MERIDIANA Passenger Reviews and Customer Trip Reports

MERIDIANA customer review :  17 January 2010 : by T Gillitt   (UK)

Gatwick to Florence return. This was meant to be a week-end away in Florence. Meridiana service was appalling. They cancelled flights justifying EU regs. They offered no compensation for a hotel if we wish to catch a flight the next day. They offered an alternative flight so early that we effectively lost a day out of our 4-day stay and had to leave the hotel by 6am to check in. They cost me a fortune in telephone calls to Italy and I paid top price for the flights because I wanted to fly to Florence and not Pisa at a reasonable time for arrival and departure. I am a seasoned traveller but this bunch of cowboys are to be avoided at all costs!

MERIDIANA customer review :  9 January 2010 : by T Spamington   (UK)

There are many problems flying Meridiana to Florence and back over a weekend. One is that poor weather in Florence means diversions, and very high air pressure in Florence means that Meridiana flight can only take off partially loaded - with some "selected" to wait, hotel overnight or if very lucky put on Meridian to Paris CDG thence on Air France to London Heathrow! There are never people at the airport who can efficiently answer questions either in Florence or at Gatwick. I have once been diverted to Turin, and offered a bus ride back to Florence - so that lunch time flight mean forecast arrival in Florence at 2am - I was working the next morning at 9am! We took the train, paid for it, having paid for a taxi from Turn airport to the railway station. Meridiana need to negotiate with Florence to lengthen the runway and to get better radar installed - this airport could be much more extensively used, instead of the Pisa hub which involves bus or very few trains into Florence Santa Maria Novella from Pisa where information is as scarce as dragon's teeth, like Florence.

MERIDIANA customer review :  6 October 2009 : by A Dron   (UK)

London Gatwick - Florence return. Our second flight with Meridiana on this route within a year was again basically satisfactory. Both outbound and return flights about 20 minutes late taking off, but other than that, there were no problems. A319 clean and in good condition. Check-in swift at both airports and boarding smooth. My sole grouse was that only soft drinks are served onboard - I would be prepared to pay for alcohol if only it was available. Both flights almost full, so one suspects Meridiana makes a decent profit on the route - as they should, as their fares are not particularly cheap. If only more airlines flew London-Florence direct.

MERIDIANA customer review :  4 September 2009 : by L Tobin   (UK)

Florence - London Gatwick. Delayed out of Florence due to high winds and incoming plane having been diverted to Pisa - no information given to passengers other than the fact that we may be going to Pisa on a bus. Finally we were told that we'd be flying from Florence (late) after all but because they had been letting people in and out of the passport controlled boarding gate area, we'd have to all go out and line up to clear passport control again to come back into the boarding gate area. We all went out, lined up to get our passports checked for a second time, and came back in. Further delay. No information. We are now more than two hours delayed. Sign on the screen says we are entitled to compensation after two hour delay. Woman standing directly below the screen says we are not and we will not be getting anything (normally airlines issue meal vouchers at this point). Finally a bus comes to take us out to the plane. We board the bus. It doesn't move. We stand there for 15 minutes and then are all told to get off the bus and back into the terminal. No information. I ask the driver what is happening and he says that there are no staff from Meridiana there, just airport staff, but someone from Meridiana will come and answer questions in a while. Nobody from Meridiana appears. We are all put back on the bus and finally it takes us to the plane. We board. Apology is very curt. Safety announcement is a video in Italian. The screen is blurry and the English subtitles move to fast to read. I understand that this is an Italian airline, and I speak Italian so it doesn't matter to me anyway, but if the flight is going into Gatwick they should at least ensure that the safety instructions are legible to English speakers!! We take off. Seatbelt sign goes off. I am the first person into the bathroom at the back of the plane. It has not been cleaned properly since the last flight. Smell is foul. Stewardesses are behind the curtain chatting loudly. They do not appear for ages, though they can clearly be heard having a good old gossip. Passengers have really been messed around so the least they could do is get up and serve us a meal as soon as the seatbelt sign goes off to compensate for lack of meal vouchers which we are entitled to under European law, but no. They appeared after about 40 minutes offering limited range of drinks and either sweet or "salty" biscuits. Nothing else. I ask for ice in my (room temperature) water and the stewardess looks at me as if this is a completely unreasonable request. I get one, tiny, piece of ice that melts into the water in under a minute. All drinks are served in tiny portions filling only a third of the cup.

MERIDIANA customer review :  8 July 2009 by A Mackellar

My experience with Meridiana was not good. Flight was re-routed to depart from Bologna airport and not Florence airport. Bologna is approximately 100km to the north of Florence. Bus scheduled to transport 1/2 passengers to Bologna airport arrived late, resulting in delay. Flight rescheduled again to depart at 1910 - 2 hours after scheduled departure. - Arrangements at Florence airport poor, with no communication to passengers on what was occurring. Customer service agents were rude. Arrangements at Bologna airport were non-existent. Bus was not met by any Meridiana staff, passengers were left guessing as to what was to happen next. Meridiana did not offer any meal vouchers to passengers nor did they serve a meal on the aircraft to compensate passengers. Despite advertising "food for sale onboard" in the ticket, no food service was available.

MERIDIANA customer review :  23 February 2009 : by H Wyld

Left Gatwick 1.5 hours late on 16 Feb (the plane arrived late having been collected from Pisa apparently ). Free water offered on board, staff helpful and plenty of legroom. No food on sale, but unnecessary on the short flight to Florence. Back on 20 Feb, again, free water but no food. All perfectly adequate for a short flight but this is definitely no frills flying. I would fly this airline again as the direct flight to Florence really is a plus. Met some regular business travellers who had no complaints about the airline. Marked as 7 only because of the delay going out.

MERIDIANA customer review :  1 February 2009 : by A Dron

London Gatwick-Florence. Having seen mixed reviews on this site, it was with some nervousness that I got onboard the A319. The flight to Florence and the return a week later were almost entirely uneventful, which is probably as good as you can hope for these days if you're flying economy. Seats reasonably comfortable, cabin crew were pleasant. The return flight was delayed by about 30 minutes and a glitch meant that no food had been put on board, but as some small compensation the cabin crew dispensed soft drinks and coffee at no cost.

MERIDIANA customer review :  7 November 2008 : by F Tognellini

Milano Linate- Rome Fiumicino return. Both flights on time, cabin staff friendly and helpful, Md82 with new leather seats and enlarged overhead compartments. They serve water for free, you can purchase coffee, snack and other products at reasonable price Good value for money. Web check in worked well and easy to use with their web site.

MERIDIANA customer review :  18 October 2008 : by Bharat Bedi

Trip Rating :  5/5

My wife, our 10 month old baby and I flew from Gatwick to Florence with Meridiana. The whole experience was excellent and compares with an airline such as BA (leaving aside food that you have to pay for). Checking in was quick. The staff were really helpful and friendly. The flights left and arrived on time. In addition the fare was reasonable. I would fly with them again.

MERIDIANA customer review :  14 September 2008 : by D Young

Customer Rating :  1/5

Have just arrived back from Florence following our first trip with Meridiana. We had a 40 minute delay leaving London due to the starter motor not working - these were the words of the pilot. Anyway, eventually took off and forgave the delay. HOWEVER on the return journey (6.10pm), we booked in, were eventually told to go to the departure gates and waited...and waited. Eventually,after the time we should have left, we were told that because of bad weather, our plane had been diverted to Pisa and that we would not be going anywhere. Despite the fact that other airlines seemed to be taking off and landing without any apparent problems.We had to collect our luggage and queue for hours to be told by some very unsympathetic staff that we would have to come back the next day. When I asked what we were supposed to do, there was a shrug of the shoulders and we were told that we would have to find a hotel ourselves and that it was not their responsibility to assist. So there we were, a planeload of passengers abandoned by an uncaring and completely unhelpful airline. There were a few regulars who said that this was typical of Meridiana and who vowed that this was the last straw and that they would never travel with Meridiana again. With the aid of a mobile phone and a bit of savvy we sorted out some accommodation and transportation but the whole treatment by Meridian to it's customers was diabolical. I for one , will not fly with them again.

MERIDIANA customer review : 9 September 2008 : by Andrew Stone

Customer Rating : 4/5

Although this is the only time I have flown with Meridiana it was pretty good. The journey out from Gatwick was very smooth flight and arrived 15 minutes early. Cabin crew extremely courteous and for a 2 hour flight, I was not worried about inflight entertainment; in fact the screens advising us of the position of the plane, altitude and distance travelled etc, was most entertaining in itself. The return flight was delayed by approximately 2 hours. However, this was due to a technical fault and both my wife and I were impressed with the replacement aeroplane that was made available to get us home safely. I would agree that the information given to us about the delay was not always forthcoming, but apart from a bit of turbulence, the flight was good and approximately 20 mins early into Gatwick. I would, from this experience, use Meridiana again and I wish them many safe journeys.

MERIDIANA customer review : 28 June 2008 : by Pat Grey

Customer Rating : 3/5

As a disabled passenger, Meridiana will sometimes not accept you and if they do, you have to sit in their designated seat, Row 21 at the back. I cannot walk so far so I needed the highlift to get to the back entry door. The food is poor and has to be purchased. The crew are friendly, but one, in assisting me to stand, used an iron grip on my arm and tore my skin badly. The crew have not been trained to ask how they can best assist and this man did not know his own strength. My fault in a way as I should not accept help without giving a clear instruction.

MERIDIANA customer review : 17 May 2008 : by David Rawlins

Customer Rating : 2/5

I agree with previous comments - in the last few months something sad seems to have happened to a once good airline. No in-flight service, online check-in didn't work; random, unbranded check-in person at Gatwick couldn't care less, long wait at Florence for the check-in to open with no apology or explanation. The airplane was modern and comfortable however, and reasonably on time. If there had been something to drink or eat it would have been acceptable. I'd try BA to Pisa next time.

MERIDIANA customer review : 30 April 2008 : by Piers Bracher

Customer Rating : 1/5

Meridiana is a hopeless airline - it's all charming and Italian but that's no excuse for a terrible check in experience at Gatwick and no inflight service. Return journey very poor - long queues at check in due to all the machines breaking - the high point was when the check in girl got in a strop and stormed off, leaving a queue to fend for itself! Return flight was 2.5 hours delayed and no inflight service either! No one to answer questions or apologise. It's just not what you go to Florence for and it seems unacceptable in this day AND age where service and communication are generally much better. This is not a budget airline, with tickets costing approx GBP250 Florence return, so it shouldn't behave like one! I would recommend finding another route to Florence. It's too risky to ruin a weekend to such an amazing city.

MERIDIANA customer review : 29 April 2008 : by J Chenet

Customer Rating : 3/5

Flew to Florence on 18 April, returned 23 April. General service & flight very good but on the outward journey, half an hour into the flight we were told that their was no food or drinks due to a strike of some sort. On the return journey the same thing happened - both times we were starving. Surely at the time of check in they must have known, so why were we not told we could have purchased something to eat before boarding.