AIR SOUTHWEST review : 7 May 2008 : by C Lee

Customer Rating : 5/5

LGW-NQY. Arrived in with BA from Salzburg, and transfered to Air Southwest evening flight to Newquay. There is no agreement for codesharing at the moment, but there is on domestic to domestic flights - so I had to recheck in. Crew seemed chatty as I boarded. Very loud take off as ever on the Dash 8. Cabin snack service shortly after take off, well priced cup of tea and flapjack for only £2.

Air Southwest review by R Curtis

16 April 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

Have flown several times MAN-BRS and back, and never had any real problems. On two occasions I've booked for the Saturday 10:00 departure on Friday night, and apart from the check-in staff having to 'phone someone else to check another computer, this has not been a problem. Manchester is an interesting airport - they don't seem keen on allocating gates until aircraft are on the ground, so sometimes the quoted boarding time comes and goes with no word, and announcements can be a bit sparse, but this seems to be common for all flights out of Terminal 3. The last time I went down, there was a delay of approx. 20 minutes at Manchester - the incoming flight was late - and we were only told after going to the gate. I'm not sure if the staff at MAN are Air Southwest, or employed by some third party, but more information would be nice. Otherwise, every flight has been fine - the staff are always pleasant, and the journey is quick. BRS is ok - check-in and ground services are supplied by British Airways - and being a smaller airport arriving is very easy, and departing is pretty simple too. I notice other people have had problems with cancellations and serious delays, and from the comments Air Southwest sound pretty much like every other airline in those situations, but hopefully they'll continue the service level I've been able to experience so far.

Air Southwest review by J Williams

25 February 2008  Customer Trip Rating : n/a

LBA-NQY cancelled due to fog and rebooked at no charge on a later flight. The flights departed and arrived on time and cabin crew were professional. Being a turboprop plane, the flight is noisy. I have travelled with Air Southwest to Newquay 4 times in the past 12 months and other than several slight delays departing Newquay - the airport cannot handle any more than 2 flights leaving simultaneously - recommend them.

Air Southwest review by Christian Hodson

24 February 2008  Customer Trip Rating : n/a

I make frequent trips to Bristol from MAN to visit family and in the past have had to endure tedious journeys by train via Birmingham and even more horrendous journeys by road. As long as you are able to book in advance and make use of the £29.99 one way fares this is the way to travel. Check-in at MAN is advertised as opening 2 hours before the flight departure, but I was able to check in earlier than this for my last flight. The flight takes about 50 minutes and for such a short trip the service is friendly, professional and onboard drinks / snacks reasonably priced. I would agree with previous comments that the ride could be a little white knuckle if the weather is not great but I have been fortunate to have had clear skies and a nice view over the South West of England on the approach into Bristol. The only downside is that if you have to book a last minute ticket the prices are extortionate, regardless of how busy the flight is.

Air Southwest review by Andrew Wilson

15 August 2007  Customer Trip Rating : n/a

LBA-NQY-LBA flight a couple of times now and can recommend this airline. It beats the 5 or 6 hour slog on the motorways. The aircraft are ageing but appear well cared for with spotlessly clean cabins and comfy leather-look seats. Legroom not a problem. Cabin staff are pleasant and efficient. Only caveat - if you don't like turbulence this may not be for you - have had one or two white knuckle approaches/landings to Bristol and LBS!

Air Southwest review by Brenda McMillan
7 November 2006

This morning I arrived at the Southwest check in desk in Manchester Terminal 3 at 08.13 for the 08.45 flight Cardiff to find there was no one to check me in. The sign above the desk still said check in here for CARDIFF. I knew it was tight in timing, but there had been an accident on the M56 that delayed me and according to my E-confirmation my final check in time was 30 minutes before the flight left. On checking with the desks next to Air Southwest they said the lady had left the Southwest desk 10 minutes earlier. They kindly called someone who said the flight had not yet closed. They then made a further call and relayed that while I could go to the Southwest office in Terminal 1 and try to check in there Southwest where about to close the flight and I would be too late to get on it. This is the most bizarre concept of customer service I have heard of. The staff at the adjoining desks where all friendly and supportive and seemed embarrassed by the information they were relaying to me. I travel on business two or three times a week and this is the only time I have come across such a situation. I work for a large Bank and have already been assured that my organisation will get a refund for the ticket but would that be the case if I was an independent traveller? I have used Southwest several times before and had some measure of goodwill towards them - which has evaporated over this incident.

Air Southwest review by Gavin Stewart
12 October 2006

FA's great. Friendly, relaxed, happy. Feel a bit sorry for them sometimes. Increasingly, seems to be just one FA on some legs juggling many duties. Really quite entertaining, watching the poor girl sprint back and forth, yet still with great attitude. Come on Air Southwest, fares are not exactly super-cheap - stump up and put some more FA's on! Never had a problem, usually on time, cabin seats very comfy.

Air Southwest review by Glen Rennie
27 September 2006

Air Southwest 12:45 hrs departure from London Gatwick to Plymouth City on 23rd Sept 06 (returning the next day). Arrived in good time (two hours before departure) and proceeded to check-in which after a twenty minute queue was completed by friendly and chirpy British Airways staff. Continued through security and into departures area for something to eat. I kept watching the flight screens as my departure time came - and went - without any gate number or information and just as it reached my departure time it changed to "delayed to 13:45" (one hour delay). So back to the bar I went until 13:15 when I checked the screen again and it now said "delayed to 14:10" (one hour and twenty minutes delay). So back to the bar once again. At 13:50 I checked once again and this time it said "Will board gate 55" so off I went to the gate where we were called to board at 14:15 with no apology or information about the reason for the delay. The aircraft was clean and tidy and while I couldn't spend more than an hour or so in one I have no problems with the seats on Dash 8 aircraft. The captain made his announcement with a welcome, an apology and some route/weather information which was clear and concise. However, no real reason was given for the delays and he then dropped another delay on passengers by telling us of a "slight change of plan" for the flight! It was meant to fly Gatwick - Plymouth - Newquay but for reasons that he could not or would not tell us we were to fly Gatwick - Newquay - Plymouth adding further delay to my arrival in Plymouth. The flight itself was smooth enough and (as always) the cabin crew were friendly, efficient and welcoming. Air Southwest usually charge for refreshments but because of the delay one free drink was being offered - a nice gesture but I would rather have been on time! I finally arrived in Plymouth at 16:00 (two hours and fifteen minutes late) having taken the scenic route via newquay and not actually been told why! The whole journey from check-in to arrival took over five hours by which time I could have been there by train at half the price! This airline started well (see the first ever Air Southwest post - made by myself in 2004) but recent experience has proved that they are loosing it! The staff are great but the time keeping and customer information is appalling! In my first post I said "I just hope that they can maintain this high level of service as they expand and grow in the future" - it would appear that they could not!

Air Southwest review by John Fricker
22 September 2006

Newquay to Cardiff (continues to Manchester). The airline's Bombardier Q300 used on the outward flight seemed noisier than the Flybe Q400 I had previously flown in. The return flight was quieter. These are, however, cosy little planes with good legroom. Delays had accumulated throughout the day to delay the return flight by an hour, but this was only displayed about 15 minutes before the scheduled departure time. The 06:30 departure and 20:55 return to Newquay during the week make a day trip to Cardiff or Manchester possible.

Air Southwest review by Andrew Bryant
6 September 2006

Have used this airline several times, MAN-BRS and LBA-BRS... used to be an excellent service, but standards have slipped or they just don't care when things go wrong. Cancelled flight from LBA-BRS in March (apparently due to weather problems, but other flights to/from LBA/BRS and NQY were flying OK!), and that was after the flight showing as on time only 50 mins before it was due to depart. Offered a seat on the next "available" flight, 24 hours later (how nice!), or a eventually a seat in a taxi to Bristol after about 2 hours of non-communication and no issue of refreshment vouchers. Declined the taxi (regular user of Leeds taxis and would never get one that far!), got the on-time excellent service of the train the next morning. Needless to say Air Southwest refused anything but a refund on the original air ticket (which took about 6 weeks!). Gave them one more chance and had a flight from MAN-BRS booked in July, turned up at MAN an hour early only to be told it was cancelled with NO explanation, but we could go on the later flight (3 hour delay), but we had to go immediately to departures. Have a feeling they cancelled due to underbooking (approx 10 pax). I will NEVER fly with them again, whats the point - I flew to save 2-3 hours but can't take the risk of being late and out of pocket again! The on board staff are good, but the LBA and MAN ground staff do not have a clue, nor do their Customer Service who quite frankly need to learn to read complaint letters properly also.

Air Southwest review by Tim Key
26 August 2006

Bristol to Norwich, and have nothing to complain about, flight left on time, comfortable seats, friendly crew and a good all round service. It sure beats a 4 to 5 hour drive.

Air Southwest review by Mike Kendall
1 July 2006

BRS-LBA-BRS. What a gem of a local airline this is!! No queue at check-in in either direction (flights handled by BA at BRS) and prompt baggage collection both ends. Comfortable leather seating with masses of legroom (more than Flybe). Flight attendants are cheerful, polite and professional. Older Dash-8 aircraft but very clean and well looked after, would recommend last four rows 10-14 for quieter flight - row 11 has legroom of BA euro club proportions as its an emergency exit! All this for UKL 38 return! They also serve Plymouth gin which is a recommendation in itself! Long may they prosper.

Air Southwest review by John Davies
18 June 2006

Instead of taking the train from Penzance I flew on business for the first time to Leeds/Bradford on Monday June 5th and returned on 7th June. I'm mailing to say that I welcomed the high standard of care and attention provided by the cabin staff to passengers, and in particular to elderly people travelling on their own. This, I know, is no small thing because I have on a number of occasions travelled with my (just short of ninety year old) mother-in-law on airlines that are much less helpful and welcoming. Helping old people retain their dignity in whatever context is a worthwhile thing!

Air Southwest review by Stuart Rudrum
12 June 2006

Norwich to Bristol return. Both flights left on time, comfortable with plenty of leg-room. The plane was about just over half full in both directions. There was little waiting to check-in and hold luggage was quick to arrive for collection both ends. Flight Attendant was very professional, cheerful and helpful. We will certainly fly Air Southwest again. It was very convenient, journey time was about 50 minutes,(driving would have taken 4- 5 hours) reasonably priced and the aircraft was clean.

Air Southwest review by Anthony Hending
15 May 2006

31 March. Arrived Newquay Airport at 06:25 for 07:20 departure to London Gatwick. One minute after being told to go to departure area, the flight was totally cancelled with no offer of a later flight. My wife and I had to endure a stressful road journey to Gatwick in a Transit van "with windows", along with nine other disgruntled passengers. The five hour delay meant we had to stay overnight in London at a cost of over two hundred pounds, including extra travel etc. Air Southwest reluctantly offered us a £26 refund each ( which took four weeks to get ) but charged us £30 each from the remaining air fare price for the transport to Gatwick. Would we use them again? What do you think?

Air Southwest review by Anthony Matthews
6 May 2006

Cardiff - Newquay. My first time on this new service from Cardiff. Inbound flight from Manchester 90 minutes late (blamed on air traffic and ground crew problems) - a further delay at Cardiff (blamed on ground crew). Arrived at Newquay 2 hours late for a rather special occasion. Not a good introduction. The Dash 8 was very noisy on take off, but very comfortable leather seats with plenty of leg room. Great views en - route. Return flight on same day 30 minutes late leaving Newquay. Pleasant cabin crew. Not impressed with the delays in both directions - I'll probably give them a second chance, but they must be able to provide a reliable service, or they'll go the way of many others and lose customers if delays like mine are repeated.

Air Southwest review by Steve Robinson
6 May 2006

Bristol to Norwich - excellent service. Only about 19 people on the flight so loads of room. Back from Norwich - plane left 20 mins late due to late inward arrival from Bristol. Ground crew at Norwich didnt seem bothered and didnt make an announcement, but apart from this minor problem everything was excellent. Crew very pleasant and seemed to take a pride in their work. Beats 5 hours on a train with a journey across London.

Air Southwest review by Keith Wood
2 May 2006

Plymouth - Manchester. Check in easy and swift - Plane left and arrived on time. Ground/cabin crew pleasant and helpful. Plenty of legroom. Would certainly recommend to friends. Quicker and cheaper than the train. A throughly enjoyable experience

Air Southwest review by Martine Brangan
2 May 2006

Dublin - Newquay return April 2006, with elderly disabled mother in wheelchair. Do take the assistance offered when boarding as Dash 8 has very difficult first step. The aircraft, although a bit noisy, is extremely comfortable and roomy and has lovely panoramic windows. The most wonderful thing about this low cost airline is the staff, who are the most friendly of any airline I have travelled. We had a very unpleasant encounter with the heavy security in Newquay Airport, and Air SouthWest staff upset at how passengers were treated and gave us a complaint form to fill out. They gave us a pack of goodies to take home for the trouble of filling out this form. The attention to safety is great too, and done with the utmost courtesy.

Air Southwest review by Steve Hart
30 March 2006

I travel Airsouthwest about twice a month and my partner does the same. The flights are from Manchester to Newquay and vice versa. The aircraft usually take off late but do arrive on time, but, the last 4 flights have been appalling. Flights cancelled, in one case a coach from Newquay to Manchester, flights delayed, 4 hours being the longest in March. I appreciate that these things happen but Airsouthwest seem to have a communication problem, with departure boards showing no information and staff seemingly unaware of what is going on. During this coming summer BmiBaby are doing the same route and we have booked some of those to see if they are any better. Get your act together Airsouthwest.

Air Southwest review by Joe Tompkins
9 March 2006

Newquay-Gatwick and back the next day in early January and found the whole experience fantastic. The flight crew keep you well informed, the cabin crew are well trained and look positively happy to be doing their job. I would very very happily fly with them again, and hope they continue to provide this excellent service for the people of the Southwest.

Air Southwest review by Mark Lewarne
26 February 2006

Manchester to Newquay flight, excellent service of both cabin crew and ground agents. Flight stopped at Bristol and had to change planes which went very smoothly - bus to transfer passengers to the other plane for the onward hop to Newquay. Dash 8 was noisy, seats were comfortable with plenty of legroom - only criticism would be the prices of food onboard. All in all it was an Excellent Flight.

Air Southwest review by Brian Shipman
15 February 2006

I use Air Southwest NQY-LGW and their other services many times a year but have only been prompted to write after suffering the truly squalid experience of the Ryanair 'alternative' NQY-STAN. Air Southwest is an absolute gem, aircraft are relatively slow but very comfortable, clean and reliable, the staff are excellent - air and ground - and if things do go wrong they are there to help.

Air Southwest review by Richard Williams
8 November 2005

PLH to LGW via NQY, and return LGW to PLH. Fantastic Regional Service, saves hours getting to the Gatwick/Heathrow if like me you live in the southwest. Aircraft is quite noisy but they do go the extra mile for you, if you require a taxi at either Plymouth or Newquay they would give you a voucher for a prefered Taxi service and there would be a taxi waiting for you. The snacks are a little pricey but I didn't mind paying it if it helps my local airline. There is lots of legroom although the seats are a little uncomfortable. But good product

Air Southwest review by  Nigel Gorski
8 October 2005

Leeds - Bristol return. Would echo the comments of other users and my previous comments on this airline. Flights and check in smooth in both directions. One word of caution - Air Soutwest actually swap aircraft and crews at Bristol - ie the Newquay - Leeds aircraft changes at Bristol and the crew moves aircraft - ie same crew - different aircraft! The timeliness of the Leeds flight is therefore dependant on the Manchester inbound flight which allows only 20 minutes - this caused the Leeds flight to be delayed by 15 minutes. This sort of scheduling could become an issue in the winter when Newquay and Leeds airports do occasionally suffer from fog.

Air Southwest review by  Maureen Selby
2 October 2005

Nothing but praise for your service on flights from LBA to Newquay it was first class both ways and a special thank you to your stewardess Wendy on the 9.30AM flight from LBA on the 21/09/05 and the 16.05pm flight from Newquay to LBA on the 26/09/05

Air Southwest review by  Nigel Best
2 October 2005

Flew from Manchester to Bristol to attend a meeting ( same day return), both flights on time, and the service excellent, the check in staff at Manchester were great and BA provided the same level of service at Bristol, would never use the train again.

Air Southwest review by  Derek Rule
13 September 2005

Compare this airline with Ryanair ?. Fares may be a little higher, but there is no fight for a seat (allocated at checkin), staff are friendly and polite and, unlike Ryanair staff, have obviously done the smiling course. The aircraft can be noisy, but you expect this with small turboprop. On the plus side, the seats are comfortable and because of the lower cruising height there are often good views. On one occasion a few months ago, whilst approaching Newquay, the captain even flew round a small thunderstorm to make it more comfortable for the passengers.

Air Southwest review by  Nigel Gorski
24 August 2005

Leeds - Newquay 15/8 returning 19/8. Agree with comments of other passengers - very enthusiastic crew both directions. Dash 8 Aircraft (potentially ex Sabena?) clean, good leg room with leather seats. Slightly noisy take off but this soon settles. Check in and bag reclaim highly efficient in both directions. On the other hand, BA handling at Bristol - this flight stops at Bristol in both directions to allow passengers to change for Plymouth / Manchester - this sees the 2 aircraft park side by side and passengers disembark at Bristol, remain seated or move from one flight to another. BA Staff were pretty non plus (waited for coaches 5-10 minutes on each occasion to remote stand after door opened) and took a fairly non urgent attitude (forgot load sheet and had to return to terminal). If I were Air South West I'd be keeping an eye on BA as this sort of thing loses critical minutes and potentially slots which could adversely affect interchangeability of this sort of flight operation.

Air Southwest review by  Kevin J Cleary

3 August 2005

What a delightful airline. London - Plymouth return yesterday. Polite staff, interested in their job, arranging taxis for passengers. Good inflight service, Plymouth Gin and tonics highly recommended and I admit I am fussy.

Air Southwest review by  Colin Telford

1 August 2005

The daily service from Newquay to Dublin saves me several days of travel. I can leave West Penwith at 10.30am and easily be installed in my Hotel in Dublin at 3pm. This is absolutely incredible and means that I can now consider some business projects which have been unrealistic until now. The planes (clean and functional) have always been on time or even early and I hope that the service will long continue or even expand (what about Cork or Waterford?)

Air Southwest review by  Declan Warde

1 August 2005

Have used the Air Southwest's Dublin - Newquay (and return) service 3 times since it was launched earlier this year. No complaints whatsoever.

Air Southwest review by  Nick Wallace

21 July 2005

Good quality service for the price and routes are comparable with BA. Plymouth is not a good airport for weather and flights will often be late and or delayed due to diversions. Last time I tried to fly all morning flights were cancelled due to weather bar the one I was getting ...and that was cancelled due to technical problems. Very much like BA was getting at the end. Investment in some new aircraft may help matters. These Dash 8s are getting on an are starting to look feel and sound it. Still the flight costs only 60% of 1st Class rail to Bristol so I suppose we should not complain.

Air Southwest review by  Mike Byatt

8 October 2004

Gatwick to Plymouth on a clear autumn day. Superb views of south & southwest coast all along. Staff pleasant, aircraft clean although it did 'rattle' a little but as it is a turbo-prop that can't be helped. Often cheaper than going by train and certainly more comfortable and far quicker.

Air Southwest review by  J N Whipp

9 September 2004

I would like too see the Manchester service extended to Newquay. surely ther must be a need for this if only at weekend. There is a direct rail link in summer only at weekends and this is 98% fully booked. I have used the Plymouth service and would certainly welcome a Newquay /Manchester link

Air Southwest review by  Peter Harrington

26 July 2004

Flew this week on the LGW to Plymouth service. Departure from Gatwick was delayed on arrival at Gatwick due to (as I found out later) the previous night's flight not being able to land at Plymouth because of poor weather conditions. Although the delay was initially 40 minutes, we eventually took off about 20 mins late after a quick aircraft turnaround. The Dash 8 plane is noisy because of the propellers and my outward journey was slightly uncomfortable (in row 7) because of vibrations (presumably from the effect the props have on the fuselage. Return journey in row 10 was less of an issue on this point. Flight time of around 50 minutes to Plymouth and longer on the way back as flight is via Newquay. Both attendants on the outbound and return journeys were friendly, relaxed and informal, which is quite refreshing in today's age of plastic smiles. Restricted inflight menu - mainly a choice of 4 types of sandwiches and cakes etc. and tea and coffee at a cost of about £5, so not too bad. Overall a pretty good flight well worth if as a substitute to the train or car.

Air Southwest review by  Peter Sutcliffe

18 July 2004

Manchester service is nothing short of a godsend - in only 45 minutes, compared with at least 4 hours on the road or by train. Price is comparable with the train too. Yes the Dash-8 is noisy and uncomfortable, but on such a short flight who cares?

Air Southwest review by  Neil Robinson

13 April 2004

I flew last week on Air Southwest on the new MAN-BRS service, and i agree with the previous reviewer that the Dash 8 was noisy when on the climb (headache inducing) but the flights were on time and the service and price were very good. Well worth taking instead of a long train trip.

Air Southwest review by  Glen Rennie

15 March 2004

Flew on the recently launched Air Southwest from London Gatwick Airport (LGW) to Plymouth City Airport (PLH) and return. Check in on both flights was quick and efficient, and the cabin crew were attentive and very friendly on both flights. The aircraft itself was comfortable and in good repair, although as with most Dash 8's of this age it was a little noisy even at cruise altitude. We departed dead on time from LGW and arrived 15 minutes early in PLH. On the return flight we departed PLH 30 minutes late but landed at LGW only 10 minutes behind schedule. This new airline has taken over some routes previously operated by British Airways CitiExpress and to be honest, there isn't that much difference in the level of service received between Air Southwest and British Airways CitiExpress - it's excellent. The only thing I miss is the online check in offered by British Airways as 99% of the time I could guarantee my preferred seat. Although, as I always arrive at the airport a couple of hours before I need to - I managed to get allocated my favourite seat on both flights anyway. All in all a great experience from this new airline, I just hope that they can maintain this high level of service as they expand and grow in the future.