FLYGLOBESPAN review :  27 August 2008 : by Gemma Braines

Customer Rating : 1/5

We flew back from Orlando. There had been a storm in Orlando and we anticipated this to alter our flight time. However when we arrived at the airport most flights were on time and this included ours which was due to depart at 6.30pm. The inbound flight from Glasgow had arrived on time and we checked in quite quickly. We were due to board at 6pm and it was at this point we were told there was a delay and we would be notified momentarily. All flights due to fly out of Sanford that day had departed except one to London and First Choice were accommodating their customers at a hotel. In about half an hour it was announced that we were delayed but the extent was not clear and no reason was given. About an hour later it was announced that the delay would be until 3am (11 hrs after check-in) and this was due to a fault with the plane. After further questions (there was no Flyglobespan rep, only a lady who worked for the airport) we were told it was because the Captain did not want to fly the plane because it had a faulty 'back thrust' and this would affect emergency landing. He also said that we needed to wait for more crew. The plane finally departed at 4.45am - over 9 hours after it should have departed. The airport was shut up and there was no security staff anywhere making it an unpleasant place to be. The plane was not fixed, the Captain simply decided to take the risk-so why not take the risk 10 hours earlier? The staff were lovely but when boarding the plane we were told to be patient with them as they had only had minimum rest. They weren't the only ones! I would never fly with Flyglobespan again.

FLYGLOBESPAN review :  27 August 2008 : by J Graveson

Customer Rating : 3/5

Glasgow to Sanford return. Outbound on time, impressed with plane, loads of legroom and a foot rest. Premium economy meals better than expected with complimentary drinks, entertainment up to date. Return journey a very different story! Got to Sanford 3 hrs before as requested, flight supposedly on time, 18.30pm. Flyglobespan decided not to fly - excuse a "technical" problem with the plane and the crew had gone over their working time so we would be flying out at 4.15am, 10 hrs later. Pilot told us this through a recorded message and by the time we received it all the crew had done a runner and were tucked up in bed. We did receive $20 in food vouchers each to compensate but Sanford closes down at night and it was a long 10 hr wait plus the journey home. I suppose when you only pay £1100 for 4 adults return what do you expect.

FLYGLOBESPAN review :  23 August 2008 : by S Davison

Customer Rating : 2/5

We had a four hour delay each way on London to Vancouver with £4 vouchers each time. No reason for delays and on top of long transfer and journey now worth the cheaper air fare. Never again as happens all the time and not a one off.

FLYGLOBESPAN review :  22 August 2008 : by J Walker

Customer Rating : 2/5

Gatwick / Vancouver Business Class return August 2008. Having read the extensive negative comment and followed the CAA court case we found we were too late to cancel without penalty so I still wanted to enjoy the flight knowing full well that one cannot expect Virgin Upper Class. Globespan managed to remove any sense of business class other than to technically supply a faded old style cradle chair. Yes, we were 3 hours late both flights but in comparison to other reported delays we felt we were lucky. There are all the other oft heard niggles which could be re-iterated but I am more concerned about the aged, noisy 767’s that seem to suffer technical problems on such a regular basis. They must be costing Flyglobespan a fortune through their inefficiency and the inevitable knock-on costs such as timed out crew, hotel accommodation, etc. for the unfortunates. If these aircraft suffer so many technical problems they must not only show faults prior to take off but during a flight.

FLYGLOBESPAN review :  22 August 2008 : by Marie Nolan

Customer Rating : 4/5

Manchester to Vancouver via Calgary. No complaints. Return flight (via Dublin) delayed 2 hours but informed at check in. Screw up with pre-booked meal selection on return, but they supplied a crew meal for me. I knew about stopovers but only because I asked someone in Canada to look into the same flights from there. Seems that if you book from outside the UK the 'stopovers' are made quite clear to potential customers. This (I speculate) is because the UK doesn't have the same consumer regulations as Canada, so it could be that providing this information is the law over there but not over here? My advice: Don't waste your money on 'premium economy', unless you really need to sit a few feet closer to business class and the economy class lav. Fly Globespan but business class only, it's affordable and worth every penny especially on long haul flights.

FLYGLOBESPAN review :  21 August 2008 : by L McCulloch

Customer Rating : 1/5

Glasgow to Barcelona. We were informed a couple of weeks before this flight had changed to Glasgow- Edinburgh-Barcelona adding time onto our journey. The flight then left Glasgow on time, arrived in Edinburgh with no sign of a problem until they let all the passengers on, we then waited almost an hour before being told there was a "fault" with the plane! The part they needed was in Glasgow so it was being couriered over to Edinburgh. We were then taken off the flight, given a hastily written letter apologising and were left there for 3 hours. The flight from start to finish took 7 hours with little information being passed to us. Extremely disappointed with their service.

FLYGLOBESPAN review :  16 August 2008 : by S Menzies

Customer Rating : 1/5

Myself, husband and children flew from Glasgow-Vancouver on 30th July. We were delayed over 19 hours on the way there. Initially we were told that there would be an update on half an hour. This came and went and only updates were supplied when people were demanding answers when the update was 'we have no further information at this time - a further update will be given in half an hour'...this also came and went. Eventually a £4 meal voucher was supplied to each person. Considering we had checked in 9 hours previously, this allocation was poor. We were then told to come back at 11pm to collect our luggage and we would then be allocated a room - we eventually were given a room at the Premier Inn 'just down the road'. After walking for almost a mile across busy roads with 3 children plus all our luggage we eventually checked in at 1am - told to be back at the airport next morning at 7am for departure at 9am - flight departed around 11.10am. I had to demand a minibus to take us back to the airport the next morning. Premier Inn were great and organised this even tho it wasn't their responsibility bringing in staff from their day off. Return flight was delayed 1hr 45mins. I hadn't read the reviews prior to booking with Globespan and was sceptical about flying with them after all the documented bad press. My scepticism was well justified and would much rather pay that little bit extra in future to fly with an efficient well run airline. I definitely won't be using them again.

FLYGLOBESPAN review :  16 August 2008 : by Marcus Williams

Customer Rating : 5/5

Glasgow to Orlando and back. Checking in at Glasgow very quick and we were told they expected a delay of 1 hour 50 minutes but after 1 hour 55 minutes we were on the runway. Our prebooked seats were available to us and the food was typical airline. Service with a smile was the nature of the day. Seats comfortable and acceptable leg room and width. Returning we had booked business class. We had a separate checkin and again our prebooked seats were available. Food as one would expect much nicer and served on plates. Not up to BMI business class food but we didn't expect that. The girls tried really hard to be professional but did seem young and a little nervous. I have to say I enjoyed the flights more than when we flew Virgin to San Francisco a few years ago. We would pay again for Business class. It was worth the extra money so long as it is appreciated that it is far cheaper than major airlines business class and you get what you pay for.

FLYGLOBESPAN review :  15 August 2008 : by T Lundberg

Customer Rating : 1/5

Glasgow-Vancouver (via Calgary). An 18-hour delay. Upon arrival at the airport there was already a four-hour delay which dragged on until 9 PM, when we were finally told we would not be flying that day. The lucky ones went home, while those not from Glasgow were accommodated (well past midnight, with a 6am wake-up call) at various hotels. The flight finally left (two hours later than the promised 9am, thanks to the use of that day's Florida-bound plane, making all those passengers delayed until at least 16:00 from their 9:30 flight (if they got out that day at all on our plane)! Globespan seems to do this a lot - grab another plane that does not have a technical problem and pass the delay down the line. My return flight two weeks later was also delayed (only two hours this time). The only positive thing I can say is that the service and food were reasonably good. While I have had only minor delays with Globespan's service to Tenerife, I would never fly with this airline transatlantic, and I do wonder how good the maintenance is when there are so many delays due to technical problems.

FLYGLOBESPAN review :  14 August 2008 : by S Finlay

Customer Rating : 4/5

Glasgow - Sanford. The outgoing flight was delayed by two hours, but these things happen, and staff kept us informed and were and apologetic. The seats were comfortable, and food good for airline food. Cabin crew friendly and very accomodating. The return flight departed slightly early. Again, clean plane, comfortable seats, good food, friendly crew. My only real complaint is the inflight entertainment - seat-back screens would improve matters.

FLYGLOBESPAN review :  13 August 2008 : by Jackie Keogh

Customer Rating : 1/5

Edinburgh - or should I say Glasgow-Las Palmas. On outward journey arrived at Edinburgh at 1.00pm (our flight was to take off at 4.00pm) to be told we were being taken by bus to Glasgow airport as our plane had a "technical fault" and would not be leaving until 10.00pm that night. Bad enough you would think on way out but you still had a holiday to look forward to. But arriving at Las Palmas airport at 7.00pm for flight supposedly leaving at 10.00pm on return we thought we would ask at check in (just to be sure) what time we would be boarding. We were told 9.30pm. Not bad,we thought!!! So got through departure lounge at 8.30pm, quickly did our duty free shopping and grabbed a quick bite to eat. At 9.00pm we happened to look at board and to our horror found out that the flight had been delayed until 3.30am. No flyglobespan reps in sight and no-one to explain to us what was going on. At 10.00 got an announcement to ask all passengers to report to information desk to receive vouchers for a measly £4.00. What good were they to us as we had already ate? Still no explanation as to what was happening so there was nothing else to do but grab a line of seats each and try and grab some shut eye (to no avail as announcements every 2 mins to alert passengers of other flights leaving on time!). When we finally boarded the plane the only explanation we got was the same old story "there had been a technical fault with our plane and had to bring one over from GLASGOW". So in other words the exact same cock and bull we heard two weeks previously. The planes themselves are very dated and basic (no entertainment at all). Needless to say that will be the last time I will ever fly with Flyglobespan and would never recommend them to anyone.

FLYGLOBESPAN review :  11 August 2008 : by R Falconer

Customer Rating : 3/5

Outward flight to Vancouver via Calgary was trouble free. Flight on time and had the seats we booked. Unfortunately the return flight was totally different. Meant to depart Vancouver at 8.15pm on Tuesday 5th August. On arrival at the airport the flight was already showing a delay until 10pm - no reason given. The aircraft arrived about 9.15pm, when everyone was assembled in the forward departure lounge when we were told there was a technical problem - one of the tyres had burst and they couldn't get a replacement one and even if they did the flight crew would be over their working hours. The flight was cancelled. We were accommodated in the Best Western hotel and eventually left at 12 noon on Wednesday and arrived back in Glasgow at 6.30 am on Thursday. We were kept informed and the technical problem could have happened to any airline.

FLYGLOBESPAN review :  7 August 2008 : by P Gray

Customer Rating : 1/5

Glasgow - Calgary 23rd July - drove wife and daughter from Aberdeen to Glasgow to be told on arrival that there was a four hour delay on the flight - eventually took off four hours late - no explanation from staff - captain advised only late incoming flight on previous sector. Globespan must have know this well in advance as the previous sectors were Gatwick / Calgary / Vancouver / Calgary / Glasgow - on checking the departures / arrivals boards at these airports the flight was always late - so Globespan knew at least 24 hours in advance that flight was late - no chance of making up the time. I could have lived with this, but I am now sitting in Aberdeen (6th August) waiting to drive to Glasgow to pick up my wife and daughter - only to find that the flight has been cancelled (rather that delayed) - subtle difference. No Information provided by Globespan to my wife (in Calgary) or myself in Aberdeen - only after I phoned Globespan in Edinburgh (when they eventually opened at 9am) did I find that there was an indefinite delay which was likely to be 15 / 16 hours. My wife is now in a hotel in Calgary awaiting a flight. I am sitting in Aberdeen wondering when I should drive to Glasgow to pick her up. Will I ever be advised by Globespan what is really happening? Glasgow airport departure boards eventually updated - after my complaint - to show arrival time of 06:45 on 7th August (16 Hours late) - I am not holding my breath that this will end up the limit to the delay. No one in Globespan seems to want to explain what is really going on. Passengers travelling with my wife on the same flight all seem to have their own horror stories about Globespan. Do not Fly with Globespan - worse than useless

FLYGLOBESPAN review :  5 August 2008 : by M Rust

Customer Rating : 1/5

Edinburgh - Barcelona. We booked Globespan despite a horrendous experience suffered by my sister last year, principally as the flight times suited us and they flew direct to Barcelona. We have three young children. On arriving at Edinburgh we were casually told of a 1 hr 45 minute delay which turned quickly into 3 hours. I count ourselves lucky compared to some poor souls. What irritated me the most was the complete disinterest of the staff and crew. There was of course no explanation given and you are faced with dealing with the fallout - ie screaming kids, midnight arrival, no service etc etc. I will never fly them again and will make it my mission to disuade anyone who is thinking of trying them - it simply is not worth it. When you add in the antiquated state of some of their aircraft it's a joke that they are still in business.

FLYGLOBESPAN review : 3 August 2008 : by Steve Martin

Customer Rating : 1/5

UK-Spain flights. I am a frequent flyer between UK & Spain and can categorically say Flyglobespan are the worst airline I have ever booked and flown with. They advertise attractive flight times (midday, early afternoon) and within a month or so the flight times change to late evening. A friend has just been advised via email that his Wednesday-Wednesday flights have been changed to Monday- Monday! They have on several occasions combined Alicante & Malaga flights to fill them without informing the customers who then have to endure over 5 hours on the plane instead of 2hrs 45mins. The change of flight times bugs me though, it is plain, simple, fraud! If they advertised evening flights arriving around midnight no one would book with them. I now use Easyjet even if it means 2 x flights via London because at least they are reliable and the flight times don't change.

FLYGLOBESPAN review : 1 August 2008 : by P Smaill

Customer Rating : 1/5

Nice-Edinburgh, 28 July, 20.10. Well it turned out to be 29 July, a total delay of 9 hours with no open facilities at the airport and forced to stay in the terminal awake until 5am. Information was inaccurate when it existed and no proper explanation given as to why a little fog at Edinburgh earlier causes such a scenario- other airlines coped much better! They have a small fleet and absolutely no customer care when this happens. I'll go Easyjet next time, all is forgiven.Worst experience in 35 years of flying, but all too typical judging from other comments from young and old alike.

FLYGLOBESPAN review : 29 July 2008 : by D Menzies

Customer Rating : 2/5

Edinburgh to Nice. This was the only reasonably priced direct flight we could find online for Nice flying from Scotland. The flight was delayed by 4 hours because of a technical fault which required a sensor to be replaced. No discount or even a free drink was offered. On the return flight there was a one hour delay. Staff were Ok but we would avoid this airline in future if we had a choice.

FLYGLOBESPAN review : 29 July 2008 : by S O'Brien

Customer Rating : 4/5

We were not looking forward to our flight to Vancouver with Globespan, but flights were good with good service. The only slight complaint is that the entertainment could do with updating for such long flights but overall we enjoyed our experience.

FLYGLOBESPAN review : 26 July 2008 : by M McCormick

Customer Rating : 4/5

Belfast to Sanford return. There was a 2 hour delay on the outbound flight, the return flight was on time. The only small problem was with the entertainment - some passengers had a problem with the sound - although mine was fine. The crew were friendly and helpful. I would have no hesitation in booking with them again.

FLYGLOBESPAN review : 25 July 2008 : by A Emmett

Customer Rating : 1/5

We came back from Hamilton to Manchester in so called business class, having flown out to Toronto on Air Transat business class. My advice is pay the little bit extra and fly with Transat. The difference is vast, the plane was an old ex Iceland Air 757 with 22 seats up front for business class. My wifes seat was broken, when we complained the crew said they knew it had been reported but nothing done. The seat pitch is Ok but seats are very uncomfortable. Inflight entertainment is a joke, consisting of old films and poor music, from old style drop down tvs. The food is OK but the service is indifferent and the staff don't seem interested in passengers, just in keeping out of the way to get the flight over. Hamilton Airport is a tiny provincial airport with no facilities at all, and is a big shock compared with the modern impressive lounges at Toronto, which incidentally is 40 miles from Hamilton. On the plus side it is easy to get to and not busy. The flight was on time which was a bonus after all the problems we have heard of with delays. Overall not an experience I would repeat for transatlantic flights.

FLYGLOBESPAN review : 22 July 2008 : by John Lessells

Customer Rating : 4/5

There are a number of poor comments about Globespan here but we have been using them for a number of years to fly from Glasgow to Paphos and I can remember only one serious delay, and that was only a few hours. Their staff were helpful and courteous and whilst there is no in flight entertainment, this was known from the outset. Cheap and cheerful they may be, but they represent excellent value for money, particularly from Scotland where crossing the border with other airlines seems to indicate some trigger point for bumping up the prices.