Jet Me to the Canaries (JMC Air)

Member Name: helencb

Product:	JMC Air
Date:	26/11/01 (119 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap

Disadvantages: Not enough legroom

About six weeks ago, I decided to book a ‘last minute’ holiday break for one week in the sun. So, almost on impulse I booked a week’s holiday to Fuerteventura, with JMC. I haven’t really been on a lot of package holidays, and lately my holidays have been tagged on to the back of business trips, so I was a little apprehensive about what was in store for us. I did read one OP on Ciao, which rated JMC pretty good, but I did notice that there were others with only one star rating. I decided not to read these, as it would put me off!

My biggest concerns were cramped seats and flight delays.

The dates I could go were fairly limited, and for this reason I had to go from Manchester, although Glasgow is actually my closest international airport. Manchester was a reasonable second choice, as we have family we could overnight with if needed.

I was pretty pleased with the timing of the flights. Our outbound flight was scheduled for 1325 hrs, meaning we would be in resort by early evening, and our return flight left at 1850 hrs, arriving back into UK at 2320hrs. No middle of the night horrors spent in an uncomfortable airport lounge, and no waiting around not being able to access our apartment were definite pluses in booking this holiday!

We were able to check in up to three hours early on our outbound flight, but although we arrived 3hrs 20 minutes early, we were able to check in, no problem. There were several desks at Manchester airport, and we checked in within about ten minutes of arrival.

When our tickets had arrived, it gave information that the seats with extra legroom were pre-bookable at a cost of £30, per person. However, as this was intended to be a cheapie holiday, I didn’t follow this up any further. When we checked in, we were allocated two aisle seats, in row four. This was our seating preference, as at least it would give us both the advantage of being able to stretch our le
gs a little bit more, into the aisle, whenever we could.

The aircraft left Manchester about ten minutes after schedule, however the flight time was only 3 hr 55 min, compared to a schedule of 4 hr 55 min, so we still arrived into the resort on time.

The cabin service was of a satisfactory standard for a holiday airline and it certainly met my expectations. The service began by offering headsets for sale at £2.50, for the in flight movie. Not having flown on a holiday airline for a long time, I had forgotten all about this practice, and we elected not to bother with the TV anyway. The movie was American Sweetheart, followed by comedy shows such as friends.

Next we were offered drinks. These have to be paid for, with JMC. However the cost was reasonable, at £2.50 for a small bottle of French Chardonnay. This was perfectly drinkable. Passengers were given a complimentary packet of Mini cheddars, and you could buy other snacks such as Pringles or chocolate. A small tub of Pringles was £1.
The meal on board was satisfactory, sausages and mash, plus rhubarb crumble and coffee/tea. Not gourmet food, but reasonable airline food nonetheless.

Once the food was dealt with, there was the opportunity to buy goods; the catalogue was reasonably extensive, although I don’t tender to bother ever making a purchase.

There was a thinnish in flight magazine, which was of satisfactory quality, but just not sufficient content to keep you entertained for very long.

The major downside was the legroom. The seats were cramped, and I was a little bit sensitive to the dangers of Deep Vein Thrombosis. I felt extremely uncomfortable from start to finish, and could not wait to disembark. Later, I noticed a fairly largish bruise on the outer side of my thigh, which must have been caused by pressing against the armrest for too long. Now I admit, I am not Twiggy, but there are plenty of other people my height and weight
who would feel just as uncomfortable as I would. Four hours was definitely as long as I could go, with this seating.

On the return flight, we were unable to check in until two hours before the flight was due to depart, and, as we had arrived at the airport quite early, we found ourselves among the first to check in. We enquired as to whether there were any seats with extra legroom, and we were offered two seats together, at the exit. Great, we had all the legroom we wanted. This did make the journey somewhat more comfortable.

Once again the flight was on time, and even landed fifteen minutes early at Manchester. The service was again of satisfactory quality throughout. As we were at the exit, we had two air hostesses seated opposite us for take off and landing. My only comment was that they had a tendency to gripe and complain to each other about various JMC policies and procedures (nothing too horrendous, just typical work place gripes). However I don’t think the time to be doing this is in front of your customers!

All in all, the experience was satisfactory; after all I do realise that the demand for cheaper holidays does force airlines to cramp in seats. I hope this practice changes through time.

Summary: