Monarch Airlines Passenger Reviews and Monarch Airlines Customer Trip Reports

Thank goodness we paid for 2 extra legroom seats at££24.99 each Larnaca to Gatwick 4hrs 45mins duration. Plane an old A300 seemed to have extra seats fitted, we slid into the narrow 15-16 inches gap between the immovable armrests, the seat back was too low to provide any head restraint. We were in row 2, a 3 seater by the window, luckily 3rd seat remained vacant. Unable to spread feet more than hip width, sitting in aisle seat I was knocked about by anyone and trolleys using the narrow aisle as well as having my feet trodden on. Thinking of the economy normal seats, I strolled to the back of the plane and horrified to see not only narrow seats but no leg room either with peoples knees against the seats in front of them, the seats to narrow tight to allow to swivel legs into the aisle, therefore trapped in a cocoon for 4 3/4 hours. Flying out we had an A330 this had superb seating, we had paid for extra legroom but it wasn't necessary as all the seating was of a high standard, wonder why they changed the return flight to an A300. I am booked to fly Monarch again to Larnaca next month, I wonder what adventure Monarch will provide us with next time.

We paid for extra leg room seats on our last 2 holiday flights with Monarch and never received them. Thomson took over our last flight from Monarch last week and they were selling extra leg room seats at the check-in desk but those of us who had paid for the seats months in advance couldn't have them. 2 weeks before our holiday we received numerous emails from Monarch changing our seating plan and splitting my husband and myself up, even though we had paid yet again to be sat together. The funniest is that the seats next to both of us where they had split us up WERE empty. I will never fly with Monarch again, and I fly about 6 times a year and mostly to Cyprus.

Leeds/Bradford to Palma 4th May, returning 11th May. On flight out to Palma I was unwell and could not have received better attention from the cabin crew. Extra legroom paid for on journey out - loads of room. Not offered for return journey but even so there was sufficient legroom. Both trips were on A320 and plane was clean and looked almost new. Both flights left and arrived on time. I would definitely fly with Monarch again.

MAN-Malaga, 5th May return 10th May. Flew out on a wet leased 747 from Spanish airline as Monarchs own plane was in for maintenance. Quite a novel experience for a 2 half hour flight! Crew all spoke very good English and plane seemed fairly new compared some other Monarch planes. Got free hot drinks, biscuits and bottle of water. Return journey was on Monarch 321 which was quite good leg space and plenty of drinks, snacks and duty free runs from a pleasant crew with captain giving information out. Both flights were on time and staff at both airports were very accommodating. Would definitely fly with them again.

This was the worst flight I have ever had to endure. I was aboard a very old Monarch Airbus A300. The seat pitch is given as 28-29", the width 17.5". I had the heaviest guy on the plane sitting in front of me, thus reducing the pitch even further. I could only sit diagonally and only then, as my wife was next to me. After a 4 hour flight from Tenerife South to GTW was I glad to get off that plane! I originally booked a seat with plenty of leg room, but the plane was changed. The flight time was also postponed, meaning we had to overnight in a hotel, as we were too late to catch the last train. Do not fly with them.

We travelled to Birmingham to Malaga return on an A321. The check in was easy and flight left on time for both trips, plane was clean and seats and legroom no less comfortable than on any other short flight I have taken. The flight attendants were pleasant and helpful and although we had not ordered food, it looked appetising when others were eating it.

Baggage= Just to confirm what Monarch's Website can't seem to say properly and is a bug bare to complaints with customer services. When you purchase hold baggage it entitles you to 20 kg case in hold. This then shows up on the itinerary over the top of your 10 kg cabin baggage. It then becomes confusing and cost me £2.00 in a call to ask for clarification 3rd May 2013. Email question/answering were running 3 days behind. Not good. So even though it does not say I am entitled to take with me 30 kg overall. 20 kg=hold 10 kg=cabin

Travelled with Monarch to Tobago. Both flights were enjoyable with decent food and good service from pleasant cabin crew. The aircraft was not full so we had three seats between two. Even check in was easy. The flight was an hour late on arrival in Tobago but the return flight was early. I would definitely fly Monarch to the Caribbean again.

Flight from LGW to Funchal on 13/3/13. Though supposedly a direct flight they decided to go via Faro to drop off some crew members. Hour and a half delay for approach into Funchal meant weather had closed in and we had to divert to Tenerife. Sat on the ground at Tenerife for an hour and then took off again for Funchal, where we eventually landed 8 hrs after take off from LGW. Was only offered 1 complimentary drink after 7.5 hrs, but no food! We were not allowed off the plane at either non scheduled en-route stop, 8 hrs in their seats is purgatory. Not an impressive performance for a "scheduled flight".

Flew from Goa to Manchester. I am 5'10'' and with my back right against the seat back, my knees were touching the back of the seat in front. It was 11.5 hours of torture including 1.5 hours on the ground at Larnaca airport for a refuel. No drinks were provided except a cup of tea with the 'meal'. Passengers who had paid extra for 'premium' seats at the front were shocked to find they had the same seats as us in cattle class but with a little extra legroom. The captain did apologise for this saying that they had to use a plane that was not normally used for long haul. Never again, although to be fair, the cabin crew were pretty good and made the best of a bad job.

Manchester to Hurghada, 15/3/13. 90 min delay. Return 22/3/13, diverted to Rome as aircraft could not cope with the (easterly) tail wind without re-fuelling. More likely to have a crew change for operational needs. Very unsympathetic crew as the misery of the travellers was not a consideration for the cabin staff. No offer of complimentary beverages when re-boarding at Rome. No flight info relayed via Manchester Arrivals site. 2 other departures from Hurghada, Thomas Cook and Thomson departed at the same time to Manchester and landed without any undue delay, despite the wind and the sleet.

My son had a 2pm flight from Leeds airport to Cyprus on Sunday 24th March. He was in the airport from 12pm until 10pm - they finally cancelled the flight after having people sat there with no food or refreshment. After they decided to cancel the flight due to bad weather, no Monarch rep was there so no one had any idea of what to do. All they offered on their website was a refund. What good is a refund if you book a flight 3 months ago for £150 and now to get another flight with any airline you need £600! No offer to help you find another flight - very disappointed.

Booked flight from Manchester to Sharm El Sheihk. Flight times were good 10 out and 22.20 return. This booking for September 2013 was made before Christmas and fully paid up. Now I'm told flight times have changed, they have been put back 3 hours 55 minutes meaning the flight lands in Manchester at 02.20. I then have to get out of the airport, make way to my car then drive over 100 miles. Guess I'll be home somewhere between 05.00 and 06.00. If I had known this at time of booking I would not have booked the flight. There is no way out of this mess as Monarch have kept the time delay down to less than 5 hours. Last time with this airline.

A320, Grenoble-London. The most cramped conditions I have ever travelled in. Even for a short flight a totally unacceptable seat pitch with no room whatsoever to move. The seat itself was hard and unforgiving with no neck support. Unlike other 'charter' airlines who have been improving their on-board seating, Monarch clearly have no interest at all in their customer's comfort. Avoid this airline at all costs.

Flew Birmingham to Alicante return on Airbus 321s. Flights were on time. Leg room limited, but tolerable on flights lasting about 2.5 hours. Generous hand luggage allowance of 10Kg, but this caused a problem with boarding on the return journey as the overhead bins were full to overflowing and passengers struggled to find space to store their luggage. Even booking relatively early, I would not class the fares as 'budget' for the length of flight.

On 16 March 2013 I flew from Sharm-el-Sheikh to Manchester in an Airbus 321 which had insufficient fuel capacity to fly against headwinds and had to divert to Venice, to refuel where (apparently coincidentally) there was a relief crew to take over the aircraft, which solved the crew-duty problem. Several other Monarch cabin staff who needed a lift home also boarded here. We were told after push-back that the flight was unexpectedly diverting to Venice to refuel. And yet there was a relief crew waiting? I suspect that Monarch was less than honest with us. I believe that the diversion was pre-planned, because the range of the A321 in headwinds is insufficient for this flight. Monarch is clearly a budget airline emphasised by the shabby interior of our A321. I am not able to recommend flying with this airline.

Aircraft was an Airbus A321. Outbound to Lanzarote on Thursday 28 Feb in Seats 20 A&B, returned to Luton Thurs 7 Mar seats 14 A&B. The seat pitch out and back was so bad I could not fully lower my tray, also it was impossible to adopt the brace position for emergency landing if so required. For a 4 hour flight it would be very desirable to have inflight entertainment refitted?

Birmingham to Fuertventura. Plane left on time 8.15am and arrived on time. Birmingham airport is well organised and checking in was simple and quick. The planes are short on leg room and not the most comfortable for a 4 hour flight. The service on board was efficient and the cabin staff were friendly. The problem was at the destination. We had booked for transfers to our hotel and we had to wait over 2 hours for the bus. We contacted the Cosmos Rep and also the people in the airport who were organising the transfers. They smiled and said it will be here in a minute. It would have been cheaper and quicker to have caught the local public service bus.

Flew from Luton to Rome. Monarch was a poor experience even by the acceptable standards by a budget airline. From the moment we checked in and the lady behind the desk didn't even give us a baggage ticket and had to be asked to give us one the experience was poor. After passing through airport security at Luton, which took an eternity (not Monarch's fault) we arrived at the gate. the plane was cramped and had a distinct lack of leg room, the least I've had on any flight. The seats were an uncomfortable plastic! The staff were disinterested in helping and they never seemed to smile! All in all a very poor experience.

Had the worst flights of my life with Monarch to and from Sharm El Sheikh. Appalled at lack of space - proverbial cattle class being the best description. I am 6 ft and found 5 hrs of cramped flying a nightmare - goodness knows how anyone bigger than me would cope. Return journey was made even worse by 2 hour delay at Sharm, hence landing Gatwick 01h10 and then having to endure 2 hour wait for baggage. Monarch use Swissport baggage services and on this evidence they are substandard - baggage hall was like something out of the 3rd world and an embarrassment to the UK. Never again!

Monarch's Birmingham to Funchal service was the latest to add to the recent misery of my 50 year flying experience. 40 minutes late departing - no explanation or apology "are we really late" said an attendant when we enquired. The return flight was also delayed by 3 days. The aircraft legroom (A321) was a good feature, although the cabin was noisy. The food indifferent.

Travelled from London Gatwick to Grenoble on Sat 23rd February 2013. Original schedule was 12.50 and amended to 13.25. On arrival 4 hours before takeoff to book in, we were confronted by long queues and advised technical issue with plane would result in flight being split over 2 planes. 7 hours delay and Pilot stated minor fault which was taking a long time to repair and the plane had to complete 2 other routes before taking us. On return to Grenoble on 2nd March, smaller plane supplied with approximately 100 passengers deprived of flight due to overbooked! Additional plane supplied with overall only 20 minute delay over original schedule. Same letter supplied regarding technical issue as the week before. Best guess is 3 flights were under booked so squeezed into 2 flights with large delays. Avoid this airline at all cost.

Flight ZB0627 - Lanzarote-Manchester - 12/2/2013. This is the worst flight I have ever been on, can cope with a 2 hour delay but to be informed that there was not enough fuel to return to Manchester, due to winds is a worrying prospect. All in all it turned out most unsatisfactory, luckily I had pre booked meals but other passengers were no so lucky as food quickly ran out. Also because of security checks at Gatwick any duty free liquid purchases were taken, even purchases made on the flight. All in all not very good at all.

Gatwick to Lanzarote. Flights pretty much on time. Extra legroom seats paid for both ways, so was comfortable on the way out. Aircraft switch on the way back meant no extra leg room, which in reality meant no legroom at all. And no apology or refund either. Ran out of all hot food, stewardess says that's because they want to get you pay for it in advance so they don't waste any and maximise their profits. Upon seeing the slop that was served to those who had pre-paid for food, was glad to go hungry. Not a cheap flight either at nearly £500 per person. Looking forward to BA starting this route and maybe forcing Monarch to up their game.

Return flight London Gatwick - Tobago, flight on time both ways. Price was cheap, and so was the 'service'. In-flight meals - 2 served, something that was supposed to be breakfast, and one that was intended to resemble dinner was more a joke than anything else, no complimentary drinks except a cup of tea or coffee after the 'meal', not even water! All drinks had to be purchased. Overhead video screens as inflight entertainment, but you had to purchase headset for £2.50 in order to get any sound. The screens were hard to see from our location. A330 that was used had a seat arrangement of 3-3-3, as opposed to the "standard" 2-4-2 on these planes, making seats and aisles extremely narrow. By far the worst plane I have taken, and sitting in a narrow space, partially sideways, for 9 hours is not a experience I want to repeat. In Tobago we were rushed into the plane by the crew. Be aware also that allowed hand luggage is a joke, with a limit of 5 kg (11 lbs). I was carrying a bag with a laptop + charger and a couple of other items, which lead to a slight overweight. The bag was weighed in by staff at Gatwick, and was grumpily told to remove some items from the bag to be allowed to carry it on the plane. No constructive solution or suggestion offered. Will not recommend a long flight with Monarch to anyone and unless I have absolutely no other choice, I'll stay far away from them in the future.

Two reasons given for a 7 hrs delay. Captain claimed headwinds forced a landing in Gatwick vs Manchester while stewardesses claimed EU flying directives forced an early termination. We took our luggage off the belt at 00.20am and left stranded in Manchester. Needed to book a hotel and Re-book train next day back to Scarborough. Still no official letter or explanation for delay as promised. We lost all our duty free liquids as we had to disembark and re board through a fresh security check. No food for x12hrs and all that was offered was a glass of water. Very shoddy treatment. ZB627, Lanzarote to Manchester flight on 12 Feb 2013.

Gatwick - Grenoble on an Airbus A330 was a very pleasant experience, no doubt assisted by the fact that we upgraded to extra leg room seats for a very modest £15. Unfortunately Monarch switched the aircraft for the inbound journey to one of their ageing Airbus A300's and the experience was much less enjoyable. They squeeze 9 seats across (the aircraft is only designed for 8) and somehow cram in approx 350 passengers, no doubt aided by the non existent leg room. The seats also only support you up to around the upper back, so you cant rest your head at all. Unless you're relatively small or thin you're in for a very uncomfortable flight. There was also an extremely annoying shrill noise which whined constantly both on the ground and in the air. The Cabin crew seemed resigned to the fact that they have their work cut out trying to placate passengers' grievances on these aircraft. It's high time Monarch retired these A300's and replaced them with something newer and more comfortable.

2hr delay flying to Lanzarote from Manchester due to snow. Can live with that but on return we had a 3 hour delay at Arrecife supposedly due to a mobile being left on the plane in Manchester. When we boarded we were told we'd have to land at Gatwick due to low fuel - strong headwind apparently reducing A321's range. So a further 2.5 hours inside Gatwick before a relief crew - yes the originals had done their shift! Got us to Manchester 11 hours after schedule. In all that time what did they offer us - 1 cup of water - disgraceful.

Flight ZB626/ZB 627 Manchester - Lanzarote return, 26/01/2013 - 12/02/2013. Outward flight 2 hours delayed. Return flight 6 hours delayed. Unscheduled stop at Gatwick for extra fuel and change of crew due to the original crew being out of hours. All passengers were forced to leave the plane while these activities took place and were told they must take all their hand luggage including purchases from the plane. Having then been escorted around the Gatwick Terminal for at least half a mile we then had to pass through another full security check and were forced to abandon all liquids including the duty free bottles we had just purchased. I have experienced many Monarch Flights over the years but there has been a marked reduction in the quality and experience. I have been delayed on all 6 of my last 6 flights with some of the most bizarre excuses given. I always have to book extra leg room as I am 6' 5" and cannot get into a standard seat. This is discrimination of tall people when adjacent seats are frequently occupied by small children who have only paid the standard rate!

Just returned from Sharm El Sheikh Feb 7th. Outward journey from Birmingham 31st Jan 9am which included an emergency landing in Athens at 12pm due to a smashed windscreen which was dealt with brilliantly by the pilot and cabin crew, unfortunately everything went downhill from there. No communication from any Monarch staff at all, we just followed one another round like sheep. Eventually put up in airport hotel and given a very sub standard meal and forced to pay extortionate prices for drinks in the bar. A message appeared on the television screen in our room telling us to be back at the airport for 9.30pm to continue our journey to Sharm, forced to change boarding gate twice and finally took off again at 2am, 25 hours journey in total. Given a complimentary cup of coffee on the final part of the journey. I have flown with Monarch before but would seriously have to consider another journey with them.

Recently flew Gatwick - Sharm return on Monarch ZB scheduled service on an Airbus A321. From the moment we checked in at Gatwick, to the time we arrived back a week later I have to be honest, we received great service! All check-in staff and cabin crew were very friendly and helpful. We paid extra to have Meals on board as well as extra legroom - this was definitely worth every penny. The food was delivered fresh and piping hot, and the extra legroom was very welcome for a comfortable 5hr + flight. We departed 15 mins late on our outward journey, and 45 mins late on the return journey. The pilots expressed their apologies for both delays and kept us well informed throughout the flights. Both aircrafts used for my trip were very clean and tidy. The only gripe I had with my Monarch experience was the seat padding was rather hard on your bottom!

Manchester to Barcelona. The A321 is perfectly acceptable for a 2hr flight such as this. I paid for one of the 34" legroom seats at the front, which were quite comfy, but the pitch in the cheap seats behind looked very cramped. Certainly a trip to the Red Sea in one of them would be purgatory. Food and drink was reasonably priced, and flight on time. Only real complaint was the speed of baggage retrieval at BCN, though, to be fair, this seems to be snail-paced whichever airline you use.

BHX-GCTS, 26/1/2013. Flight on time, pa system from flight deck very poor (much crackling and background noise) returned 4/2/2013, same plane all on time. PA system this time was excellent the captain gave abundant information and was very clear.

End of October 2012 Gatwick to Sharm, return a week later. Paid an extra £120 to cover extra legroom for both my wife and myself, within the area called premium economy (what a joke!). My legs could not stretch forward enough so was getting cramp, seat width was pathetic, with old defunct radio controls digging into my thigh. Not enough room even to sit slightly sideways to give respite to constant pain from seat pressure on thighs, spent most of both flights sitting on seat arm - not great for the extra paid! Air con was rubbish, these are tired old aircraft and Monarch should be ashamed of offering extra legroom seats at a premium price that left me in agony.

I flew to Goa in premium economy with Monarch, I would recommend to pay for the upgrade as it really made our flight that much more comfortable. The meals are of a good quality and you get a choice of main and a free bar. Seats were comfy and leg room was ample, the entertainment wasn't quite as good as I thought it would have been. The staff couldn't do enough for you, I am a nervous flyer and they were great with me.

Like the review from T Moss - 14 Jan, we also used this flight from Hurghada to Manchester on 1st Feb with Monarch using an A321, a plane with the least capability for the distance needed or fuel capacity if headwinds are encountered - why is this allowed to happen. On the outward flight we were seated in cattle class at the back with legroom fit for a dwarf, like Mr Moss the cabin crew came round with hot drinks etc, without being informed there was a hot meal being provided later, luckily we had a hot drink/snack, because I could not fold my tray down because of the lack of room. Coming home we booked seats at the front with extra legroom. On arrival at Hurghada airport we were all given a letter telling us we were being diverted to Rome as the plane would encounter very strong headwinds and was incapable of holding enough fuel to get us back to the UK. Had a good flight up to Rome just over 4 hrs, with a nice meal on a tray that we were able to fold down with comfort - paying £40 a couple for the extra legroom. Then informed by the captain that once we landed in Rome there was a standby crew that had been flown from Gatwick waiting for us - Monarch must have known well in advance this was going to happen. Less than 30 mins later we all got back on - the new captain then informed us we would have to get off again because there had been a mess up with the amount of fuel. Eventually got home at 3am.

Our flight was due to take off from Sharm el Sheik at 17.25 on 31st January 2013. After 4 hours at the airport we were taken to a hotel that had no access for my wheelchair. They said the delay was due to a cracked windscreen on the plane coming from Birmingham and had made an emergency landing at Athens. The flight took of 24 hours and 50 minutes late, we were then told we had to land at Athens for refuelling due to prevailing winds. The air hostess told us their was no food on board as the plane had been on the tarmac at Sharm el Sheik for 24 hours. In an 8 hour flight we were given one cup of tea and one small bottle of water. Landed at Birmingham at midnight. Come on Monarch if the plane was there why did it take nearly 25 hours to start the flight home. The total delay was 27.5 hours. I noticed another review from 22nd January also had a 24 hour delay from Sharm el Sheik.

Booked a return flights to Funchal in December/January to co-ordinate with our 4 week hire dates of an apartment. We booked 6 months in advance and chose Monarch because they were the only airline that flew on a Friday. 3 months later we received an e-mail informing us of a change to the flight time of our return flight. This flight was not changed by hours but 3 days! Offered a refund or an alternative flight on the preceding or following Monday. As there were no other flights from Funchal to Birmingham on a Friday we had no option than to accept a different flight with Monarch, that being the cheapest option. Outgoing flight was nearly an hour late, with no explanation or apology. On asking the cabin crew I was told "we're not late, are we?" Leg room was good, but service poor. Return flight actually left early and landed early. Leg room good, again, but service poor. We booked a meal, which was average. Tea and coffee were served before you had a chance to even open the cutlery package. We asked for ours to be served later, but they retired for their rest time and never returned. They did, however, oblige when we asked after they eventually returned to sell drinks. Information from the pilot on both flights was poor and could hardly be heard above the noise of the aircraft, which seemed particularly bad.

I returned from Barbados after a Saga cruise using Monarch Charter flight back to Gatwick. This was the worst flight I have experienced. Only one check in for 400 people at Barbados, plane left one hour late and all boarded at once up one set of steps. Evening meal serves at 10.30pm and no second cups of tea or coffee available. Very cramped seating and aisles so narrow you had to walk sideways. Sudden diversion for emergency landing at Santiago, Spain, to get medical assistance for sick passenger. 'Breakfast' served after resumed flight, i.e. orange juice, sticky bun and one Nutrigrain bar with no tea or coffee due to 'no hot water on board'. Unbelievable! I have had excellent short haul flights with Monarch, but will never fly on a charter by them again!

LGW to ACE, 29th Dec, returned 12th Jan. Generally good service in extra legroom seats. The meals are now excellent and good value. Monarch will have to do something about all the carry on suitcases. I would suggest that they travel for £10 in the hold or £15 in the cabin. If the economy passengers do not like the legroom provided then they should buy extra legroom seats and if the demand increases then no doubt Monarch will increase the number. The bag drop works well at Gatwick and even worked at Lanzarote this time Overall a good service at this busy time of year.

My husband and I flew to Tenerife. We have noticed over the years that the legroom has got less and less but decided to give it another go. What a mistake! The legroom, even for me (5 ft 2) was completely unworkable and for my husband at 5 ft 11 was ridiculous. The person in front reclined their seat and my husband had to ask them to put it back up as it meant the dinner tray actually dug into his stomach. I couldn't move my legs during the flight to exercise them. On the return journey we paid over £50 for extra legroom seats which was money well spent, although we shouldn't have had to pay this, legroom should be of a reasonable amount in every seat. We will never fly Monarch again, even for short haul, unless it is an absolute emergency.

MCR to Sharm El Sheik on 19 Jan returning 26. Very cramped with poor legroom although not as bad as I had feared. Staff kept busy selling the usual assortment of rubbish at inflated prices. Took sandwich on board which was a good idea. Return flight delayed for half an hour due to snow in MCR but no real complaints. Overall, it was bearable though five and a half hours in a sardine can tests the endurance!

We had return flights to Kittila Finland. On the outward journey we one broken toilet from the outset causing queues all down the aisle of the plane. They have the smallest seating and legroom of any airline that we have travelled with. On the returning flight we sadly managed to leave a Kindle on the aircraft. After phoning the airline we duly informed that this was not a problem for the airline but an airport issue. 1 week later and nothing has been handed in.

Took a flight from Sharm to London last April. Arrived at airport to find the aircraft delayed by 24 hours. Utter confusion, and moved to substandard accommodation (our family of five given a double room designed for two people!). Monarch continue to stall on compensation for the severe delays. Would never use them again.

Birmingham to Minorca for 2 weeks from Sep 26 to Oct 10 2012. When we got onboard we found it quite claustrophobic, possibly due to the very high seat backs and the very tight legroom. Outward flight was uneventful, pilots gave good information to the passengers. On the return flight we found that Mahon Airport was chaotic and my wife and I were not given seats together, notwithstanding the fact that there was an empty seat next to my wife. When a request was made to one of the cabin crew my request to change seats was denied, although later in the flight someone else moved to that seat. The member of cabin staff asked if I had had a pleasant flight, and apologised when I told her why I had not. We will certainly choose our holidays in future taking care that the carrier is not Monarch.

Flight Faro to Manchester. Paid for text updates and reserved seats with on-line check in. Arrived at airport with family to discover a 5hr + delay (no text received). Airline offered no refreshments. Substitute plane arrived – no reserved seats and no refreshments on board, not even water. Staff handed out earphones for in- flight film that could not plug in to jack. If your holidays are precious family time, then do not trust Monarch with your flight.

Gatwick to Friedrichshafen, January 5 2013, flight ZB7288. Plane was an Airbus A321, leg room was ok, cabin clean and tidy and crew friendly. Pushed back 7 minutes late due to paperwork, but landed 5 minutes early! Refreshments were good and price ok. Return flight January 12 2013, flight ZB7289. Plane was an Airbus A320. Cabin looked a bit dated but clean and tidy. Leg room was ok, pushed back 5 minutes late, reason unknown. Landed early. Refreshments were good and price ok, like outbound flight. Would fly Monarch again.

Manchester - Hurghada, MON4328, 4/1/13 and MON4329, 11/1/13. No airline should be using the A321 for flights longer than 2 hours. It was extremely cramped for a 6 hour flight. The least they could do would be to prevent seats from reclining as space then became impossible. On the way out a seat back broke! Fortunately there was a spare seat, don't know what they would have done without that option! Return flight, we allegedly ran out of fuel due to strong headwinds! Oddly enough we diverted to Luton and the crew also changed. I have noted on this and other forums, this appears to be a regular occurrence with Monarch. The decision should have been made earlier, say over Europe and we divert to nearest airport, but decision was made over North sea [from what I can gather], so if you cant make Manchester, but can make Luton from there, then there was clearly no need. We landed at Luton at the same scheduled time we should have landed at Manchester! Finally, I was never told if a meal was to be provided, they come out and sell you food and drink first, without telling you food and drink is also provided, then about half an hour later, they come round with a hot meal and drinks! Overall, a bad, bad experience and I will avoid them at all costs!

Monarch is a budget airline: don't expect the world. I think the legroom was tight but for a 2-hour flight to Venice it was bearable. On the plus side, we departed on time, there and back; boarding was very efficient. I'd use them again for shorter European flights.

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