If possible, please leave criticism in your comments so that I can improve!!
If possible, please leave criticism in your comments so that I can improve!!
Member since:28.05.2003
Reviews:63
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Thomsonfly (not thompsonfly as the name of this category suggests), formerly Britannia Airways, is the charter airline of the Thomson travel agent (formerly Lunn Poly) and the Thomson Holidays tour operator, all of which are owned by parent company TUI, the german mega-company.
I have only been on one pair of Thomsonfly flights, and this was only due to me leaving the booking to the last minute, and that being the cheapest available option - I wouldn't have gone with Thomson given a totally free choice, as I did a piece of A level economics coursework about this market, and discovered that Thomson and the other three big operators are rated the worst for customer satisfaction.
However, I was reasonably impressed with them. They sent the tickets through fairly quickly, they came printed in a book with a whole host of information about the holiday, and with tags to put on our bags. The seats were also numbered, which was nice, as I am used to flights where seating is a free-for-all.
Check-in was fast and efficient, Thomson had many desks open at London Luton so we got through fairly quickly. They required us to have checked in fairly early though, something like two and a half hours before the flight, no online check in like with BA.
Getting onto the plane, it was a lot bigger than I am used to! We were only going as far as the mediterranean so it wasn't one of their biggest in the fleet, it had 3 seats, then aisle, then four, then aisle, then three, in each row. The armrests had headphone jacks in them, for you to listen to either one of their piped music channels, or the audio from the piped televisions playing in each section of the plane. I didn't have headphones with me, but they offered the chance to purchase some for £3. Nah.
The leg-room offered on this aeroplane was appalling. I'm not that tall, around the six foot mark, but it was so uncomfortable the entire journey.
On take-off, the plane accelerated much faster than I'm used to, which was fun, but it really sounded like the tail hit the ground when we became airborne.. There was a collossal bang from the rear! I've no idea if it was or not, but it definitely sounded like it..
The in-flight snacks were predictably very expensive.
On the return journey, they were very late for checking in, which was rather annoying.
They gave everyone a questionnaire about the quality of the service.
Overall, I wouldn't particularly recommend this airline. They're alright if you have no other option. Thomsonfly are basically a low-cost carrier airline, but without the low prices of EasyJet and Ryanair. They try to use their high prices to give the perception of quality more like BA, but you really aren't paying for what you're getting. Of course, all Thomson travel agents refer you to Thomsonfly automatically, so they don't really need to be very efficient or have good competitive advantage, as they always get easy customers from their travel agent. All I can say is, if you're going to a Thomson travel agent in the first place, you're bound to be a complete mug anyway, so won't notice you're being ripped off further. So in conclusion, only go with Thomson if its your only option. And if you're tall or wide, be prepared to be uncomfortable..
Charges for headsets on a mediteranian flight cost £2 and not £3. The legroom is standard throughout the aircraft, unfortunatley you have the dis-advantage of being over 6ft. But the simple and fairest way would be for you to pay £15 for an extra legroom seat, the majority of people have no issues as only handfuls of passengers are under 6ft and if they are over they usually ask for and pay for the legroom as they know it will be uncomfortable. Although as from 2007 the airline will have the biggest seat pitch alongside First Choice in the UK and also the biggest leg-room in Premium in the UK from advertisments.
I have also noticed you said the aircraft was in a 3-4-3 configuration "not the largest in its fleet". Im afraid to tell you it is the largest aircraft in the carriers fleet and the seats are in a 2-42 configuration not a 3-4-3.
Inflight snacks etc. Im holding four major charter UK airlines inflight magazines in front of me. The price variations between them is as much as 10p with Thomsonfly showing as the cheapest than most and much cheaper than low-cost operators with many offers to purchase 2 and get £1 off, buy two spirits and get 15% off the total. Offers everywhere which many airlines dont have.
If you use any tour operators agent the first holidays they come up with are there own wether you travel with MyTravel or First Choice. You would only use another operator if you ask for it.
So all in all not a comprehensive and detailed review of an Airline which is the third largest UK carrier. Minor incorrect details which have a big effect on peoples choice of travel
Nar 24.01.2006 17:50
Thank you for the warning!
angel530 24.01.2006 17:47
Ive flown with them before and had pretty much the same experience as you..wont be using them again! but great review
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Advantages: Excellent flight prices and good customer service, wide range of european destinations, good leg room Disadvantages: Poor terminal facilities, discriminatory?
sue.51 01.08.2004 (01.08.2004)
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Review of Thompsonfly
Jan 24th, 2006
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