A massive thank you to all who read and rate my reviews.
A massive thank you to all who read and rate my reviews.
Member since:30.08.2002
Reviews:135
Members who trust:44
I thought as I'd been writing a bit about my holiday (are u all fed up yet?!!) I would tell you about my experience with Thomas cook airlines.
Obviously my flight was not long haul but heading on for the 4 hour mark to Fuerteventura this is long enough for me on a plane.
Check in at Gatwick South Terminal a couple of weeks ago was much more busier than I expected, especially at 5.00AM. There were about 6 or 7 check in desks operational at this time with three or four not being used. The queue was massive and we had to wait about 45 minutes. In all fairness throughout this time the queue was moving all of the time (they must have just had a lot of flights out that morning, I think from memory there were about five destinations on the screens so when you take into account that the average short haul flights carries around 300 passengers you certainly can't complain about having to wait 45 minutes for check in)
Check in was painless, hand over tickets and passports, get cases on the scales and see how heavy your case really is! (I always pack far too much!), all the normal safety checks (did you pack your case etc etc) and they asked to see our hand luggage. Once at the desk it really was a speedy service. The man who done out tickets
was friendly and polite even at that time in the morning! He even looked to see if there was emergency exit seats available together (there wasn't) for more leg room for us.
(Just a note about the check in at Fuerteventura when coming come these were NOT thomas cook personell and have to say were more intrested in speaking to each other - our check in person never even said a word to us!)
At the boarding gate again we were met by Thomas cook personnel. Seating was called in batches of row numbers which made things a lot easier for actually boarding the plane. Again all staff very pleasant.
Service on the plane was just as good. We were offered the choice to purchase drinks from the onboard bar before being served a hot breakfast, muffin and orange juice. As with most flights we were then offered tea or coffee by the cabin crew. Breakfast over a while later you were offered the tax free purchases but I normally do this on my return journey rather than on my way out. That's just personal preference. All the way through the flight we were kept up to date with our progress towards Fuerteventura by the Captain and anything else we needed to know by the senior cabin member.
Return journey was pretty much the same deal though instead of breakfast we had a chicken dinner on the flight home.
THE PLANE ITSELF ...Was clean. This is important I think. I would hate to think I was getting onto a plane they hadn't bothered cleaning. The leg room was very limited but for a short haul flight this was normal. Though I do pity people with long legs...I'm okay I'm only a shortie!
SAFETY Safety onboard this aircraft was shown on the TV screens which hang from the ceiling of the aircraft. Showing all the normal details about oxygen masks, emergency exits, life jackets and the brace position. The cabin crew also pointed out the emegerancy exits. There was also a safety leaflet in the seat pocket in front of you. All seatbelts were checked to make sure they were fastened before take off and landing.
HEALTH With a lot of emphasis on DVT and flying (Deep Vein Thrombosis) the airlines seem to be making more of a point to advise this to their passengers. Since this came out I have noticed each time I have flown there has been more about it on each flight. Thomas cook do appear to take this quite seriously as we were shown a video on doing the right exercises on the plane while sitting and there was a four page spread in the in-flight magazine. I think it is much better now that the airlines do take some responsibility for advising their passengers. I remember numerous times when I flew and never really bothered moving my legs etc before the details of DVT and flying came out. Well done to Thomas cook for taking this seriously.
BAR As with most airlines you can purchase drinks from their bar, this ranges from soft drinks, bottled water to alcoholic drinks and hot drinks. Thomas cook airlines like other do offer a range of snacks which can be purchased which includes, sweets, muffins, small tubes of pringles and chocolate. These are all really over priced in my eyes and I tend not to buy on the plane (A small bottle of water set us back £1.20). To be fair to Thomas cook their prices were certainly not out of line than what any of the other short haul carriers charge. (in comparison to mytravel who we flew with in May, prices differences were a couple of pence)
CABIN CREW SERVICE Well, as I have said the service on ground from Thomas Cook was very good. At 28.000 feet it was no different. The staff onboard were very helpful and attentive. The crew on the return journey I found to be very helpful especially when I was making jewellery purchases from the onboard shopping. We had some turbulence on the way home and a girl in the isle next to us was very shaken and upset by it and the lady crew member who was looking after our section of the plane was very good with her. Explaining why the plane was jumping around alot and that it was quite normal and nothing to worry about. The girl was certainly a lot calmer after the crew member had spoken to her.
SHOPPING As with most airlines you have a chance to splash out and treat yourself or treat someone else with the onboard range of gifts. This included fragrances with both a good selection available for men and women. Some women's beauty products were also available. Cigarettes and alcohol are also available as well as children's toys, jewellery, sunglasses and holiday essentials which you may have forgotten (travel plug etc). Overall, again the standard of products was in line with any other airline. Payment could be made by credit card & cash (Sterling or Euros but Euros would only be accepted in note form)
FOOD You either love or hate airline food and I myself really like it. On the way to Fuerteventura we had a cooked breakfast which included scrambled eggs, beans, sausage, a muffin, orange juice and a choice of tea or coffee, Homeward bound we had Chicken in sauce with peas and carrots, roll and apple and blackberry crumble, again with a choice of tea or coffee. I've seen some airlines offer juice for anyone wanting it and children but I didn't see this on board these flights. Overall the meal was hot and again typical airline food. I enjoyed it and so did my partner.
IN-FLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT This I didn't bother with. Headsets were available to purchase on board for £2.50 and adapters only (if you had you own headphones) were £1.00. Having headsets would have allowed you to listen to various radio stations and styles of music and to see the in-flight movie. I can't remember what movie we had going home but outward bound we had the new film 'down with love' starring Renee Zellwegger. So they were fairly upto date with the choice of movie they put on. Obviously this kind of romantic comedy isn't going to suit everyone's tastes in films but it certainly wasn't a bad choice. If the radio and films aren't your choice then Thomas cook do have an in-flight magazine which should be in the seat pockets in front of you. This has numerous articles in which can give you some light readying on your flight.
PUNCTUALITY Very good. We boarded in plenty of time and left both outward and inward bound on time. We even made it back to the UK 15 minutes early!
****Overall***** I was impressed with Thomas cook and I would certainly fly with them again. The staff were all very helpful, plane was clean, food was fine and service really was very good.
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Oct 18th, 2003
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