Air Comet review by Deb Barrett

25 March 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

Flew Buenos Aires to Madrid. Service was very slow ,catering very poor. We had to pay for alcoholic drinks on an 11 hour 45 mins flight. The light above my seat was left on all night as the crew could not switch it off. The crew were miserable, no warmth or smiles.

Air Comet review by N Ramirez

17 March 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

Lima-Madrid with AirComet - worst flight ever. We had a 12 hours delay, the new connecting flights they had given us in the check-in counter in Lima were non-existent! They had given out non-existent flights to Vienna, London and Frankfurt. How can an airline do such a thing? Finally we got to Viena with an 18 hour delay. I will never travel with Air Comet again.

Air Comet review by H Jedry

17 March 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

Air Comet flight 980 on 01 March 2008 from San Jose (Costa Rica) to Madrid. At the airport in San Jose, 2 hours wait in the queue, total chaos in front of the check-in counters. The flight left with a 5 hour delay and despite the fact it was sold as a non stop flight - took a 3 hours detour to refuel and to take on board 12 passengers in Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic). Onboard broken sits, air condition did not work, no forks for dinner and poor service. The flight arrived 6 hours late in Madrid and it was the worst flight I have been on. But the worst was still to come. My connecting flight to Frankfurt was already gone and other alternative flights too. I waited 3 hours at Air Comet service counter, the agent there was extremely rude and sent me away with no help at all. I had to spend a night in Madrid and purchase a new ticket to get home. Air Comet refused to take any responsibility for whatsoever. I will never fly with Air Comet again and I would never recommend this airline to anyone.

Air Comet review by David Shipman

11 February 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

Good service travelling from Madrid to Lima. Some technicality stopped us from leaving Madrid for two hours but we made up some time, landing an hour late. Service was good I was expecting far worse and was pleasantly surprised!

Air Comet review by Tony Hartley

4 February 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

Business class - I wasn't expecting the earth. MAD-EZE A310 had to stop off in Natal for fuel so 1.5 half hours late arriving, but informed all the way. Food not good but service excellent. Economy was full, Business half empty. Seats as are not lay flat and I was surprised I slept for over 5 hours - didn't find seats too narrow. A good experience for the money.

Air Comet review by T Waite

21 January 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

I am now back in Europe and here is the second part of my report on Comet Air. I travelled Business Class and thus has use of the Aerosur lounge as Santa Cruz Bolivia. The lounge is modest with two computer terminals for the free use of travellers. There is a delicious selection of fresh fruit juices on offer and plenty of coffee. Thats about it apart from a few tired crisps and some peanuts. If you need food it can be provided at a very modest cost. I didn´t bother as I knew I would get a meal on the plane. The staff in the lounge were delightful. THe flight from Santa Cruz to Madrid was, as usual packed in economy and half full in business. If you travel business don´t expect special boarding facilities. You take your chance with the rest. Once onboard I discovered it was the same plane that I travelled out on and I was assigned the same seat. As I previously said, it was a bit on the small side and reclining only. Immediately after takeoff drinks were served and then a hot meal. I took a salad, mashed potatoes and steak with a very good Rioja. Again, no frills but quite OK. The alternative was pasta. Then came the surprise - I reclined my seat, covered myself with a blanket and slept soundly for seven hours. I can´t ever remember doing so in Virgin Upper Class or Qantas First. Yes, the seat was narrow and yes it didn't go flat but I slept. The staff were friendly and spoke English. The inflight entertainment was rubbish and as I never watch or listen on board a plane this was of no concern to me whatsoever. However, if you are an addict take your own video or what have you. I am writing this in Madrid where I am staying for the night before going on to London. What do I conclude. Well, if you want to go to Bolivia from Europe, which is a lovely country, then it is going to be an expensive journey. If, like me, you dislike going through the USA given all the restriction and checks now imposed then Madrid is the other option. My flights were on time. Yours may not be who knows. I travelled perfectly well and saved well over a thousand pounds. I guess if you travel in the back of the plane it might be a bit restricted but, you pay your money etc. By the way, I did not lose luggage nor was I unacceptably late. Thats about as truthful as I can be. I may have been fortunate but there is little reason why you ought not to be as fortunate. In conclusion I suppose the secret of travelling is to relax and make the best of what turns up. I have had to do that when travelling in the USA First Class through a meal time and have been offered a bag of pretzels!

Air Comet review by Julián Gil

17 January 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

I was tempted by the prospect of saving 150 euros (which today is something like 220 USD!) on a MAD- London flight, so I went ahead and booked Air Comet. MAD-Gatwick, check-in took 3 minutes. The plane was a tired, rather worn-out A320. IFE was non-existent, and they were selling you bad food for unflattering prices. Some flight attendants were polite, others clearly didn't want to be there. I was pleasantly surprised--I had read horror stories about the delays. I'll wait until the return leg to figure out if I'm flying with them again, but the first flight turned out to be a great bargain.

Air Comet review by T Waite

9 January 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

I was almost put off Air Comet by the reviews but as they flew to Bolivia at half the cost of other airlines I decided to try them. Being very tall I did travel business class. The flight from London to Madrid had no business class but I was put in the front row and there was ample room in the new aircraft for my long legs. The business lounge at London and Madrid Airport was excellent. The long (12 hours plus) flight to Santa Cruz was packed in economy and half full in business. The plane was new and the staff polite and attentive. The seats were a little smaller than normal business seats but as this is not a popular business route fully reclining beds are not installed. They did recline of course and were OK with plenty of leg room. Meals, very good. A hot lunch with drinks and a cold meal before landing. I never bother with video so the small programme on offer did not trouble me. I am told that the airline does have problems with lateness but my flight was only one hour late arriving again this did not bother me as I was going directly to my hotel. The airline staff were polite and attentive. The airline lacks the frills of some business class but as business class by any other airline to this part of the world costs about twice the price of Air Comet I can put up with minor differences. I will report on my return journey later this month so that readers can have a full picture of one man's experience. So far a very fair and good deal.

Air Comet review by D Sweeney

8 January 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

Madrid to Margarita on 17th December - this was the worst airline I have ever been on. It was on time but that is all I can say in its favour. The light above my daughter's seat was going on and off all through the outward flight. The staff were not very good with the service. On the homeward flight, the light above my seat did not work at all and we were not able to read at all during the flight. Service once again not good. On both flights there were no video facilities - a 9 hour flight and no entertainment provided. I believe this airline is going back to the dark ages and not being brought into the 21st century.

Air Comet review by Margaret Tolan

9 December 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

Madrid to Lima return and was pleasantly surprised. The flights were on time and the staff very attentive (more so on the outbound flight) - they were smartly dressed and came round during the flight many times with drinks and water which were free. The first plane was the A340 was very comfortable with plenty of legroom in economy - the second plane an older A330 was not quite as comfortable but still plenty of legroom and quite adequate. I have a bad back and did not suffer much discomfort even though the flights were 12 hours plus. I would not hesitate to fly with them again.

Air Comet review by Cherie Rivero

6 September 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

I flew with a group of collegues from Lima to Madrid and then from Madrid to Gatwick on 25th and 26th August. This is the worst airline I have ever travelled on. There was a three hour delay from Lima, then a two hour detour to refuel in Tenerife. Worse was still to come. The flight from Madrid was delayed by 9 hours. During this time we recieved no information as to why the flight was delayed, no comments at all from Air Comet Staff and no food or drink during the delay. A couple of us went back out from the departure lounge to the check in desk to see if we could find out any further information. The girls on the desk were not helpful, they couldn't give us any further information other than the plane was in another country and they were waiting for it to airrive. When the plane did arrive - it was not one of theirs but Air India's and also Air India's crew (Who incidentially were the only ones that apologised for the delay and were great). When we asked for complaint forms - we were told that they had run out and to ask when we arrived at Gatwick. Well of course when we arrived at Gatwick it was 12.30 in the morning and there was no-one from Air Comet available. Many of us missed connecting flights and had to wait for another in the morning. We also had to purchase new tickets. This airline should be held accountable and should adhere to the passengers charter - which they obviously don't. I agree with the other comments 1 star is one star too many for this airline.

Air Comet review by Sara Clarke

30 August 2007  Customer Trip Rating : n/a

My sister and I flew with Air Comet to Madrid this weekend and it was the worst journey I have experienced. Gatwick to Madrid on the Friday morning we were delayed by 1.5 hours. The plane was uncomfortable with hardly any legroom and looked like it was being held together by sellotape. On our return flight we experienced an 8 hour delay with no information given to us at any time. We did not see one employee from Air Comet. The people checking us in did not work for Air Comet, the plane we finally boarded was an Air India plane and the crew worked for Air Atlantic. I am left wondering if they employ anyone at all or if they were just to scared to show their faces. We never received any official explanation for the delay or any apology for the fact that we had to spend 10 hours stranded at the airport. From reading the previous comments I now realise this was not a unique experience and seems to be quite normal for this airline. I will certainly never fly with them again and would never recommend them to anyone.

Air Comet review by Anne Reid

17 August 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

I never heard of Air Comet before I booked ticket for a 3 day trip with my daughter. On arrival there was a 45 min wait for check in. On check in we were told there was a delay of 3 and a half hours. So we went to have dinner, after which we noted that there was another hour's delay on the flight. Then it was announced to come to the information desk where we were offered a £4 voucher each, but we had just eaten and couldn't get backdated refund. In the end, the 1740 flight left at 2315, and we arrived 0215 in Madrid, too late for the Metro, costing us 40 euros taxi to hotel. There was no explanation given for the delay and not even a free hot drink was offered on the flight. I'm grateful we got there and back safely, but not a pleasant experience. I will not be flying Air Comet again, no thank you

Air Comet review by Richard Graham

29 July 2007  Customer Trip Rating : n/a

Based on my flight from Bogota to Madrid I had a far better experience. Good service, perfectly good Airbus, on time, good legroom.

Air Comet review by S Campbell

25 July 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

Thoroughly agree with previous comment. Just spent the weekend in Madrid, return trip from Gatwick. 6h Delay going out on Friday with no explanation or information until we were on the plane. (It was the rain at Gatwick apparently so may not have been their fault but other flights didn't seem to have this problem and they could at least have kept us informed). Return trip Monday, 2h delay in the airport (again no information or indication of what was going on) followed by about 90 minutes on the tarmac in sweltering heat with the doors open. Apparently they couldn't get in contact with the ground staff or something and actually announced at one point that they had no information and didn't know what was happening! Food - nuts going out, nothing coming back unless I paid for it. Hostesses were great providing refreshments. Not a pleasant experience. Would probably have been less annoyed if kept regularly updated

Air Comet review by Robert Colonna

25 July 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

1 star is to much for this airline. Apparently they are known for delays. Never in my 40 years of flying have I ever encountered such a total lack or caring on the part of an airline for its passengers. Difficult to make this a short story. Purchased 4 tickets and surrendered baggage to Air comet staff in Rome for a flight to Madrid connecting with a Spanair flight to Malaga. Tickets were sold and baggage taken, even though Air Comet staff knew flight would be delayed. Flight delayed 4.5 hours and no staff from Air Comet available to answer questions. Those staff in the main terminal went home and there was not a soul at the gate until the flight was ready to depart (23:05). Even when someone arrived they were not informed at all. We were "dumped" at the Madrid airport at about 0130 in the morning and no one from Air Comet was there to assist. Flight crew must have disguised themselves as janitors or left by a rear door - they certainly did not want to stick around.

Air Comet review by H Frances

17 July 2007  Customer Trip Rating : n/a

Just returned from a MAD-LGW round trip. Both flights were delayed by over 3 hours with little explanation. Staff were reasonably pleasant and looking at the comments above, it seems that this must be difficult given the terrible airline they work for. Legroom on the way out was virtually non-existent and I am short. It was not possible to stand upright between the seats. I was sold a very mediocre sandwich and very small cup of tea for 4.50 Euros. On the way back we did get free drinks and peanuts, although the selection was not great and there was no food - neither complimentary nor to buy. I will be sticking to Easyjet or any other alternative in future.

Air Comet review by J Sobel

1 May 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

JFK to Madrid and back. Both flights were on time. Service was good. The food on the way to Madrid was typical airline food. On the way back food was actually above average. On both flights staff offered soft drinks and water at intervals between meal and snack. The staff was professional and courteous, although not all were completely fluent in English. We had no major complaints and would definitely fly this airline to Madrid again, especially considering the low price.

Air Comet review by Simon Smith

20 April 2007   Customer Trip Rating : n/a

LGW-MAD with this airline which has renamed itself Air Comet - quite appropriate, because there is nothing 'Plus' about it. Check in was a bit chaotic as only one person serving for economy class. They strictly enforce a 5kg limit on hand baggage for "health and safety" reasons so I had to check in a bag almost every other airline in Europe accepts on board. We boarded half an hour late, they claimed due to the late arrival of the aircraft, but this plainly wasn't true as the aircraft had been sitting there for at least half an hour. On board the A320 was not too bad but there is no food (even to buy). On landing of Madrid we had another half hour wait at a remote stand - even though there were lots of contact stands free - waiting for stairs to arrive.

Air Comet review by A Railton

24 March 2007

I flew AirPlus Comet from JFK to Madrid and Barcelona and back last week. It was, hands down, the worst travel experience I have ever had. What I expected from paying $460 round trip to Barcelona: a small plane, with less amenities than a usual flight, and less leg room/overhead space, etc. What I got was all that, and so much less. The flight from JFK to Madrid was inexplicably late. We were never informed what was going on, and were told we could not check into our connecting flight (even though, as we later learned, it was with the same airline under a different name). When we got to Madrid, we ran to the terminal and gate where our Barcelona flight was scheduled to leave from, with only 15 minutes to spare. There was absolutely no one in sight at the gate, or at any Air Europa gates (which is apparently also AirPlus Comet, though we didn't know that at the time). The flight was still listed on the departures board, and at the gate, as "on time." Shortly before the scheduled departure time, the gate # changed on the board so we ran to the new gate, where again we saw no one. We waited for a little while, then went in search of any airline personnel. Our first encounter was with AirEuropa, who told us our flight was cancelled and we would have to talk to AirPlus Comet about scheduling another one. They were 2 terminals away, so we trekked down there, where we were told just the opposite--that we needed to speak to AirEuropa. After going back to AirEuropa, we were AGAIN sent to AirPlus Comet, who finally agreed to put us on a later flight, and finally enlightened us to the fact that they were the same airline (though grudgingly, if not bordering on hostile). Many hours had passed at this point; the next available flight was an additional 2 hours later. When that time came and went, we heard no announcements about the delay; our flight left one hour late, and all told, we spent the better portion of Saturday in the Madrid airport with essentially no direction whatsoever from the airline staff. Our return flight, if possible, was substantially worse. We again left one hour late, with no announcements made at any point (but that seems par for the course with AirPlus Comet--leave yourself plenty of extra time if you plan to fly with them!). When we landed in JFK at 8:30pm, we were told (only in Spanish, which fortunately I understand), that we were going to have to wait on the runway for an hour and a half. At least 2 hours passed, before we were told that we had to wait for another hour. This continued until 2:30am, when a passenger got the number for the JFK air tower and called in. At that point, we were directed to a gate, where we finally deplaned. During the time we were on board, we were told we could not use any bathrooms (after 2 hours we did anyway); we were not provided any food and not given any water until 3 or so hours had passed; 2 of the bathrooms on board broke and became unusable (one after someone got stuck in it for 20 minutes, and was finally set free when the flight attendants attacked the door with air freshener); and the flight attendants were very hostile, telling us that they couldn't give us any information and that the airport had closed. When we finally got off the plane, the nightmare continued -- we waited 2 1/2 hours for our luggage, while we were constantly told "just 15 more minutes; yours is coming out next." After 2 1/2 hours, we were told that our flight was frozen onto the plane; that AirPlus Comet had known this all along but had instructed JFK baggage personnel not to notify passengers; and that we would have to return the next day after 4pm to pick it up. We did so, and of course our luggage was (still!) frozen onto the plane. We filed complaint forms and requests to have our baggage shipped to us when it finally was taken off. My bags arrived Tuesday morning, soaked in some unknown liquid, and many of my belongings are permanently stained. I spent all day today on the phone with AirPlus Comet, where I was ultimately told that, while I could potentially be reimbursed for the bag itself (if I'm willing to have it inspected in Queens, and then shipped to Spain, where they will "decide what to do"), I was informed that they are not liable whatsoever for my belongings inside. I asked for that in writing, and they said "it's not a written policy; it's just our policy." All told, I would recommend that anyone considering this airline stay far far away. Pay the extra $200. There is nothing "Plus" about AirPlus Comet. In fact, there is nothing even mediocre about them.

Air Comet review by R Dawson

19 February 2007

I have just had my first attempt at flying with Air Comet rom Madrid to Gatwick. I will be making no others. I had booked my seat online and received confirmation of the flight time and reference number. When I arrived at the check in desk assigned to the Gatwick Flight there was a passenger in front of me who ended up crossing the conveyer belt to see what the check-in attendant was doing. He then beckoned to another passenger some way off who was standing with 4 or 5 enormous cases to come forward. The check-in attendant barely gave me a glance. However the attendant at the next desk decided she would enquire as to my destination and promptly told me there was no flight to Gatwick despite the fact that above the desk Gatwick was clearly written on the screen. After clarifying that there was ,I was rudely informed that the check-in had closed 10 minutes before and the flight actually took off earlier than I had in my confirmation. After "discussing" the issue I was told there was no way I was getting on that flight so I should take it up with the ticket desk which I would find " over there" as she vaguely pointed in the direction of the main entrance. I did indeed find the the ticket desk and one of the rudest people in the position of " atención al cliente" I have ever had the misfortune to have to deal with. There were two passengers in front of me and I could hear that they had a similar problem to mine albeit with another company. I explained what had happened only to be informed that the attendant did not believe me and that I had to take the matter up with the travel agent as it had nothing whatsoever to do with Air Comet. I did indeed take the matter up with travel agent who confirmed the same flight time as before and informed me that the time had been stipulated by Air Comet. I therefore had to take the issue further with Air Comet themselves. I duly phoned the number and chose the option to continue in English. Just as well my Spanish is above par as I was answered in Spanish and the conversation had to continue that way. Air Comet refused to take any responsibilty and said I should have sorted it out at the ticket desk! They also blamed me for not confirming 3 days before ..somewhat difficult given that I had booked it less than 24 hours before flying and had received confirmation by email and text. The person I spoke to would not pass me on to someone authorised to amend my booking nor would she give me a phone number to try again with the ticket desk in Barajas saying that they only deal person to person! ( being well aware that I had just returned from there after a very frustrating 3 hours). The online travel agent maintains that there have been no changes to the schedule they were given and therefore are not responsible for the loss of the flight either. It seems the one responsible for this loss of money and total waste of time is myself for after all, I positively thrive on turning up late for flights and throwing money down the drain!!! Avoid these irresponsible, extremely rude, incompetent cheats at all costs ( or at least the cost of one of their flights!) I would also like to point out that I did not leave the airport till after 9 am as I was trying to find another flight and noticed that the flight was still on last call! Salt, wound and rub are the words springing to mind!

Air Comet review by Andreas Dauer

5 February 2007

Used Air Plus Comet twice now for Gatwick-Madrid and return. Have to say that price is unbeaten by airlines such as Easyjet. Read all the comments of other passengers and I guess delays must be frustrating, particularly if you have connecting flights. Air Plus Comet don't seem to have their own aircraft, but charter from various other airlines. I think I have not sat in the same airline twice. Would like to know the safety statistics of those "no name planes". For a short flight such as to Madrid I can recommend them, if the times are right for you - they only have one flight a day so you better catch it and the times can be awkward. Certainly the price is very attractive, and a free drink and peanuts are a "nice to have" but frankly not essential on a short haul within Europe.

Air Comet review by Sandra Martin

21 January 2007

My husband and I flew Air Plus Comet direct to Málaga and back from New York three years ago and had a great flight in addition to saving money. The direct flight no longer exists. December 29, 2006 we flew Air Plus Comet again from New York to Madrid and then took SpanAir to Málaga. The plane was not full, and each of us had a whole row to ourself which was great. The food was not bad. The space in front of our seats was not as much as in Iberia. We were to fly back on Jan. 12th leaving first on Spanair from Málaga at 11:30 am and then from Madrid. Two days before our flight we were notified that the APC flight had been switched to the 11th, and we would be leaving Málaga at 9:00. We got up at 5:30 Thurs. morning, and we were awake for almost 24 hours as we did not get to bed in New Jersey till almost 5:00 am Spain time. We foolishly booked our suitcases through to New York in Málaga. When we arrived in Madrid on SpanAir we stopped to ask about our 1:00 APC flight to NY and were told there was no such flight. When we tried to get out luggage from SpanAir they told us to first go to the Air Plus Comet desk in Terminal 1. We stood in line and were rebooked on a 5:00 pm Iberia flight to NY from Terminal 4 and were each given a free Madrid-NY ticket to use within a year. It turns out that ticket is worth $26. We were told to go to room 5 to wait for our luggage. Room 5 was a very long walk and impossible to find. Had I not been fluent in Spanish we would still be there. We waited about 3 hours for our luggage. Then we had to use the frustrating metal computer keyboards to notify family that our flight had been changed. We actually just made it to the end of terminal 4 in time for our Iberia flight. This flight also had lots of extra room and a good movie, but the food was not very good.

Air Comet review by Patricio Colombo

9 January 2007

Air Comet is the worst airline I could have ever used. I actually bought my tickets with Aerolineas Argentinas, but have the unfortunate displeasure of having to flight the London-Madrid leg with these people. Not only they are rude, they delay flights by reprogramming them on the date, and then arguing that the flight was never scheduled to flight when your ticket says they would. They left us waiting in Madrid for 10 hours without an explanation, lost our luggage, and of course, they don't take any blame for anything, they blame everything on Aerolineas Argentinas. On our flight LON-BUE via Madrid, we were charged for a bottle of water for our baby on the LON-MAD leg, even though we were on what we thought was a flight from London to Buenos Aires. Needless to say, on the actual Aerolineas Argentinas flight from MAD to LON, everything was free . The sort of funny thing was that everything was charged in Euros or Dollars, at a 1 to 1 exchange rate: water = 1 euro or 1 dollar. No Pounds Sterling accepted even though this was a flight departing/arriving into the UK. Finally, on the return flight, I had only one flight coupon from BUE to LON, so in Madrid, they insisted on at least keeping my receipt to allow me to fly, even though I had a perfectly valid boarding pass. Air Plus again delayed the flight 1:30 hs because they had issued duplicate boarding cards over what Aerolineas had already issued 12 hours earlier, but again, they blamed it on Aerolineas.

Air Comet review by A Fell

27 December 2006

One of the worst airlines I have flown. Went to Madrid from Gatwick for a connecting flight to Buenos Aires on Argentina Aerolineas (Air Comet is a subsidiary of Aerolineas providing feeder services in Europe, using old MD-88's ex Argentine. Flight was late, we very nearly missed our connection in Madrid, but old luggage did not make it. On our return journey, same thing nearly happened again. If there is an alternative use it.

Air Comet review by Henny Hamilton

18 November 2006

Worst airline ever. Their flights are consistently late with no explanation. I suggest you avoid it like the plague.

Air Comet review by Benjamin Bomlitz

17 October 2006

JFK-Madrid round-trip this past week. No major complaints at all. This is a no-frills airline so I didn't expect first-class treatment for the price: US$440 round-trip per person tax included. I purchased this ticket two weeks before takeoff. The next cheapest price was $650 from Iberia. The planes were basic and cramped, but all planes are these days. The food wasn't great and service was adequate. But the price was great and allowed me to spend more money and upgrade to nicer hotels while I was in Spain. The first leg was quite comfortable as my girlfriend and I had an empty seat between us. The return trip was delayed about an hour due to new regulations regarding liquids and gels on board. People seem to comment only if they've had a problem or lack a lot of flying experience. I thought I'd try to balance the information. If budget is a concern, give Air Plus Comet a try.

Air Comet review by L Miller

15 October 2006

I would give Air Plus a minus 10 rating! I recently flew to and from Spain with my family on Air Plus. While we found the flight conditions very uncomfortable due to the extremely tight pitch of the seats and the service mediocre at best (the attendants disappeared after dinner service for the rest of the flight, not even collecting the empty glasses from passengers) the real horrors still awaited us. Our return flight from Madrid to JFK was delayed 4 times and left 7.5 hours late with no explanations or apologies. There was NO communication from staff; waiting passengers had to repeatedly move from one gate to another when the departing info would suddenly disappear from the display screen at the boarding gate. A contingent of passengers had to exit back though security, find the Air Plus counter in the main terminal and a near riot ensued before we were grudgingly given meal vouchers. When staff finally arrived at the boarding gate for the last time they came with a contingent of Guardia Civil to control the angry passengers, many of whom had been at the airport since the previous morning! As a final insult, one of our bags was missing upon arrival at JFK. We and at least 8 other passengers filed missing luggage reports with a surly employee at the baggage area. The next day when I tried to call about my bag I found that the telephone number the employee wrote on the missing luggage report (after I insisted I needed a phone number) was an incorrect number! After getting the correct phone number I was told my report reference number was incomplete but no one could tell me how to get a complete number. Repeated calls end emails to Air Plus' NY sales office and their Operations and Sales and Marketing Managers have gotten me nowhere. They keep promising to call back with info but do not. I understand that bags get lost, but their total lack of customer service is truly appalling and the experience has tainted our entire vacation.

Air Comet review by Davina Green

16 September 2006

Madrid - Santo Domingo. This is most definitely the worse airline I have used. Giving them the benefit of the doubt I have used them twice for the same journeys and on all four flights the staff were extremely rude, no smiles from any of them. I booked online but had an almost two hour wait in a queue, with one girl serving, to collect my ticket and then I was told I couldn't take my hand luggage on as they were overbooked and had too much cabin luggage?! No announcements whatsoever from the flight crew and uneligible announcements from the cabin crew. Total chaos on boarding the flights and not very good security checks. On all flights we were late (with no explanation why) on 3 out of the 4 flights I took. A most unpleasant experience of flying.

Air Comet review by Joaquín Gonzáles

6 September 2006

Buenos Aires-Madrid. Business Class. Aerolineas Argentinas flight operated by Air Plus Comet. Very tired looking 747-200 with old seats. Flight attendants all young wearing striking red uniforms. Going through customs, I overheard staff talking about some missing paperwork that could hold up boarding. Turns out flight was indeed delayed well over an hour, with no explanations given. Service in the business cabin, although earnest, was not well coordinated. Headphones and amenity packs were not given out to all passengers; food/drink served rather haphazardly. Not the best business class by far - but not the worst.

Air Comet review by Robert Klein

18 July 2006

JFK-Madrid return. Price was several hundred dollars cheaper than Iberia, and Iberia went on strike while we were in Spain so we were fortunate not having Iberia tickets! Seating was extra-tight (nine-across and minimal seat pitch). Food and service were adequate-plus. I'm awarding the 'plus' for the stewardesses - a throwback to an earlier era - all are beautiful, slim, (Argentine?) females. For departure they wear snazzy red suits, then for service during the flight they do a wardrobe change, into hot red smocks and slit skirts! Departure was about an hour late on both ends of the roundtrip. We'd booked a connection on Spanair from MAD-Malaga. Only one of the many Spanair Madrid-Malaga flights is associated with AirPlus, so although our bags were checked through without a problem, the booking required a 5-hour (outbound) and 7-hour (inbound) layover in Madrid and could not be advanced to an earlier connection. Madrid airport has an excellent left-luggage facility, where we checked our hand baggage for less than 3 euros, then took Bus 200 into Madrid for 2 euros per person and taxi'd back for 15 euros to catch the second leg of our flight. If you have a reservation on Air Plus, check the schedule on their website or phone them regularly. There's generally only one flight a day, and they tend to fiddle with the schedule. We met people on our flight who hadn't been informed of a schedule change, and they'd bought nonrefundable tickets on connecting flights that no longer matched after Air Plus changed its schedule.

Air Comet review by R Caudron

18 June 2006

London Gatwick-Madrid and back. Operated by Air Plus Comet on behalf of Aero Lineas Argentinas. Outbound we boarded just about when the flight was scheduled to leave without a word of information from the ground staff or the crew once on board, not a word of apology for the 30 minute delay on arrival. Very indifferent crew, border line rude. Passenger calls were ignored, even a mother with her infant. After the bar service the flight-attendants hid in the last few rows of the MD-88 chatting, feet up on the galley walls. Pathetic. Check-in at LGW took no time, very strict carry-on baggage regulation was inforced (5kg max). On the return check-in at MAD was quick again, a very surly supervisor checked our documents several times. With his attitude we were bracing ourselves for a similar flight experience on our way home. The regulations for carry-on baggage didn't seem to apply out of MAD. We were happily surprised, the crew was enthusiastic and courteous. We left early and arrived early. On both sector not a word from the flight crew, English announcements by the cabin crew were barely intelligible. Major safety concerns though, we took off from Madrid with the seat belt signs not on, I asked the flight-attendant who served us about this, she knew, but didn't know why, very summary cabin checks. Troubling, even more so after a very rough landing. GBP88.00 tax incl return, cheap, unequal service, a free beverage service with peanuts, no in-flight magazine, no hot drinks available, bring your own food, nothing for sell on board. They don't provide landing cards for non-EU passengers.

Air Comet review by Ian Glasser

25 March 2006

I have flown Air Comet on their sadly departed nonstop JFK-AGP. While not perfect they are far better than Iberia. They were also the only nonstop service between those places. That saved three hours and avoided the Madrid Airport. For the fare Air Plus is a good ride and superior to the big guys in many ways. Bring back the nonstop JFK-AGP run.

Air Comet review by Jessica Hauser

8 January 2006

Madrid-Milan return. Awful. Old planes, inpolite crew that doesn't speak English (not a problem for my friends and me, who speak Spanish, but a problem for many others). On the outbound leg, 20 minutes after we should have taken off, we were boarded onto buses at Madrid to take us to the plane in the frigid morning air only to be told almost right away that there was a "technical problem" and we couldn't board. The staff seemed confused about what to do about this and about 15 minutes later we were taken back off the buses and allowed back in the much warmer boarding area. More than an hour later, we boarded and then had a late take-off. There was no food or beverage service due to turbulence (it seems like this is a frequent occurence on its parent airline Aerolineas Argentinas as well). On the way back, our flight was delayed in Milan for over 4 hours with nothing offered--no meal tickets or other accomodation and no ticket desk or other visible place in the airport to go ask for such things. Although food was served on the way back, it was not edible or even identifiable. The flight was cheap but had I known how much frustration it cost, I would have spent the little bit of extra money to fly Iberia or Alitalia.

Air Comet review by Robbie Shaw

23 November 2005

This Spanish airline seems to be a subsidiary of, and flies connecting European services to Madrid on behalf of Aerolineas Argentinas. Out bound flight Gatwick - Madrid. aircraft technical problems are a fact of like - but we went through 3 aircraft before leaving three and a half hours late - with two, 2 hour connections to make. The Boeing 737-300 originally intended to operate the service was changed to an MD-88, this to must have 'broke' as we left very late. Fortunately Aerolineas Argentinas worked wonders and we made both connections. Having paid for business class seating however you do not expect to be told by the handling agent (Aviance) that it is 'free seating'! Return Madrid - Gatwick. Delayed departure due baggage problems - a couple of passengers apparently never boarded, so their baggage had to be found. About midway through the flight - waiting for some refreshments, there was an announcemount "due to technical problem there will be no service !" Not even water or juice was offered - but the flight deck crew got theirs ! For a business class product - verey poor indeed. A sad reflection on Aerolineas Argentinas who, after five flights, we have found very good indeed.