MyTravel > Reviews > Should this be a budget airline?

Author's product rating:   

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

Advantages:	Cheap seats and lots of routes
Disadvantages:	Poor service and terrible safety demo

Recommend to potential buyers:

no

Full review

MyTravel Airlines used to be called Airtours (and British Airtours before that), but was rebranded in 2002 after Airtours group was taken over by the MyTravel group. They are a charter airline that operate out of the UK, mainly to European and other short haul destinations.

In January my partner and I travelled with them from London Gatwick to Las Palmas (Gran Canaria). We booked a late deal over the phone through Airtours and got our entire holiday for less than 200 quid each. An absolute bargain! The holiday itself was fantastic, but with regard our flights with MyTravel, it certainly was a case of getting exactly what we paid for... which is not a good reflection for those who paid full price for their seats!

The aircraft was an Airbus A320 holding 180 passengers in a 3-aisle-3 configuration. The interior of the aircraft on both sectors appeared quite old. The walls and ceilings that we presumed had once been white or cream were a delightful shade of beige, and the once-bright-blue seats were somewhat less than clean and recently upholstered. The seat pitch was average in comparison to other charter airlines, but still notably less than that experienced on Monarch Airlines and Excel. The seats themselves were uncomfortable, as the base of the seatbacks were hard and dug into the small of our backs for the whole four hours we were on board. But I guess that's an integral part of the charter experience!

The service was appalling! Particularly on the outbound sector, not one of the five cabin crew seemed to raise a smile... not that we noticed anyway! The guy who served us for the majority of the services barely managed a grunt as he took our orders for drinks and practically threw them at us. He managed to ask for the correct money though, but no signs of a 'please', 'thank you', or 'enjoy your drinks'.

Neither of us watched the movie, but headsets were available for the very cheap price of GBP 1.75. Outbound movie was Triple-X, which was a new movie at the time. We didn't notice what was played inbound.

As with many of the charter airlines, in-flight meals can be requested or refused on booking the holiday or flight. Saving about 40 quid in total, we both opted out of the meals option. Gran Canaria is only a short flight away (4 hours or so) so I think it is quite possible to last the distance without a meal (so long as you fill yourself up beforehand). At 10 pounds per meal, I personally preferred to opt for Pringles and a couple of drinks, which were reasonably priced.

Credit must be given for punctuality, as both flights left dead on time. The flight deck kept the passengers well informed on the progress of both flights, which is always nice.

However, my biggest gripe of all is with MyTravel's pre-flight safety demonstration. This is by far the most important aspect of any flight with any airline. On both sectors, a video demo was used, as opposed to a manual demonstration by the crew. Personally, I always prefer a manual demo, as it is clearer and more consise. As for video demos, I've seen some excellent, informative ones, as well as some half-hearted ones. MyTravel's safety video was beyond a joke. Presented as a cartoon, with a funky young skateboarding central character and his dog, the demo was accompanied by comic comedy music which made a complete mockery of the all-important safety information. As a cabin crew member for an airline myself, I feel strongly about this. It is hard enough to get some people to pay attention to the safety demo, without making it into a laughing matter! Terrible! And it is for this reason alone that I will opt out of flying with MyTravel again!

All in all, the seats were cheap and cheerful, with drinks and snacks sold on board at good prices. Both flights left on time. The service, however, was minimal and unfriendly, more like a budget airline service than a leading charter company. The safety procedures video was a joke...