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MONARCH AIRLINES Passenger Reviews and Customer Trip Reports
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MONARCH AIRLINES review : 18 May 2009 : by M Bennett (Spain)
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Trip Rating : 0/10 |
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Recommended: |
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Value for Money: |
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Cabin Flown: | Extra Legroom |
I have been a good & loyal customer for over five years, flying between Gatwick & Malaga. Last
month I was stopped, by a very unpleasant woman, after passing through the boarding gate at
Gatwick and asked to place my correctly sized bag on the scales, it weighed 12.00kg. I was
told that it exceeded their permitted maximum weight of 10.00kg, it would have to go in the
hold and I had to pay £17 on the spot! The reason given to me was that heavier bags slow down
the boarding of the aircraft. Funny even Easy Jet, don't have that problem, they do not impose
a weight limit on hand luggage. Lets get real - it is just another con to raise revenue.
MONARCH AIRLINES review : 15 May 2009 : by S Rouse (Spain)
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Trip Rating : 0/10 |
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Recommended: |
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Value for Money: |
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Cabin Flown: | Economy |
As a Gold Card holder (monthly trips Alicante to Gatwick) I am disgruntled to find that the
lounge services have been withdrawn due to cost cutting. They can be made however suddenly
available if one can stump up 13 plus euros a time per visit! When will these large
organisations realise its the little niceties that matter! I await the next cost cutting
exercise with bated breath - come on competitors get moving on lower flights and a frequent
flyer club - I'm sure there will be plenty of takers!
MONARCH AIRLINES review : 15 May 2009 : by S Baxter (UK)
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Trip Rating : 6/10 |
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Recommended: |
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Value for Money: |
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Cabin Flown: | Economy |
Gatwick-Lanzarote-Gatwick. Overall pleasant experience. Flights pretty much on time. Clean,
modern A320/321 aircraft. Friendly cabin crew, good selection of food and drinks. Enough
legroom for a flight of up to 4 hours.
MONARCH AIRLINES review : 14 May 2009 : by N Braithwaite (UK)
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Trip Rating : 4/10 |
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Recommended: |
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Value for Money: |
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Cabin Flown: | Economy |
Flew to Luxor with Monarch and would never fly with them again. My husband and I were given
two different seats - the most narrow and uncomfortable I've sat in. I had an aisle seat and
was constantly hit in the shoulder by passengers or the cabin crew. At one point one staff
bashed into me whilst I was drinking coffee and I nearly ended up wearing it. She didn't
apologise. Toilet was grim, food is passable. On return we were lucky enough to get to sit
together and have three seats between the two of us which made it a marginally more pleasant
experience. Take your own soft drink and snacks on board as theirs are very expensive.
MONARCH AIRLINES review : 10 May 2009 : by R Cherry
| Trip Rating : 8/10 |
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Manchester-Murcia scheduled. First time using Monarch. Used on ine booking for flight and car
parking, very easy to use and prices were good. One week before departure email to say return
flight had been cancelled and we had been booked on return flight one day earlier. Phoned
customer services and got outbound flight changed to a day earlier as well (long wait to get
reply from phone no provided but no problems changing flight). Booked wheelchair assistance
because my partner is disabled and there were no problems with this on either flight. Also
booked extra leg room seats which were well worth the extra cost and very comfortable
(aircraft was A320). Crew were very good especially on outward journey although the flight
seemed to be totally taken up with trolley sales. Both flights early, outward by 15 mins and
return by 25 mins. All in all a pretty good experience and we will certainly use Monarch
again. (Just a pity they do not fly from Newcastle)
MONARCH AIRLINES review : 27 April 2009 : by Paul Denham
| Trip Rating : 5/10 |
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Gatwick to Goa charter flight return. I agree that the A330 used on this flight is cramped and
uncomfortable. Outbound flight on time but headphones would not work in several seats so we no
inflight entertainment during the 10 hour flight and had to ask for a refund of the £2.50 hire
fee. The return flight boarded over 2 hours late due to late incoming flight. After boarding,
we roasted because auxilliary power unit had failed on arrival so no aircon with outside
temperature of 35 degrees. Engineers failed to fix problem and Goa airport has no ground-based
equipment to replace failed unit. We eventually took off 3 hours late and the rest of the
flight was uneventful. At least crew were friendly and food acceptable. We got free headphones
and one free drink in compensation for late takeoff. Inflight entertainment worked on return
but is limited to little drop-down screens which are too far away from many seats for adequate
viewing. All in all, I would avoid Monarch in future for long haul if there was a better
alternative. Kingfisher Airlines now flies London to Goa via Mumbai and, judging from our
internal flights, would be a better bet.
MONARCH AIRLINES review : 24 April 2009 : by Steve Short
| Trip Rating : 0/10 |
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I booked a trip to Malaga with Monarch because the times were the most suitable. The
difference between the advertised price and the price paid having been charged extra for
everything was huge, but I went ahead, attracted by the larger seats. The first email was to
inform me that the time had been changed, but not by much, not a big deal. The second email
was to inform me that my outbound flight had been cancelled, and I had been put on another
one, this was not acceptable, but when I eventually got through on the phone (the only way to
sort this out) I booked an alternative flight on another day. The third email was to inform me
that my return flight had been cancelled, and that I had been put on another (unacceptable)
one. A bit fed up by now, I telephoned again to sort out an alternative, and waited for 35
minutes on the telephone to talk to somebody, all the time being told how important my call
was to them. I did not waste this time however, I used it to book flights on BA instead and
cancelled my Monarch booking when they finally answered. I am told that although it only takes
5 seconds to take my money, it takes 5 days to give it back.
MONARCH AIRLINES review : 22 April 2009 : by E Timms
| Trip Rating : 7/10 |
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Birmingham to Alicante return. Both legs on time. Cabin crew professional and courteous.
Food and drink served quickly and pleasantly. Irritating that on the outward leg passengers
who had not paid for extra leg room sets moved into them without any comment from the crew,
though on the return leg it was made clear they would have to pay.
MONARCH AIRLINES review : 15 April 2009 : by G Marsh
| Trip Rating : 2/10 |
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Upgraded to more roomy seats Gatwick to Luxor. Comfortable because there were only the two of
us in a row of three seats and we were able to put the arm rests up. Food was ok but
unremarkable. Crew not particularly friendly and seemed more interested in selling their duty
free. No seat back monitor only drop down screens. Return flight Aqaba to Gatwick on an A320.
We were given bulkhead seats which meant that there was no room to stretch your feet out. The
seats were narrow and quite uncomfortable. The food was better on the return leg but difficult
to eat without the room to spread out and the other passenger had his elbows in my ribs for
most of the flight. This was the worst flight I have ever taken in terms of leg room, elbow
room and comfort. I would strongly advise people not to fly with Monarch.
MONARCH AIRLINES review : 7 April 2009 : by Francis Hall
| Trip Rating : 6/10 |
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Gatwick to Goa. The entertainment system is antiquated no seat back screens only 1 dropdown
screen for about 4 rows. Hard to see due to size of screen. Food was not too bad but the price
of the beverages was a bit steep. 3 pounds for a small can of lager. On our flight all cabin
crew were friendly and although the seating area was a tad small we enjoyed the flight. No
delays and toilets were clean.
MONARCH AIRLINES review : 17 March 2009 : by A Collinge
| Trip Rating : 0/10 |
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Manchester-Tenerife 21st Feb. I don't see the point to the online check in. It doesn't save
any time or hassle when you get to the airport. However, I checked in on-line and pre-booked
our preferred seats according to the diagram on the website. According to the diagram, at the
rear of the plane there are two rows each containing only two seats, the rearmost coloured
grey which I assumed were for cabin crew. So I selected the two directly in front of them.
Guess what, these seats don't exist. All the seats are 3 to a row! After take-off the cabin
crew announced the name of today's movie and that headphones could be rented for £2.50 per
set. I wondered where the headphones could be connected because none of the armrests had
headphone sockets! A short time later another announcement was made to the effect that they
wouldn't be showing the movie. Then the drinks trolley came round so we bought a drink each
to quench our thirst until the food arrived. It took so long to serve the food that we had
finished our first drink before we got to eat. Guess what, they weren't serving alcoholic
drinks with the food, only tea or coffee! I bought a bacon bloomer that was absolutely
disgusting. After the meal had been served to everybody I waited for the drinks trolley to
come round again. It didn't, so about 90 minutes before we were due to land I pressed the
button for assistance. When I asked the young lady for a drink she said that she was just
about to bring the drinks trolley out. Sure enough, within a couple of minutes she did do. But
she walked right past me, all the way to the front of the plane and started working backwards
from that point! We were served our drinks about 30 minutes before landing and about 30
seconds after my Wife had chosen to go to the loo. During this time the Captain issued an
instruction to straighten our seat backs, raise our trays and prepare for landing. A rubbish
collection was then made and I was told off not raising my tray. I explained that I couldn't
raise it until my Wife came back from the loo because I had to holder both bottles of wine and
both glasses which had wine in them. My explanation fell on deaf ears. Finally we landed at
Tenerife and were asked to disembark through the rear door. As we were leaving the plane my
Wife said goodbye to the female member of staff near the door but she didn't even raise her
head to acknowledge it. I would never fly with Monarch again. Late last year we flew with
EasyJet. We hadn't booked with them because of the reputation they have but they bought the
airline that we did book with. We were very apprehensive before the flight but I can honestly
say that the quality of EasyJet food and EasyJet service was brilliant.
MONARCH AIRLINES review : 13 March 2009 : by T Wright
| Trip Rating : 9/10 |
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I am disabled and use Monarch every year for a number of locations around Europe - most of my
flights are 4 hours - so not simple hops. In every case the staff have been more than helpful.
In addition the group I fly with (none of which are disabled) the standard seating has been
good enough. It leaves me wondering, what do some people expect.
MONARCH AIRLINES review : 12 March 2009 : by S Angus
| Trip Rating : 8/10 |
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Gatwick - Male return. We chose Premium class, good decision, comfortable seating, food of
surprisingly good quality for a Holiday Tour flight. Cabin crew attitude / friendliness
outbound just acceptable, very good on return, no consistency. Inflight entertainment not as
much choice or as versatile as other premium cabins on charter airlines; you select your
chosen channel and have to accept whatever point it is playing at, you cannot start or pause
at your convenience. We would fly Monarch again but only in Premium class, main cabin looked
cramped.
MONARCH AIRLINES review : 10 March 2009 : by Robert Campbell
| Trip Rating : 2/10 |
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My wife and I recently travelled to Taba Heights in Egypt with Monarch - having had experience
once before of their seat, we paid an extra £140 for extra leg room. On the way out we were in
Row 1 so feet up against the bulkhead and on the way back although more room in a exit row we
had starage containers by our feet, so staff on the floor to recover items for retail. In
fact ooking at the ordinary seats, the armrests are hinged as opposed to the leg room seats",
without a seat in front which are fixed due to the in arm tray, there is in fact less room
than in the standard seat fit which is at standard price. To add insult to injury we travelled
with friends who had been refunded their extra seat supplement due to non-availability only to
be allocated better seats with legroom at no extra cost.
MONARCH AIRLINES review : 3 March 2009 : by J Stark
| Trip Rating : 0/10 |
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Luxor to Manchester - icy cold in central rear section of plane - apparently a know problem.
One toilet not working, the other stinking and flushing dirty water. Stewardess surly and
unprofessional - two of whom carried on an argument throughout the flight. Seat room poor for
long flight, aisles particularly narrow meaning everyone with an aisle seat got regularly hit
by passers by.
MONARCH AIRLINES review : 27 February 2009 : by E Timms
| Trip Rating : 9/10 |
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Birmingham to Faro return. A321 clean, cabin crew polite and pleasant. Food was pleasant. Fast
bag drop not that fast, but still much quicker than queuing. Not cheap due to the usual
pointless school holiday price hikes, but head and shoulders above their low service rivals.
MONARCH AIRLINES review : 23 February 2009 : by S Clifton
| Trip Rating : 0/10 |
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Has a Monarch executive ever sat in a seat on the A300? Unless they are slinky-hipped, short
legged and with no tummy they would know that it is completely unacceptable to put people in
those seat spaces. The staff have a terrible time getting the trolleys down the narrow aisles
- you have to feel sorry for them. However, the return trip from Goa on the Airbus 330 was
fine.
MONARCH AIRLINES review : 18 February 2009 : by Sandra Taylor
| Trip Rating : 2/10 |
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Manchester-Luxor. What an experience - the seats were so narrow they seemed to pinch and
couldn't sit comfortably for 5 hours. The tiny amount of legroom was concerning too. I really
don't want to fly Monarch ever again but we have already booked a package to Lesvos in May and
now I see this is Monarch. We had paid for a meal but everyone got food, regardless whether
they'd paid or not. Why does the travel agent take money for food. The crew told us for a 5
hour flight everyone gets food whether they've paid or not!
MONARCH AIRLINES review : 16 February 2009 : by Ian Morley
| Trip Rating : 8/10 |
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Manchester to Gibraltar then Malaga to Manchester the next day. Surprisingly I found both
flights fine. On time, clean, comfortable. Leg room was a little tight on the Gibraltar flight
but not a problem, was even better on the Malaga flight. For the price they were a pleasant
airline to travel with.
MONARCH AIRLINES review : 1 February 2009 : by D Covell
| Trip Rating : 2/10 |
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Gatwick to Luxor charter return. Hardly any delays, check in very quick. However, be warned
maximum hold baggage is evidently 20kg before charges kick in, and the real nightmare hand
baggage limit is a ridiculous 5kg. Some of our groups hand baggage got weighed, one member had
to pay excess! Seats were awful - even less room than Ryanair. For a 5.5 hour flight
unreasonable. Food provided was good, very tasty. Purchased food and drink normal prices.
Due to the leg room problem we shall not fly Monarch again.
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