TUI fly - a model of German efficiency (TUI Fly)

Member Name: fizzywizzy

Product:	TUI Fly
Date:	28/11/08 (476 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Friendly cabin crew, comfortable planes, good offers

Disadvantages: Limited flights from UK

TUI Fly are a German-based airline that sells package holidays as well as flights only. They have high street branches in Germany and Austria (and a few in Slovenia I've noticed) but they have a prominent presence on the web and it was after being bombarded by promotional e-mails from the airline that I finally booked a flight with TUI Fly.

TUI Fly is not a budget airline but does have regular promotions that bring the prices in line with the likes of Easyjet and Ryanair. When the flights are not on offer the prices do tend to come close to, say, British Airways or Lufthansa. Earlier this year we paid around £60 each for a return flight from Newcastle to Hannover, the bulk of which was taxes.

The good news about TUI Fly is that they don't charge you for lots of hidden extras like hold luggage, desk check-in or seat allocation (shame on you Jet2!) which makes on-line booking a less stressful affair as you aren't constantly making sure you're not being charged for something you don't want. Overall the on-line booking process was swift and simple and there are several ways to look for suitable flights including a brilliant at-a-glance list that shows a handful of the cheapest flights available from your departure airport. This is great if you are flexible with dates as you can simply scroll down for the best bargains rather than carry out endless searches.

Web check-in is available for many but not all of their European departures. We checked in on-line for our outward flight but at the airport for our return which proved to be quick and hassle free.

The flying experience really was something quite enjoyable and, as a frequent flier, the experience for me is generally something to be endured impatiently before my holiday proper starts. The first thing that struck me was the genuine warmth and friendliness of the (all German) cabin crew who all spoke impeccable English. Maybe I have been flying with Ryanair too much because I was excited by the broad selection of free newspapers and magazines that were available, piled up in the first few overhead lockers for passengers to take as they boarded. Admittedly they were all in German so perhaps not ideal for all passengers but I took as many magazines and papers as was polite and stashed them in my bag to read at a later date as I usually only load up on German-language mags in Austria as I find the mark-up in the UK ridiculous.

You had to pay for refreshments but the prices were reasonable and (although we didn't eat) the choice of snacks was good and the food (sandwiches, pizza slices and pastries) did look quite appetising and definitely a step-up from Ryanair fare.

Another thing that got me excited (since I only occasionally fly long haul) were the screens displaying the location of the plane and distance to our destination, etc. What was particularly fun was the occasional update of the football scores as we were travelling during the European Championships.

The seats were comfortable and the general appearance of the aircraft interior was good, certainly not shabby or grubby as Ryanair and Easyjet places often are, though I suspect this place hadn't done the number of journeys a Ryanair plane does over the course of a day.

Having described how pleased I was with TUI Fly, I now have to reveal the bad news. This airline only flies into/out of Manchester and Newcastle in the UK, and even then with limited destinations (Newcastle - Hannover, Manchester - Cologne, Venice, Stuttgart, Hannover). However, you could always use the service for onward flights from one of those destinations (For example, from Hannover you can fly to a large number of "holiday destinations" such as Crete, Madeira, Sicily and Dubrovnik).

The other drawback is that flights aren't daily and this limits the likelihood of using the airline for quick breaks. We found a cheap weekend from Friday evening to Sunday evening but had we wanted to extend it we would have had to return on Tuesday rather than Monday. That said, the flights we did pick were ideal and helped create the perfect weekend getaway.

If you can fly out of Newcastle or Manchester and can take advantage of the promotional offers from TUI Fly, then I would unreservedly recommend the airline. However, the standard prices are quite steep and the ,limited schedule out of the UK does affect what you might pay as demand will be greater and promotional flight times might not always suit your plans.

Regular business fliers should take advantage of the Blue Miles card and collect miles towards free flights in a scheme that does seem pretty achievable, unlike some frequent flier schemes.
Based on my experience I would describe TUI Fly as a step up from the budget airlines but perhaps not so special as to justify the standard prices. I would like to see them expand their UK services and will certainly be checking their e-mails for future trips.

https://www.tuifly.com/en/index.html

Summary: A useful if limited German airline