reviews on Ciao. I started to get worried again, too many reports of cramped seating and poor service. As I am just over 6 foot tall and carrying a few more pounds in weight than I should be, the thought of being cramped up for over 8 hours didn't sound like too much fun.
Eventually the day came, we arrived at the airport in plenty of time for our flight, to be met with a long queue for the check in. However compered to last year they had 4 check ins open and the queue moved steadily along. We checked in after about 25 minutes and it had all gone so smoothly (all the check in staff were polite, friendly and efficient), we then proceded to the departure lounge. Whilst in there I looked across the runway expecting to see a Jumbo jet as we had used one of these last year, alas there was none there, and as our flight was on time it meant one of the planes I was looking at was ours and none of them looked as big as a jumbo - I started to worry. Eventually we were called to board our plane, it turned out to be an Airbus 330. With help from the cabin crew most people were seated fairly quickly. I sat down and was happy to find adequate legroom, not what I was expecting (however this legroom is reduced if the passenger in front decides to recline their seat, but even then not to the point where it becomes very uncomfortable). We eventually took off, 30 minutes late, the flight lasted 8.30 hours and was a good flight, very little turbulence, a great take off and a superb landing. During the course of the flight the cabin crew went about there duties with utmost professionalism and seemed friendly and approachable. The in flight entertainment consisted of a few comedies and documentries and a feature film which was ok. The crew served 2 meals during the flight 1 hot 1 cold, these were typical flight meals and were alright. The one thing I did notice about Monarch is the amount of times during the flight they try to part you from your cash, selling everything from scratch cards to duty free goods, however it must be said that you are in no way pressured to buy any of this stuff from the crew - only your own kids. If I have to gripe about the flight it was that the aisles in the plane are narrow, so if you are seated on the edge of a row you get bumped - often, and they are quite often blocked by the cabin crew with their trolleys, so planning a toilet trip or stretch of legs takes on something of an art form. That said, it is a minor gripe considering the time spent on the plane. We landed, had the great holiday, my wife said we would (smart arse) and the flight back was a virtual carbon copy of the one going over, except for a bit more turbulence.
Having read other reviews about this airline prior to going, I have to say that I was worried. Now I can speak from my own experience and can report that my fears were unfounded. One thing that I have learned is that I dont like flying for that length of time, but this is in no way the fault of the airline and if I ever do have to fly long haul again in the future I would definately not rule out Monarch as a carrier.