Thomsonfly - Your revolutionised form of air travel! (Britannia)

Member Name: a-rdavis

Product:	Britannia
Date:	09/08/05 (4188 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Staff, Service, Punctuality

Disadvantages: Comfort, Legroom

Thomsonfly is the new name for the well-known British charter carrier Britannia Airways. They've been around for well over 20 years, operating flights to the sun for UK package holidaymakers to sunny European and Far Away destinations.

After my last experience with Britannia, I can say I wasn't looking forward to my flight, on July 30th 2005 from Bristol to Las Palmas (Gran Canaria).

Stats:
Code BY083A
Dep BRISTOL 21:50 {departed 22:00}
Arr LAS PALMAS 02:05 {landed 01:32}
Date 30JUL2005
Aircraft BOEING 757-200 / G-BYAT

Code BY083B
Dep LAS PALMAS 03:05 {departed 03:07}
Arr BRISTOL 06:50 {landed 06:31}
Date 07AUG2005
Aircraft BOEING 757-200 / G-BYAT

Review:
~Check-in~
Being the nervous the flyer that I am, I did not want to sit apart from my travel companions, and due to the fact were unwilling to pay the extra money to guarantee we were seated together, I decided to be in Bristol Airport nice and early. So we got there... an hour before check-in was due to open! The inbound flight from Málaga was expected in early, which was obviously a relief for my companions and I, because we've all suffered long delays in the past!
The check-in desks were clearly visible from the terminal doors, covered in light blue Thomsonfly logos and posters. There were customer notices around informing of what we were and weren't allowed on-board the aircraft, in our hand luggage, and in our hold luggage. The desk opened promptly where we were greeted by a friendly assistant, who weighed our luggage and asked general security questions. The service was fast and satisfactory.

Checking-in at Las Palmas was pretty much the same experience, there were Thomson representatives at the check-in desks to ensure the process was speedy and safe, which comforted you to an extent due to the lack of service from the actual check-in assistant.

*NOTE: If you wanted to pre-book your seats on-board the aircraft, it's a £10 per person charge to ensure your sitting together, and if you wish a further £10 can be paid to select your exact seat on board the aircraft. (I wouldn't personally recomment this as if your at check-in early enough, you can ensure a decent seat and that your sat together)

~Boarding~
We were called to board our aircraft on-time, 35 minutes before our ETD (estimated departure time), the large queue that had formed went down at a speedy pace, and before we knew it we had boarded our aircraft. At the door of the plane we were greeted by a friendly smile from an air hostess, who directed us to our seats and wished us a good flight.

The experience was the same on the return flight.

~pre-take off~
On the ground as we were waiting to taxi, Thomsonfly supplied music from KT Tunstall and Coldplay, shortly followed by a welcome message from the crew team-leader. We were shortly taxiing whilst watching an informative, lively security video which would keep both children and adults occupied as we taxiied towards the runway.
After a short wait, the engines powered up, and we were on our way to Gran Canaria, just 10 minutes behind schedule!

Once again the experience was the same on the return flight, with the same music, and even the same cabin crew! We departed only 2 minutes behind schedule.

We found on the return flight that the cabin crew had already given every row at least 2 blankets and pillows - which I have never found with any airline in the past! This was very profiessional and comforting.

**IN THE AIR**
~in-flight service~
There was the same on offer on both flights. A wide selection of beverages, snacks, perfumes, cigarattes etc., all at reasonably good prices. The best offer I found was two cans of Smirnoff ice for £5, which was even cheaper than in the bars and clubs abroad!
Due to the flight being in the night, the cabin crew only offered one snacks service, and we were informed of this beforehand, this was due to the fact they respected that passengers would want to sleep, and due to security reasons were unable to offer a service in the dark.
We found no stock problems on both flights, and that's saying something because we would have been more than capable of selling them out! This was less surprising on the return flight when we were the 3rd row to be served, as opposed to the outbound flight where we were the 24th row to be served.
The service was speedy and of a high standard! The cabin crew even gave my mate a free drink because he'd lost his wallet at Bristol Airport! That's what I call good service!

~in-flight entertainment~
On the outbound flight we were shown Miss Congeniality 2, followed by a selection of cartoons and comedy programmes. It was pretty much the same on the return flight, but Miss Congeniality 2 was replaced with 'Millions'. Both films were suitable for people of all tastes and ages.
There was also a wide selection of radio stations available to listen to, playing a good variety of music from Elvis Presley, to Kylie Minogue.
There were in total, 12 channels to chose from, 2 of which being for TV, and the remaining 10 for music.
Even though the in-flight entertainment wasn't the best, it cannot be faulted.

~cabin crew~
The cabin crew on both flights consisted of the same members. They were an extremely professional, friendly group of hard working staff, who cared for their customers needs (which is more than what can be said for my last experience!).
The level of friendlyness was outstanding, and I was glad to be treated as an equal, no more superior, and no more less than the person I was speaking to. The crew members oftenly walked up and down the aircraft, giving passengers the opportunity to ask any questions, or just have a random chat. They were particularly friendly to our group, which consisted of me (nervous flyer), my friend (diabetic) and my other friend who lost his wallet in Bristol Airport, the crew catered for all our needs and much more, and I shall ensure that Thomsonfly are aware of the excellent standard of service we recieved.
After landing in Las Palmas Airport my other friend believed he had left his passport on the aicraft - therefore all members of cabin crew searched the whole aicraft from top to bottom, and ensured that the bus to take us to the terminal waited until the passport was found - they didn't manage to find the passport because it was in his bag the whole time!

~pilots~
The pilots on both flights were extremely informative, and managed to get us from A to B, safely and comfortably. They introduced themselves at the beginning of both flights, and gave us flying conditions for take-off and ascent, and also informed us of the estimated flying time and the weather at our destination airport.
After take-off they informed us of our route and things to look out for (even though it was dark!), and also informed us of the weather conditions for our flight.
Then finally just before landing, we were once again greeted and thanked for flying on their flight. All take-offs and landings were comfortable - not too steep, with a soft touchdown on both occasions.

~aircraft~
The aircraft, a Boeing 757-200 (G-BYAT), had been re-fitted with the new Thomsonfly aircraft interior. This was leather seats and completely navy! The aircraft itself was fine, no unusual noises, no flashing, or anything out of the ordinary! However I did find it to be rather uncomfortable. The aircraft was cramped, with very little legroom (myself being 5' 11'' it does help to have some room to move my legs!). the seats themselves were rather hard which made sleeping on-board the aicraft uneasy. Thomsonfly could work on the comfort of their aircraft to ensure they have 100% satisfactory ratings.

~overall service~
Overall, Thomsonfly more than exceeded my expectations of a UK charter airline. Our flight took only 3 hours 30minutes (on average), the cabin crew were excellent, what was on offer was more than enough, and I shall definately be using the airline again in the future! (and I'll definately stick to Bristol Airport!).

Thank you Thomsonfly for making my flight experience one of the best ever!

Star rating - *****
Satisfactory rating - 95% (comfort needs improvement)


--- FURTHER DETAILS ---
Thomsonfly have a range of over 25 aircraft of the Boeing 737-500, 757-200, 767-200, and 767-300 varieties. They fly from a total of 18 UK airports, including Bournemouth, Bristol, Cardiff, London: Gatwick, Luton, Stansted; Coventry, Birmingham, Nottingham East Midlands, Norwich, Humberside, Liverpool, Doncaster Sheffield, Leeds-Bradford, Manchester, Durham Tees Valley, Newcastle, and Glasgow International. They are part of the World of TUI group, and more information can be found at www.thomsonflights.com or www.thomsonfly.com

Summary: Outstanding!