Palmair European

Palmair European is an independent airline which flies solely out of Bournemouth Airport in Dorset. It is a small airline, owned by Bath Travel – a family run travel agent with branches across the South Coast of England. Amazingly, Palmair only operates one aircraft – a Boeing 737 – but still manages to give an excellent service with a very personal touch.

Despite its small stature, Palmair recently achieved an amazing third place ...
...Chairman of Bath Travel and Palmair tries to be present at the departure of EVERY FLIGHT to personally wave off the plane and wish the passengers a pleasant journey! Having said that he was unable to be present at our most recent departure, but having flown with them before I can testify that he does attend more often than not and seems like a jolly nice bloke!

This personal touch is continued on the plane, where the in-flight magazine ... more

Palmair European is an independent airline which flies solely out of Bournemouth Airport in Dorset. It is a small airline, owned by Bath Travel – a family run travel agent with branches across the South Coast of England. Amazingly, Palmair only operates one aircraft – a Boeing 737 – but still manages to give an excellent service with a very personal touch.

Despite its small stature, Palmair recently achieved an amazing third place in the “Holiday Which” best airline survey, beating its British competitors hands down, and therefore gaining the title of best British airline – no mean feat for such a small airline.

During the summer, the airline operates 14 flights a week between Bournemouth and seven different European destinations. These include Malaga, Faro, Corfu and Mallorca. Clearly, due to the single aircraft, you can only fly to each of the destinations on a set day each week, which can be slightly restrictive, but as Bath Travel offers holidays tailored around these flight times it is less of a problem if you book through them. As a result of this I am unable to give information on the prices of flights, as I booked flight, accommodation and hire car all together as one package. In the winter, they operate day trips from Bournemouth to a number of different European Cities.

When flying with Palmair, you can check in between one and two hours before the time of your flight (unlike bigger airports when check-in usually closes two hours before). Boarding is very informal, involving a walk across the tarmac, and the departure lounge is basic, but, unbelievably, Peter Bath, the Chairman of Bath Travel and Palmair tries to be present at the departure of EVERY FLIGHT to personally wave off the plane and wish the passengers a pleasant journey! Having said that he was unable to be present at our most recent departure, but having flown with them before I can testify that he does attend more often than not and seems like a jolly nice bloke!

This personal touch is continued on the plane, where the in-flight magazine contains a photo and a little bit of biographical information about every single one of the 40 or so airline staff – including pilots, stewardesses and ground staff – enabling you to get to know the people you come into contact with. There was also an article about Peter Bath himself, and the personal way in which he selects hotels and accommodation for inclusion in Palmair’s brochure.

The plane itself is a typical 737 – two rows of three seats across the aircraft. Recently, one row of seats was removed to make more leg room, and it was certainly by far the best air craft I have been on in a long time in terms of leg room, especially on a short haul flight, where “pack ‘em in” seems to be the philosophy of the majority of airlines. There is only one class on board the plane, presumably due to its small size and also the short haul flights undertaken. The staff are friendly and attentive, and give a personal service without being over-familiar, and genuinely seem to enjoy their work.

The food on the plane was excellent. On the way out, breakfast was served, and the return journey included lunch. I had ordered a vegetarian meal, which arrived with no problems. The breakfast included scrambled egg, baked beans, mushrooms and a hashed brown, together with a grapefruit starter and bread roll. The lunch was a vegetable stroganoff and rice, again with a fruit starter, bread roll and a strawberry tart for dessert. For once the meal I received was actually vegetarian as opposed to vegan – and only differed from the normal meals by the exclusion of meat. All too often on aeroplanes I get given a vegan meal which does not resemble the normal meals (or anything vaguely edible, come to that!) in the slightest, and has a different starter and dessert (I normally end up tucking in to some kind of fruit cocktail whilst my fellow travellers enjoy chocolate profiteroles!), no milk and no butter! A hot drink was served with the meal, and the cabin crew passed up and down several times offering refills.

Drinks could be purchased on the plane, and the drinks trolley also passed up and down several times. There were three toilets, each of which actually contained a little vase of fresh flowers – again a very nice personal touch.

The captain spoke to us frequently before and during the flight, and kept us up to date on any problems or delays, together with flight information and local weather. From a general point of view I would recommend to anyone the experience of flying from your local airport. Coming in to land over local landmarks is fascinating – but be prepared to fight amongst yourselves for the window seat!

I would wholeheartedly recommend travelling with Palmair to anyone who lives anywhere near Bournemouth airport and fancies going to one of the destinations they serve. Even if you were equidistant between Bournemouth and London it would still be worth considering choosing Palmair. Their brochure is always one which I consider when contemplating a holiday as they seem to offer new destinations each year. Flying with Palmair from Bournemouth is a hassle-free way of going on holiday, and the small size of the airline ensures personal and friendly service at all times.
 

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