Britannia - Do not rule the world! (Britannia)

Member Name: Cybabaybe

Product:	Britannia
Date:	08/07/03 (586 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Honestly Cant Think Of One :(

Disadvantages: Poor Service, Real 'budget' feeling to the flight

I returned home from Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt very early on Monday morning with Britannia Airways. Im not usually one for writing reviews but this just had to be done.

I am a regular flyer and have flown to Sharm before, however this was my first experience with Britannia. There are no direct flights from UK to Sharm with any of the big airlines which means you tend to have to get a budget airline flight or a package holiday - we chose the latter for convenience.

Apon getting to check-in at the airport we were offered the extra legroom seats on Britannias 757 flight (my boyfriend is nearly 6'5") so we thought that was a stroke of luck!

Cabin
Apon boarding the craft we were very dissapointed. We sat in row 23 - me at the window and my partner next to me. Now, i understand that these rows are the emergency exits but the bulkhead covering for the emergency exit door was taking up half the 'extra room', infact i had to sit at an angle so that i could have my legs infront of me. My tall partner could not have sat like that for over 5 hours (and these 'larger' seats were really for him) His seat was infront of the crew jump seat so for take off and landing he had to lean his legs one way while the stewardess leant hers the other so they could both sit comfortably. Also, being in the exit row meant that we had no 'seat backs' and therefore no inflight magazine, safety instructions, sickbag or headphones for the film.

Britannia charge a whopping amount if you want to prebook the extra legroom seats (over £100 each) - i would have been very angry if i had paid that much and recieved the seat that i got. Although, i was greatful i had a seat as check-in had allocated some seats to several people and we were delayed for a long time trying to sort this out.


Entertainment
Once i had finally found some comfort i then noticed that the gangway tv was situated so that i could barely se
e it, the top right corner excluded from view by the overhead baggage store above me. The picture quality was also very poor. I felt upset that as well as not being comfortable in my seat, i could not enjoy the entertainment properly. I should not have bothered - they tried to show the same set of programs on both journeys - after some frantic complaining by other passengers an old film was selected to watch instead.

Food/Drink
The meals were truly awful. I requested a vegetarian meal which got translated as a vegan meal, i almost wept at the sorry looking tray i was presented with. I tried to explain that i just didnt want meat or fish in my main course and that i did want the bread roll and piece of cake - but to no avail. I didnt eat the meal. I think the standard meal was chicken, not that passengers were given a choice.
I requested a Baileys on the return flight but was told they had no Baileys or no ice. Because their flight was not a stop-over they had not picked up any fresh supplies so choice was very limited. This wasnt good to hear, when you have paid good money for your ticket you expect a reasonable service. Also, soft drinks had to be paid for as only tea or coffee were served with the meal. I think that they could have stretched to supplying water at least.

Onboard the plane it was very cold, i had noticed several passengers with blankets and eye pads so i asked the stewardess for a blanket (sitting in the exit row seems to be colder too) i was told that they didnt have any more and was asked to sit down. It seems a shame that Britannia try to provide good services (like blankets for night flights) but are let down by not having enough. I think i would prefer they didnt have any at all if they didnt have enough to go around.

Space aboard a 757 is tight, but on many occasions the gangway was blocked with meal trolleys that were not in their places, these were placed infront of the toilets at one point, stopping tw
o pasengers from gtting out. I thought this was particularly bad from a health and safety point of view.


I can honetly say that my flight with Britannia is the worst flight i have ever had. I was almost in tears at the prospect of being on the flight for five hours with no form of escape.

Britannia offer a budget service but not a budet price, they need to work out what they want to offer and stick with it!

Summary: