MONARCH AIRLINES review :  2 July 2009 by W Shaw   (UK)

We returned from Ibiza on 27th June. The cabin was hot and the head stewardess asked us all to open the air vents to enforce as much cool air as possible. We were then told that there was neither lager nor cider available on the flight nor was there any food options for vegetarians on the return to uk flight. The stewardess relayed her frustrations at the lack of vegetarian dishes they were allowed to carry on board-their frustrations constantly ignored by the airline. In summary Monarch do not carry sufficient options for food nor beverages for return uk flights-this has happened before when we have flown with Monarch. You of course are not allowed to consume any drinks not purchased on the flight so you have a no win situation. We couldn't wait to get home.

MONARCH AIRLINES review :  2 July 2009 by P Cowell   (UK)

MAN-ACE-MAN. Standard seats selected on this scheduled service but leg room was more than adequate and seats had adjustable headrests. Cabin clean and crew friendly & professional. Found drinks to be quite expensive but no more than other budget airlines.

MONARCH AIRLINES review :  27 June 2009 : by Andy Magowan   (UK)

LGW-GIB A320. This was my first flight with Monarch and will probably be my last! When booking I didn't see any options for extra legroom seats, I wish I had as the standard pitch left me struggling when I had to get up! The A320 itself was fairly clean although the seat cover in front of me had chewing gum over it so as well as not having a lot of leg room I had to bring my legs back a little to avoid the gum! Staff on board seemed indifferent and the one on the gate was downright rude, insisting I remove a passport cover from my passport! Due to connecting flight times I had to fly BA on the return trip - and what a difference, it was also a little cheaper!

MONARCH AIRLINES review :  26 June 2009 : by Jane Hoare   (UK)

We booked extra legroom seats both outbound and inbound. Fine outbound but at Bodrum Airport not given the paid for seats at check-in. Given back exit seats (row 30)where you cannot even recline. Complained but ignored by staff. They were too busy with crew relatives on board, whom we believe were given our extra legroom seats. Taken 6 weeks to get our money back. Customer Services came up with poor excuses but no apology - just a 6 week wait for refund of 4 inbound extra legroom seats of £100. Will never use them again - rather not fly.

MONARCH AIRLINES review :  23 June 2009 : by A Orchard   (UK)

LGW-HRG-LGW A300-600. We paid for extra legroom seats, sitting in seats 9H/J both on outbound and inbound sector which were worth it. Plenty of legroom and nobody sitting next to us on the outbound sector which gave us lots of room. Check-in queue (and we did get to the airport really early) was long but moved quickly. Flight boarded and took off on time, staff very, very friendly and professional on both legs, meal service was find and drinks were not what I would consider overpriced for an airline. IFE is a little antiquated. Flight landed early both on the way out and into Gatwick upon return. What does get my goat though is the passenger who was moved to an extra legroom seat for free on the return sector because he complained there wasn't enough legroom for him and subsequently kicked up a massive fuss about it. If you are 6'4" then surely you book extra legroom in the first place knowing that seat pitch on a charter flight won't be very much! All in all a very good service (apart from the palaver at Hurghada for check-in where everyone seems to have a different rule to everyone else and they were charging excessively for excess baggage- beware!) and wouldn't hesitate to fly with them again in the future.

MONARCH AIRLINES review :  8 June 2009 : by Andrew Collins  (UK)

MAN-RHO-MAN on A300. Standard 28-29" seat pitch is no use for tall people like me. Extra legroom seats on Monarch charter are exit row seats, but at £15 each way are definitely worth it. However, Monarch Airlines squeeze 9 abreast seating into their A300's (normally 8 abreast) which, combined with tray tables in the arms, makes these seats very narrow. Outbound flight was uneventful with great movie. Amazed that Monarch Airlines not only charge for cheap 'in the ear' headsets, but ask for them back (ie they are only on hire)! I used my own (cabin crew didn't seem bothered). Sausage-based meal each way (breakfast-out, dinner-back) not bad for the total £12 added to holiday price, but no cups in most meal packs on return and cabin crew refused to serve tea & coffee if you didn't have one (and they didn't search very hard for alternative cups either). I thought they might have offered the Kenco coffee they sell at £2 a shot (with cup) free, but no such luck. Excellent punctuality both ways. All in all Monarch are one of the better charter operators, but still not brilliant.

MONARCH AIRLINES review :  8 June 2009 : by D Jones  (UK)

Being regular travellers over the past 4 years we have booked numerous flights with Monarch probably amounting to 5 return journeys to Spain each year. It is becoming very apparent that Monarch are no better in these fields now, £50.00 to change an incorrect initial on a booking, £12.00 each way to take a suitcase, fancy people taking a suitcase on holiday, whatever next! Unless you are a child or a short thin adult it is probably advisable to book a seat that allows you a little breathing space, no problem, for another £15.00 each way it's yours. On board now and for £6.00 you may select a meal from the menu card, that's fine providing there are any of your chosen meals left by the time the trolley reaches you. A drink is normally in order to get your holiday off to a great start, I went for a small beer, and apart from the price was it small, £3.00 for what must be no more than a third of a pint! Not to worry though you do get another free mouthful of coffee or tea after your meal. For the inflight entertainment which used to comprise a film, comedy sketches, radio or childrens programs you either have to rely on bringing your own or counting how many passengers seated in aisle seats get clobbered by either passengers heading to join the loo queue or by the passing staff with the trolley! To add to this years fun and games at the airport we could apparently see strike action from what I will have to say are generally competent and friendly cabin crew, not sure however during the current recession and economic climate that this will see a great deal of support from the travelling public who may have had to really tighten their seat belts to afford to take the family away for a well deserved break. Come on Monarch, just remember who actually pays all your wages and treat your customers with the respect they deserve.

MONARCH AIRLINES review :  1 June 2009 : by S Bond  (UK)

LGW-Sharm return, both flights full. Crew pleasant and efficient - as many say the seating is cramped and I always opt for the extra legroom which is not cheap but well worth it. As a charter they are the best (or is it least worst?) compared to Thomas Cook etc - just seems a pity they cant upgrade their seats a bit and provide that little bit more space.

MONARCH AIRLINES review :  28 May 2009 : by Brian Hill  (UK)

After many years avoiding charter flights, our trip to Corfu was a pleasant surprise. Outgoing the A300 was somewhat cramped but the hot breakfast was fine and flight was early into Corfu. Returning on a similarly old B757, again a bit cramped but the the staff worked very hard and although one holiday company coach was late reaching the airport, the arrival was on time. My only complaint - the in-flight entertainment is back in the dark ages, small overhead video screens and if you're going to charge for headphones, makes sure they work.

MONARCH AIRLINES review :  18 May 2009 : by S Bowman  (UK)

I fly twice/three times yearly with Monarch Scheduled and have done for some years now. They have sneaked in some hefty increases recently for seat reservations, credit card and the highest increase of all is for checking in luggage. I use them as they have the best flight times (for me), but if there was a suitable alternative then I would use it. In conclusion, when this airline was full service, the prices were really no more expensive than they are now with all the add-ons.

MONARCH AIRLINES review :  18 May 2009 : by M Bennett  (Spain)

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)

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)

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)

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

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

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

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.