LGW - Varna. This airline seems to have improved since I last flew with them a year ago.
Fairly modern A320 plane (although completely unlabelled as Bulgaria Air as others here note)
left and arrived on time, staff friendly and efficient and snack/drinks ok (free, after all!).
|
Customer Rating : 3/5 |  |
Sofia LHR, A320 not even showing the Bulgaria air logo. Flight attendants very good, food
only a sandwich and small cake, choice of wine, beer and non alcoholic drinks. Flight on time.
Seats cramped. Cheaper then low cost flight.
BULGARIA AIR review : 4 November 2008 : by Eric Kubisch
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Customer Rating : 1/5 |  |
Sofia - Varna. It all started by a short delay before we could embark a 1989 ATR 42/72. The plane
looked old and tired.A fter some research, I found out the plane's operated by Hemus Air, a compagny
owned by Bulgaria Air. Once onboard, we waited for another hour or so. When asked, the stewardess
told me we were waiting for someone's luggage. That was total BS, as no airline waits 1 hour for
someone's suitcase, especially because there was another flight to Varna one hour later! Anyhow, we
started and eventually took off. I noticed we weren't gaining altitude, which was kind of scary. It
actually got worse when I noticed that instead of gaining altitude, we were actually loosing
altitude. After just a few minutes of "flight" we turned back, and we heard the message from the
cockpit "Cabin crew, take your seats for landing". After a bumpy and loud descent, we eventually
landed in Sofia again. On biard, everyone was pleased to have landed safely. When asked if we could
disembark, the crew said they did not know. But passengers' pressure made them open the doors and
everyone left the plane. Not a single explanation was given to us about what happened. We were just
scheduled on a new flight some 3 or 4 hours later. When leaving (at night) I just noticed engineers
looking at the plane's engines.
BULGARIA AIR review : 30 September 2008 : by C Francis
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Customer Rating : 3/5 |  |
LGW-Varna-LGW. - It wasn't as bad as some of these reviews say. I agree that the planes are shabby,
there isn't a lot of legroom and FA's are not brilliant but the pilots get 10/10 for experience. The
return flight was better than the outgoing as the plane was newer and the food was ok - the rolls
are not stale, they are cold from storage and the drinks - Bulgarian wine is rank anyway so stick to
the soft stuff and you'll be fine.
BULGARIA AIR review : 29 September 2008 : by Martin Hack
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Customer Rating : 1/5 |  |
Several return flights LGW-Varna. Despite assurances at the airport check-in that vegetarian meals
were booked, they were not provided on board. FA unhelpful, disinterested and bordering on rude.
Told I should take the ham out of the ham & cheese roll. Legroom very limited, making flight
uncomfortable. Raised the issue of poor service for vegetarians with Customer Service department
but they have never replied! British Airways are often only about £20 more (and are sometimes less
than Bulgaria Air) so feel doubly aggrieved.
BULGARIA AIR review : 26 September 2008 : by Peter Bedson
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Customer Rating : 2/5 |  |
London - Sofia new Airbus. Someone sitting in my (exit row) seat as he could not fit in his seat.
FAs uninterested; fortunately the aircraft was only about 1/3 full so I sat in another exit row seat
which was fine. Looking at the other rows the legroom was suitable only for the very short - I
didn't think such cramped seats still existed. Fortunately, there was not a return flight the
following day so I had to use another airline which catered for normal sized humans.
BULGARIA AIR review : 23 September 2008 : by E Dennison
|
Customer Rating : 1/5 |  |
LGW-Varna. On check in we were given a seat that did not exist (12C). I asked the crew for help and
was dismissed with a waved hand. Thanks to the flight not being full we managed to find two seats at
the back alas next to a seat where someone had been sick. My seat did not stand to upright position
and kept sliding back. Overall the aircraft was filthy, the crew very unhelpful and did not inspire
any confidence at all. The return flight was no better. Another filthy old aircraft. On arrival at
Gatwick the crew had great difficulty opening the aircraft door (it took them 20 minutes at least).
Legroom is the smaller I have ever experienced. Never, never again.
BULGARIA AIR review : 13 September 2008 : by Peter Shaw
|
Customer Rating : 1/5 |  |
Absolutely terrible. Booked return flights from Manchester to Bourgas via Sofia for family of 4,
months in advance. Bulgaria Air changed schedule 2 weeks before holiday without telling us - only
found out by contacting them. They denied this would cause problems until 2 days before flights,
when they said there would be no return connection at Sofia. We were forced to lose a day of our
holiday at the Black Sea. We were provided accommodation at Hotel Pliska - terrible - filthy,
dangerous and bug-ridden. Ground staff very unhelpful, and UK office staff slow to respond to
complaints, and refused to offer any compensation. Never again.
BULGARIA AIR review : 19 August 2008 : by Werner Bartsch
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Customer Rating : 3/5 |  |
FRA-SOF-FRA economy. Both flights very punctual. FRA-SOF Plane not the newest one - but everything
ok and clean. Drinks, wine, beer included, one sandwich with ham and cheese - no choice for
vegetarians and some small cake. Announcements in English are sometimes unintelligible or missing.
Airport in Sofia new and clean and fast service in check-in. Legroom in Economy is a joke (I am 184
cm) and my knees hit into front chair (had luck that front-passenger didn't recline his seat).
Fortunately chair next me was free. SOF-FRA - brand new Airbus 319. For 252 € return flight service
was satisfying not worse than 4Star-Airline.
Bulgaria Air - by W McStay
15 August 2008 Customer Trip Rating : 
LGW-Varna. Worst flight of my life. Check in was painfully slow. Aircraft an old B737, really
showing its age, some safety lights not working, quick fixes everywhere; not what you want to be
flying in. Legroom was an absolute joke, budget carriers such as flybe and easyjet are made to look
roomy in comparison. Air hostesses arent rude; but never smile and talk only broken english. Some of
the cabin announcements were not repeated in english, leaving me to wonder what on earth was going
on. Horrible ham and cheese sandwich provided as an in flight meal, and selection of drinks limited
to orange or apple juice. VAR-LGW : slightly newer plane this time, legroom marginally better but
nowhere near good enough. Flight was a generally better experience, same ham and cheese sandwich but
a better selection of drinks and marginally more pleasant air hostesses. Check in was again slow and
baggage reclaim took forever. Bulgaria Air does a great job of making you feel completely insecure
and uncomfortable for over 3 hours. If the country is to shake its communist image and become the
modern european country it aspires to be and is in so many places it must improve its national
carrier.
Bulgaria Air - by Lawrie Hall
5 April 2008 Customer Trip Rating : 
SOF-LHR . Get what you pay for. On this occasion very lucky as the BA flight would have gone to
T5! Check-in smooth, plane on time. Ham and cheese sandwich (Bulgarian speciality - try going to a
Bulgarian railway station) followed by cake - a bit mean on a three and a quarter hour flight,
especially as SOF airport restaurant closed. Glass of wine and then a beer, then coffee dished out.
FAs efficient if not exactly friendly. Seat pitch not wonderful, but then my short fat torso does
not ask much. So, on time, reasonable comfort, bags on carousel within 20 minutes of arrival. Cost
about the same as a 'no-frills' but service better. But how lovely to have a pre-allocated seat, and
get on and off the plane through a proper air-bridge.
Bulgaria Air - by B Milner
10 January 2008 Customer Trip Rating : 
LGW-Varna return. Outbound check-in at LGW a breeze, and very helpful staff sorted out adjacent
seating for group of 10 going to a wedding even though only the first 2 passengers had arrived. Leg
room great, though inflight food and drink horrendous. Return flight technical delay of a couple of
hours, but the aircraft had at least 3 inches less legroom than outbound. Hot, cramped, horrid
flight. If I knew I was on the aircraft with decent legroom I'd be willing to put up with the poor
catering for the comfort, but the return aircraft made a 3 hour flight intolerable.
The flight costing £75 compared to BAs £180 made it worth it though.
Bulgaria Air - by T Roux
7 December 2007 Customer Trip Rating : 
LGW-SOF-LGW business class. Would have been comical if not quite so painful. At checkin were
allocated economy class seats. Eventually received 1D and 1F. On the plane 1D and 1F were occupied
by a drinks cooler and newspapers so we were told to sit where we wanted. I took 2A (as 1A missing
I had plenty of legroom). Colleague took 1B and got walked on by all of the other passengers coming
on board as the bulk head was removed. Food was terrible. On return we were given 1A and 1C. A
disaster as this plane had a bulkhead and seat pitch of maybe 24 inches. I am 6'6" and could not
sit down. My colleague moved to a different row of seats and I sat across 1A to 1C for the whole
trip. I travel regularly to Sofia with work and prefer LGW for the connections. I will not use
Bulgaria Air again, the planes are just too bad.
Bulgaria Air - by B Jarouj
17 October 2007 Customer Trip Rating : 
FRA-SOF-FRA. Flight delayed by two hours with no explanation. Just before take-off, it was announced
we were to land in Plovdiv which is 150km from Sofia (since Sofia airport closed its new runway for
night time tests and we would not arrive in time due to the delay) and not as scheduled in Sofia. No
prior notice of this was given and people could not plan for such a major change. From Plovdiv which
is short of just a landing strip, we were driven by bus for another two hours to Sofia arriving 4
hours later than scheduled. I can't believe how they managed to turn a 2hour flight in to 6 hours.
Return was bearable although my table try was broken. Crew is unprofessional and there is a lack of
communication between airline and passengers. The low price of the ticket is not worth what you have
to go through, avoid them at all cost.
Bulgaria Air - by D Bright
21 August 2007 Customer Trip Rating : 
LGW-VARNA-LGW. Outbound flight on time and check in swift. 737-500 was extremely dated and legroom
ridiculous. I am barely 6ft and was sitting with my knees in my chest for the whole flight. Cabin
crew miserable and inattentive, no inflight entertainment and the meal was limited - a stale ham and
cheese roll or nothing. The return flight was no better. Same run-down plane, same food and my seat
and at least 2 others didn't lock in the upright position. This was an inconvenience for the person
behind me and I didn't feel particularly safe. Had no confidence in Bulgaria Air and will never use
them again.
Bulgaria Air - by F van Hoorn
21 August 2007 Customer Trip Rating : 
Amsterdam Sofia return. Very simple basic airline, planes are old, leg space was good enough. Food was
a simple sandwich, muffin, and 2 drinks. Cabin crew did what they had to do, but no extras, nice in
flight magazine.
Bulgaria Air - by Sean Gibbons
7 August 2007 Customer Trip Rating : 
Dubai to Sofia with Bulgaria/Hemus Air. Aircraft is old, very old - approximately 30 years old! The
seating is terrible - maybe ok for a very short charter flight but unbearable for a 5 plus hours
scheduled flight. Inflight catering stale bread and cheese roll, one small cup of water and one small
cup of coffee or tea all of which is served within 30 minutes of taking off. No offer of refills, no
alcohol, no more food of any description! Once their job is complete cabin crew disappear to the
relative comfort of their Business Class seating and thats the last any passenger sees of them until
landing. Business Class section occupied by ground and change over crew and entry to the toilet at
the front of the aircraft is prohibited for passengers! Ground and change over crew spend the entire
flight consuming their duty free alcohol. There is no inflight entertainment of any sort. The flight
stops for refueling in Beirut during which time passengers are not allowed to leave the aircraft. All
in all, an unpleasant experience and I would urge anyone contemplating flying such a trip to
contemplate again!
Bulgaria Air - by James Little
13 July 2007 Customer Trip Rating : 
LGW-SOF-LGW Economy. First, the good points: speedy check-in and prompt
boarding both ends, both flights more or less on time, charming enough
flight attendants and OK inflight snack and drinks service, and a much
cheaper ticket price than the only competitor (British Airways) on this
route, as well as cheaper than other European airlines offering
connecting service. Bad points: the 737 each way seemed very old and
tired, and the seat pitch is the worst I've ever encountered. Might be
30 or even 29 inch. Tip: ask for a seat in rows 12 or 13, particularly
13A or 13F for max. legroom as they are the emergency exit rows and for
anyone over 4 ft 11, this will make a difference. I noticed that
business class seat pitch was no better. Still, at the price, many would
find this acceptable.
Bulgaria Air - by Y Wilkinson
1 May 2007 Customer Trip Rating : 
LGW - Sofia in economy. LGW to Sofia - unforgettable experience! The most uncomfortable seats ever! Absolutely no leg room,
one gets bruised just getting into the seat and then 3hrs + with knees firmly pressed against the
seat in front. Business class seats (behind a drab curtain) appeared equally cramped. Worse than
the worst charter flight in terms of comfort. Food and service ok but did not really compensate for
lack of leg room. Never again.
Bulgaria Air - by R Mazzano
20 April 2007 Customer Trip Rating : n/a
Having been delayed on inbound flight from JFK and missing my connection
to SOF with BA, I ended up travelling with Bulgaria Air from London to
Sofia. Flight was not that good - the plane was an old 737 and the pitch
between the seats was almost illegal if there is a legal minimum. I am
1.88cm tall and for 3 hours my knees were on top of my head. The crew
were apologetic and do not blame them, but it was a joke. As not that
much competition on this route out of London, I can understand the high
prices but surely should be given something for it - if not a proper
meal (cold croissant!) at least some space for your legs.
Bulgaria Air - by Peter Sykes
20 December 2006
Sofia-Manchester. The flight was delayed for eight hours due to "bad
weather conditions" at Sofia (a light mist in fact). It was noticeable
that nearly all flights were unaffected except for Bulgaria Air, whose
entire timetable was running between 5 and 9 hours late. Local staff
cou;ld give no credible explanation for this. Despite the fact that we
received information from the UK (from consulting Manchester Airport's
website) that the flight had been put back until 21.30, local staff
still insisted it would depart at 19.40 . The revised time only appeared
40 minutes after they were informed. Passengers were only allowed to
check in at the last moment, by which time all duty-free shops and
catering places were closed. It did not help that Bulgaria Air staff
were less than honest in the information they gave out, indicative of a
general contempt for passengers. This is an attitude that we hoped had
disappeared with communism. This airline has a long way to go before it
can stand shoulder to shoulder with other companies.
Bulgaria Air - by Fiona Baxter
7 December 2006
London-Sofia. Quick check-in at Gatwick (once I had located the desk)!
Long queue at security so I was straight onto the bus and to the
aircraft. I was given a whole row of 3 seats to myself, not too roomy
but as I'm not tall was OK for me. Food is not worth bothering about,
stale cheese/ham roll (or cheese only for veggies like me) but the crew
were very generous with the wine served free. Excellent value duty-free
cigs (12Euro for cartoon UK cigs). Return 2 days later, same cheese
roll, although not stale this time. For a short stay business trip
Bulgaria Air are fine - expect no frills and both flights were on time.
Couldn't fault them for the money paid and will use them again.
Bulgaria Air - by John Saville
27 October 2006
SOF-LGW-SOF Several times a year. The problem with Bulgaria Air is that
Customer Service is an alien concept. This summer several flights were
cancelled or delayed due to aircraft shortages without warning or
explanation. Direct flights SOF-LGW were sent via Burgas (an additional
2 hour leg), with no explanation. On 3 September nearly half of all the
passengers' baggage was not put on the flight SOF-LGW, for reasons that
were never made clear. The queue at LGW Lost Luggage was long with
Bulgaria Air passengers. It took two days to be delivered to LGW.
Carrying passengers' baggage on the same flight seemed an optional
extra. The ground staff at SOF are surly, and often claim that flights
are fuller than they turn out to be, forcing you to accept a seat near
the toilets, but when the flight takes off it often has several Economy
rows near the front vacant - for what is not clarified (their friends?).
However, Bulgaria Air Cabin Crew are pleasant and professional,
generally trying hard to meet international standards, although when the
aircraft is diverted from SOF to Plovdiv (100 miles away) due to any
problem at SOF, they tend to keep it secret for as long as possible
(just before they open the doors and you see you are in the wrong
place). And lastly, in the winter at SOF, avoid getting on the bus out
to the aircraft until the last minute - the drivers keep the doors open
even at -20C, and the engine running, so you get gassed and frozen. As I
say, Bulgaria Air expects its customers to put up routinely with things
that most airlines would not consider doing. But it is still the only
way to travel direct from SOF to LGW, because other airlines use
Heathrow.
Bulgaria Air - by Gill Dransfield
18 July 2006
Why do Bulgaria Air still use the old Tupelov 154 to carry passengers to
and from England on behalf of Balkan Holidays. No signage overhead no
lights for escapes. Looks like the plane is held together with the
carpet. I couldn't get on the plane this May after travelling home by it
last year. Surely it doesn't meet any criteria for entry into UK but as
Bulgaria not in EU yet that may be why it can. Won't use them again.
Bulgaria Air - by Vladimir Shapovalov
18 July 2006
SVO-SOF. That was my first flight with Bulgaria Air and I think the last
one. The take off was first delayed to 9:50PM Moscow time, than to
10:30PM, further to 11:30PM and finally to 0:30AM. No explanation
offered, nor any representatives of the airline present or available.
The transit desk in the departure hall offered a meal coupon, but I had
some trouble locating any descent place to use it in Sheremetievo 2
departures hall. All news about the delays were supplied by fellow
passengers who were calling friends in Sofia airport for updates.
Obviously, the incoming flight from Sofia was very late as it arrived at
11PM Moscow time (instead of 7PM). We were boarded and the flight
attended acted as if nothing happened - no apologies except a lame
excuse for the delay caused by "the delayed arrival of the incoming
flight" (as if we didn't see it ourselves that it was late to arrive -
the real reason behind the delay was concealed). The service was more
or less decent, food - barely adequate (few slices of cucumbers with a
dressing, a slice of yellow and feta chese and 2 small slices of
something like ham + cake). The airplane was okay - 10 minutes before
landing we were given the usual message to buckle our seatbelts, prepare
for landing in Plovdiv airport, temperature in Plovdiv, etc all with
usual tone of voice as if we were flying to Plovdiv, not Sofia. After
some discontent among the passengers one flight attendant explained that
we would be given further instructions after the plane stops. A promise
not kept. We walked from the plane to the airport building (a pathetic
one if at all possible to call an airport) almost at the same time as
the passengers of another plane (again a diverted plane, but from
London). Four huge lines formed at passport control and they moved
pretty slow. No representatives of Bulgaria Air to be found anywhere.
After claiming the luggage the passengers went to a bus outside the
airport building and at 4AM the bus set off. We finally arrived in Sofia
at about 6AM. As far as I understood from fellow passengers the reason
we landed in Plovdiv is scheduled repair works carried out in Sofia
airport during night time. Obviously, Bulgaria Air and their staff knew
about this but preferred to spare us this information until landing (I
guess if they could they would prefer not to tell us at all where we are
landing). Unacceptable treatment, horrible organization, and nothing
close to punctuality. I would not recommend flying with Bulgaria Air (if
you are flying to Moscow, Aeroflot is probably a better choice).
Bulgaria Air - by Deena Mitsin
24 May 2006
My flight from Paris to Sofia was okay - the plane was old and not in
very good shape, but all in all it was all in all okay. I have to say
the food was horrible. Now to the highlight of my day! On my return
flight from Sofia to Paris I get to the airport and the wonderful lady
at the counter to check-in informed me that my flight was cancelled and
the flight was full and told me thank you have a nice day - and that was
it - she didnt try to help me at all. We had to go yell at someone else
and wait an hour and finally they found me a seat and informed me that
when we arrived in Paris, I may not have a seat on the flight home to
Cincinnati. What a help they were. After we almost missed our flight and
had about 30 seconds to say goodbye to are family that we haven't seen
in 3 years I get on the plane and have to sit with my carry on bag
between my legs while holding my 2yr old soon on my lap and no oxygen
mask in case of an emergency. The funny part was there were about 10
open seats and the flight attendants wouldn't let me move. I find that a
serious issue. At take off, the plane felt like it was about to fall
apart. My advice to all is do a little research before you fly with Bulgaria Air.
Bulgaria Air - by Nigel Guest
24 May 2006
FRA-SOF-FRA. 737's as usual. Planes a lot fuller than my trip earlier
this year. Outgoing was obviously borrowed / chartered / leased from
Lufthansa. Clean, quite new, good condition. On time, food still hasn't
improved so guess its the new standard. On the way back was a plane
chartered I guess from a UK airline as all instructions in English
(except for Bulgarian labels plastered next to them). First 5 rows had
massive leg room (maybe 42 inches) and had verizon phones on the back of
the middle seat (removed on this plane). Plane in excellent condition.
food still the same. On time, very comfortable. Hope someone suitable
takes them over as don't want to go back to no competition out of Sofia.
Bulgaria Air - by J Gagnard
13 May 2006
SOF-BRU-SOF. Very fast check in at both airports. Return flight late by
40 min but time nearly made up by the time we arrived. Attendants
friendly, fast and polite. Light dinner served with soft drinks and
wine! Good quality of food. Cheap duty-free products! The economy
legroom very good compared with other European giants. Excellent quality
of flight for the price you pay – 225 EUR return incl. food and drinks
and other taxes and fees!
Bulgaria Air - by Penelope Hudson
30 April 2006
MAN-SOF-MAN. Price good, plane clean, leg room greater than some BA
flights I've been on and reasonably comfortable. Meals basic but
adequate and plenty of drinks offered on both outbound (lunch) and
return (breakfast). Crew courteous and attentive. Flight times not too
bad and no delays or problems. Have booked flights for later in year at
same good price so hoping they're still flying!
Bulgaria Air - by Lutz Mühl
18 April 2006
Early morning flight from VIE to SOF - Austrian Airlines, operated by
Bulgaria Air. Flight was delayed 45 minutes because of "something
happened to the aircraft over night". It was a 737, ex-Easyjet
Switzerland plane. Still had the Easyjet interior and signs in French,
English and German. FAs were very friendly and service was very ok. But,
the plane was absolutely at the end of its lifecycle, the door did not
close properly !! Rain came in during take-off and landing and first row
of seats could not be used therefore. I would really warn anybody to fly
with them, I will not do it again for sure. It is a shame, as Bulgaria
is such a nice and friendly place.
Bulgaria Air - by Nigel Guest
3 February 2006
FRA-SOF-FRA. Outbound the plane was the oldest 737 I have seen for a
long time. Very tatty inside, seats falling apart, springs almost
coming through. 25% full, so loads of room. Food fairly hopeless. A
big difference from a couple of years earlier when they leased new
planes. Return Leg, the plane had signs in French and English and what
looked like the old Air France seat design - a lot better, newer and
only 16% full. 1 person per row - I remember when they used to be full!
Bulgaria Air - by Philip Walsh
17 January 2006
I have flown several times with Bulgaria Air and recommend them. The
aircraft aren’t new, but they are perfectly serviceable. Food is neither
better nor worse than others in this sector and at least you're not
charged for it, a la Austrian (the home of the €6 sandwich). Service is
pleasant and efficient and the crews on the LGW/SOF/LGW route are very
polite. Legroom is OK. It's heartening to see that this airline,
despite not benefiting from lavish funding and having suffered with
management problems in the past, is expanding and improving.
Bulgaria Air - by Irina Krasteva
30 December 2005
Sofia to Palma de Mallorca. I am Bulgarian and I kind of feel ashamed to
write about my national airline, but what I have seen is unacceptable.
As an ex flight attendant I have an eye about the service and the safety
on board. Before take off, I have notice that one of the oxygen panels
on board was in testing position. I did inform the crew but she had no
idea what to do. She did nothing, not even informed the flight senior.
So, we took off like that. The 3 poor passengers seating there had no
idea what was happening. Lot's of the tray tables were broken. We were
refused soft drink after the service. But I don't really care about the
service as long as the crew is very strict in the safety rules and
regulations. FRA to Sofia. We had a delay, because of a technical
problem with the engine. It was such an old airplane. Most of the seat
backs were broken. How can you put your seat in a locked position and
how is this seat going to protect you in case of an emergency landing? I
know it's a new airline with not much money, but training the crew to be
professional and taking good care of the airplanes is a matter of common
sense and responsibility.
Bulgaria Air - by Kris Proot
2 October 2005
Flew BRU_VAR_BRU with Bulgaria Air on what is generally known as a
scheduled charter flight (i.e.
economy class only flight during summer season). The plane on both legs
was the same ex-Lufthansa
B737 and so all markings inside were still in German and English.
Although I am a tall person, seat
pitch was adequate and the leather seats comfortable, yet they were all
very much worn out. (e.g.:
some ash trays were missing and the holes in the arm rests were simply
taped over by gray DIY
tape!) Both my flights left with a small delay but still arrived early:
good points for punctuality!
Service on board however was very basic to say the least. I realize this
was not a 'real' scheduled
flight as such, so I will not comment on the standards of catering (a
small plate with a few cold
tortellini, 2 slices of cucumber and some cold chicken dice, 2 slices of
bread and a chocolate cake
as dessert all put together on a plastic tray and wrapped in a plastic
folio looking as if it was
done by a local snack bar in Varna) nor on the fact they charge you 3
euro for a drink., but surely
a professional service should include a smile or a polite gesture from
time to time, something
painfully missing on both my flights. Cabin crew were 4 on both legs, so
it should have left them
with some time to care for their passengers in a personal way, but they
acted more like robots,
avoiding all eye contact and reducing talking to pax to the absolute
minimum. On the outbound leg,
only 3 short speeches were made: a safety demo before take off, a very
hard to understand speech
announcing the sale of tax free goods during cruise and a very brief
'thank you for flying us'
right after landing. These 3 speeches were made in French only, which
was a bit weird, since 60%
of Belgians (and roughly 90% of the pax on that flight) have Dutch as
first language. Coming to
think of it, this odd choice of languages was probably a timid attempt
to take some initiative and
to personallize the service since on the return flight a more logic yet
very out-of-the-book
combination of English and Bulgarian was used. In all the crew came
accross as being extremely
uninterested: cockpit crew never even bothered to adress the passengers
once on any leg, something I
have never experienced before! Since on the return flight the cabin crew
never mentioned the flight
time in their speeches (at least not in the English version), I never
found out how long the flight
was going to take us! Bottom line: Bulgaria Air has a very pale colour
scheme which is all white with just a spiritless
logo on the tail and their name accross the fuselage and it perfectly
represents what this company
stands for: a basic even somewhat pale and shabby service. They'll get
you from A to B safely and
hopefully on time, the rest is 'goodwill' from the crew.
Bulgaria Air - by Robin Massart
9 September 2005
Flown LGW-SOF-LGW many times with Bulgaria Air. Service has always been
friendly, flights are on-time and food is what you would expect for a
flight of this length in Europe: good enough to keep you going. Usually
they are better value than BA from Heathrow (especially if you're not
booking very far in advance, at which point BA become very expensive).
Return flight time is awkward if you live far from Sofia, but is worth
remembering that the flight is aimed at business people and as such is
ideal as it will get you into central London by about midday at the
latest.
Bulgaria Air - by Gilles Denis
29 August 2005
Varna to Marseille on charter FB flight. L eather seats, good service, we came on
time (even 15 minutes early), good food and nice crew! I Would recommend this airline
to everyone!
Bulgaria Air - by S Taylor
19 August 2005
LGW-SOF / VAR-LGW. Plane was old LH but serviceable. Had an issue with the engines on
take off that delayed the flight but that was fixed and I am still here! Was also
late from VAR on the return trip. Food OK and as one would expect. Cabin Crew
friendly and efficient in my experience. Put it this way, I have flown on a lot
better, but also a lot worse.
Bulgaria Air - by Philipp von Ploetz
3 August 2005
SVO-SOF-SVO, both business and economy. I fly this route every second month and I
absolutely cannot recommend Bulgaria Air. I have not had one single flight where
something did not go wrong. Usually the flight is delayed by 1-2 hours. The food
is not impressive in business or economy. The choice of drinks is limited. The
seats are worn and their pitch is identical in both classes. They never have the
necessary immigration cards for Russia on board so that I end up queuing longer at
passport control in SVO. The on-board duty free sale is limited and they do not
accept credit cards. All of this was topped by my last experience where the
outbound flight was delayed by 8 hours. Bulgaria Air only started check-in 3 hours
before the flight so that I had to wait 5 hours in SVOs main hall instead of the
airport lounge (which is airside). Of course, Bulgaria Air generally never offers
any form of compensation. The return flight was only 15 min. late, but the steward
managed to pour a glass of orange juice over me. So, even if their prices are
lower I strongly recommend to take any other airline to SOF. I myself will in
future fly Aeroflot (!) whenever possible.
Bulgaria Air - by Boris Drenkov
4 July 2005
MAD-SOF-MAD. The airplane was a bit old, but well kept and clean. For business class on such a short
flight the seat pitch is rather generous. Food was not star quality, but there was variety of choice.
Drink service was the richest on European routes. All in all an absolute wonderful experience.
Bulgaria Air - by Bachour Jarouj
28 January 2005
FRA-SOF-FRA . Good price, ok food and drinks , crew not the friendliest, aircraft was a not too old
737-500. The aircraft was either bought or leased from LH since it had the LH
colour
scheme (I was happy with the leather seats).
Bulgaria Air - by Martin Ludford
25 January 2005
Flight from LGW to Sof - Wed 24 November 2004. The flight was very good, inflight meal quite
adequate. The return price was excellent £132.40 + airport taxes. The cabin crew were attentive and
friendly. The return flight Mon 29th November 2004 left Sofia at a very early hour, it departed
almost on time as had the outbound flight. Again cabin crew were attentive and the breakfast was
adequate. I would always use them for this route as their prices are some 20% cheaper than BA and I
have no complaints about the service or aircraft used.
Bulgaria Air - by Jakob Sandager
4 January 2005
CPH-SOF-CPH. Crew were OK. average choice of soft drinks and local beer. The food was a bit below average, but
then again the airfare was really cheap and they got me from A to B. I would fly FB again if the air fare is good.
Bulgaria Air - by Simon Jackson
8 December 2004
Sofia to Gatwick. Plane clean, service attentive, no problems at
all. Would happily fly again.
Bulgaria Air - by A Callahan
2 November 2004
Flight from LGW-SOF and back at the end of October for a short break. Outbound on a clean not too
old 737, ok meal and drinks service, crew a bit miserable. Return flight early morning on an ancient
737 - this aircraft could do with a refit as the interior is very tired and dated. Crew friendlier
on this sector and the light breakfast served was ok. Would use them again.
Bulgaria Air - by Victor Fairweather
8 February 2004
Apart from an inconveniently early return time from Sofia to London (for those coming five hours by
bus from Pamporovo ski resort, for example) I have no complaints. Good flight, good service, good
food, on time, good price.
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