almost everything is good : - too much to list here
Disadvantages:
can be a little more expensive than other european airlines but worth it
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
please excuse the all capital notes that follow:- I thiml these are very important for you to read before reading the rest... >PLEASE READ ALL AS FIRST FEW LINES REPRESENT AIRLINE WHEN I FLEW SOME TIME AGO, THEY ARE NOW SOMEWHAT DIFFERENT! >ALSO THIS REVIEW IS ON MONARCH SCHEDULED - ZB, NOT MON >ONE LAST NOTE:- MONARCH IS NOT ADVERTISED AS A BUDGET AIRLINE AND ALTHOUGH MORE EXPENSIVE THAN SOME BUDGET AIRLINES THEY ARE GENERALLY NOT TOO BAD. I flew with monarch Scheduled for the first time over five years ago, and it must be said that at the time I was somewhat less than impressed. I found the planes to be in awful condition and generally flying with them was displeasurable.
My step-dad moved out to the costa blanca in spain in 2005 and since then I have made frequent flights with Monarch from Manchester to Alicante, and back. This means I am now a member of their vantage club which makes flying even better than it already is anyway. I always get butterflies in my stomach before flying though I do actually enjoy flying.
THE PLANES... the majority of the planes used by monarch are airbuses. There are a large number of airbus A321s, a large number of A320s and several A330s. I have never flown on an A330 and therefore cannot comment on these however the A320s are my favourite of the monarch aircrafts and are always light and comfortable, as well as being airy and are a pleasure to travel on. These have dark blue seat coverings and look very new, though I believe they are actually older than they appear. The A321s are seperated into two chunks, which are two slightly diferent models (I believe these are A321-100s and A321-200s though I cannot be sure, although they can be easily told apart inside they are hard to distinguish from the outside and I do not know which is which. Both are light and airy, and very comfortable. The only real noticable difference is the seat coverings. Some have light blue seat coverings, whereas the others have the same as on the airbus A320s. The aircraft with light blue seats have newer looking blue tables, whereas the ones with darker seats have off white coloured tables. The other large chunk of their aircrafts are boeing 757s which are somewhat old and decrepit however these are soon going to be replaced with 787s. Despite their age they are still comfortable but are dark and dingy and some in pretty poor condition. It is noticable however that the Boeing 757s do tend to have better landings which is good for me as I have ear problems when landing on planes, which makes me fear flying somewhat.
FLIGHTS... With Monarch you can fly from the UK to virtually anywhere in western europe. They are frequent and generally you can get a flight from where to where and when you like. They fly mainly from Luton, Manchester, Birmingham and Gatwick, to all over Europe. I am now going to go over all of their destinations with you, so please bare with me, or skip if you feel the need to do so: ABERDEEN> >malaga BIRMINGHAM> >alicante >almeria >faro >ibiza > lanzarote >malaga >menorca >murcia >palma >tenerife south GATWICK> >alicante >faro >granada >Ibiza >lanzarote >lisbon > malaga >murcia >orlando sanford >tenerife south LUTON> >alicante >almeria >faro >gibralter >gran canaria >ibiza >lanzarote >lamaca >malaga >menorca >palma >tenerife south MANCHESTER> >alcante >almeria >barcelona >faro >ibiza >jerez >lanzarote >malaga >menorca >murcia >orlando sanford >palma >tenerife south
STAFF... The staff on monarch are very friendly and always helpful, the service being second to none. The only problem I have ever experienced with Monarch cabin crew was not so much my problem but hers. This cabin crew member was a trainee and was going around with the drinks trolley, whilst doing so the plane dropped suddenly and her face went utterly white:- priceless. I did feel sorry for her, though it was funny. The cabin crew are always well dressed and look smart. Another thang I have noticed about monarch is that they seem to have more male, and more women with larger builds than other airlines. I am not saying that this is a bad thing, far from it. I think it is good that it is offering equal oppertunities to these people. One thing I have never seen however is a member of cabin crew, of ethnic origin. I am not sure wether this is because they cannot get through training or wether this is descriminatory, but it seems a little odd in this modern day and age, where such discrimination is no longer accepted. The cabin crew in general are always smiling and are always happy to help. On a recent journey to spain myself and my mother had a domestic incident and whilst waiting for the bus to the plane at alicante we were talking about what hd happened. We both wanted to get ome at the time of the incident, but we had not prosecuted the man responsible. On the plane we got to our seats, and my mum broke down in tears. A member of cabin crew came and asked if everything was alright. We explained the situation and my mum explained that she did not feel up to flying and wanted to go back and prosecute the man involved. The cabin crew and ground staff were very helpful in offloading our lugage from the hold, and transporting us back to the terminal building and re-arranging our flights.
RELIABILITY... I have never experienced a long delay with Monarch, due to causes within their control, and the latest I have ever arrived at my destination was 2.5 hours at Manchester, due to the airport getting snowed in meaning a landing at Liverpol and staying there for nearly 2 hours before taking back off to Manchester.
PRICE... Generally Monarchs prices can be higher than that of the standard european airline, british airways excluded. Although not everyone is willing to pay £75 for what you can get for £70 elsewhere the superior customer service and facilities are well worth paying that little bit extra for. Upgrades to extra legroom seats are available before or during flight, and cost between £10 and £15 one way. this offers 6inch more legroom and is very good for the taller people on the flight.
FOOD... The old reliable awful airline food... ...is not what Monarch gives you. Monarchs food isa the best I have ever experienced on a plane and a 3 course meal with drink for £6 is by no means expensive. The food is always hot however there is cold and light meals should you prefer. the meals are well priced and seond to none for quality. Starter normally consists of a salad on the main meal or orange juice on the light option. The main meal varies depeding on when you fly, and the light meal is always vegetarian. The desert is normally either a lemon cheesecake or chocolate duo mousse, though it is also sometimes a brownie desert. I have never tried the brownie as I have never had the chance but the others I have tried have been wonderful. Paninis are also available, normally these are either cheese and tomato or cheese and ham. The cheese and ham is very nice however I have never tried th cheese and tomato. All meals are derved with tea or coffee, and breakfasts are avilable on early morning flights, I have never tried one of these.
SAFETY... The one thing when boarding a plane that is always on my mind is whether or not the plane is safe for flying, as I am a very nervous flyer, particularly in bad whether. A major fear I have is of flying in a storm, and I have always said that if their was a storm before I boarded the plane I would be unable to board the plane. Most of my fears however, are put to rest with monarch as they have very good safety demonstrations, and I always check when sitting down that the life jacket is under my seat (though I do try to be discrete about this to avoid being complained at by staff). The safety videos are straight forward and easy to follow which is very good for nervous flyers and just adds an extra sense of security.
Although Monarch are a little more expensive than some airlines I would highly reccomend them, and I would ask you not to rate an airline on its prices alone. I find Monarch to be a wonderful airline, and ope that you, having seen this review will also use them and see how good they are. I hope you found this review helpful, and if you have any questions or require any information please leave me a comment. HAPPY FLYING...
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