Thomson Airways Passenger Reviews and Thomson Airways Customer Trip Reports

Manchester to Marrakech on old 757-200. Both outbound and inbound flights were pretty much on time. We had pre- booked seats on row 5 both legs. The outbound plane was extremely cramped I am only 5'5 and struggled with leg space. The inbound plane was fitted with Recaro seats that do not have the seat pocket thus given some much needed extra leg space. The seats were scruffy and dirty though. I had dried up chewing gum on the seat in front and make sure you don't lose anything in the seat pocket. It's grim in there! We took our own food and drink on board as it is much cheaper. The smell from the food being delivered by the cabin crew was frankly disgusting. We made sure we ate before the meal service so we did not get put off our own dinner. Lack of entertainment not an issue. Most people played with Ipods, Kindle's etc. Staff on board were friendly enough and helpful. They did not get chance to do the bar service on our inbound flight but a crew member took our order during the duty free service. I have travelled with Thomson several times and will probably do so again even though the older aircraft make the experience of flying disappointing.

Manchester to Cyprus return. Reluctantly paid to pre book seats as family of 4 as problems in the past sitting together with children. Was disappointed to note Thomson no longer offer entertainment on short haul flights nor meals. You've to take your own entertainment now. Only really fast food on offer at extortionate prices, which was pretty poor choice of pizza, chips, sandwiches etc. The main gripe is I cannot believe Thomson expect customers to sit in these cramped excuses for seats, being female and 5ft 10" it was impossible to sit comfortably. My knees dug into the seat in front and I could only sit with them at an angle. I made do with the flight out, but the flight home during twilight hours was a nightmare. An inconsiderate passenger in front of me reclined her seat for the entire flight, which made my leg room pretty non existent. Every time I moved I knocked the seat in front, causing the passenger in front to sit back very hard in order to inconvenience me back! Not at all happy. Really wanted to complain but felt like Cabin Crew would have done nothing. How on earth a recline feature is allowed in such cramped conditions is beyond me. I booked a package holiday so had no choice, but will avoid flying with Thomson in the future. Not a cheap holiday either. Very dissatisfied.

NCL-DLM-NCL. From the moment we booked our holiday we were bombarded with requests for seat upgrades, luggage upgrades, champagne on-board, excursions & future holidays. After the experience I had I can say that I won't be using Thomson or Thomson Airways again. Flying used to be a special part of the holiday, not any more. Its just a constant sell, sell on the flight from getting on to getting off. The aircraft stank of chips, pizza & bacon rolls. Not the type of food you expect to purchase on an aircraft. When I asked why they had changed to this, I was told it was what the passengers wanted through a survey. What have the management of Thomson done to what was once an excellent aircraft? Its all about the money & trying to grab as much out of the passenger as possible. Get your act together before the other low cost airlines take over.

Gatwick to Puerto Plata in Premium Cabin. Outward journey inflight entertainment not working in premium cabin, and the state of the premium cabin toilet was disgusting - no toilet rolls, paper towels, had to complain to cabin crew on more than one occasion. On return journey, toilet in premium cabin out of order, in flight entertainment working - but did not match the listings as they only had the previous month's entertainment available. Had several family members travelling in economy cabin (we were travelling out for a wedding) and although a complimentary meal was served, only free beverage was tea or coffee, served after the meal, with no alternative for those that didn't drink this. So passengers are forced to purchase even a glass of water - given flight is 10 hours, it is not acceptable - and this process isn't clear from their T&Cs, which say complimentary meal and refreshments. On the return flight, our family had problems with a drunken passenger - however the cabin crew were extremely rude and continued to serve the drunken passenger more drinks (obviously they made money from it) even though they state they have a no tolerance policy. We have written 2 complaints to Thomson and 6 weeks later have received no response - so much for customer service. Unfortunately Thomson have a monopoly on this route, so there is no competition which is also reflected in the inflated prices charged for this route which is poor value for money. I would not choose Thomson on routes served by other airlines.

We arrived at Gatwick slightly before the advertised check-in time of 04.45 to be met with a scene that was reminiscent of a stock-yard, we were immediately shepherded to the overflow queuing area and it took over an hour to reach the check-in desks, 3 of which were unmanned. The time it took to process passengers meant that there wasn't time to get a quick coffee before boarding began. At over 6 ft tall I was simply unable to comfortably sit in the cramped seats, I and several others spent as much of the 3 hour flight as possible standing in the aisle. Return flight was no better although unlike their UK counterparts the Italian check-in staff at did at least smile and looked interested. I do not consider being addressed as ‘love’ or ‘darling’ by cabin crew to be either appropriate or professional. The final indignity, was to serve a lukewarm child-size microwaved item that purported to be a pizza as the only hot food option on a flight from Sicily, this despite a menu that promised several other items that were mysteriously ‘unavailable’. I would much rather pay a little more for a scheduled flight than be subjected to Thomson Airlines again.

LGW-Corfu both out and return on new 737-800 which made for reasonably pleasant flight. Flights were on time and planes clean. The inflight service is now non-existent and just consists of sell sell sell. The new onboard menu is very poor quality and expensive. We will be voting with a feet in future and finding another airline where possible.

Just returned from Sharm El Sheik, 5+ hour flight and was disappointed to learn that Thomson no longer offer inflight entertainment on short and medium haul flights. You have to pay £5 for a pillow and blanket which was much needed on the flight going out because the temperature was very cold and a lot of people were complaining to the cabin staff but the problem never got resolved. Our seats were comfortable because we paid for extra leg room. But it seems that the only way you get comfort and service now is by paying extra.

Manchester to Dalaman. Be warned, Thomson call a 5 hour flight mid haul and therefore no TV or radio. When asked, the crew said that Thomson couldn't afford the licence for short/mid haul TV/Radio. Crew were rude and looked like they had been awake all night partying. The aircraft condition I would describe as basic and the food ok if you like preheated chips and bacon rolls. Boarding was called on time but delayed for an hour as they were still refueling plane 20 minutes after everyone had boarded. Thomson airways is now worse than most budget airlines.

Have just returned from Cyprus. On the way out from Manchester we flew an old First Choice plane. Well never again, it was terrible, no leg room at all. I would like to meet those people that told Thomson's that they did not want food or entertainment on flights. But on the way home we had a new Thomson plane and what a difference, we have a holiday to Egypt booked for September and if the flight is poor again, then this will be my last time with Thomson's. Customer service has gone out of the window and maybe the only way forward is for customers to vote with their feet.

Manchester to Cancun. Flight ruined by the passengers who decided it was a good idea to take 2 toddlers on an 11 hour flight, subjecting other passengers to constant screaming, tantrums and throwing of toys food etc. Wouldn't mind so much but this was in the premium cabin which we had paid a considerable amount of money to upgrade. I really feel that this cabin should be adults only. They were sat on the front row and caused the flight to be most uncomfortable. To be fair the crew did try to help but despite offering to move our seats (which we didn't accept as had purposely booked row one for extra legroom) they were powerless to do much and both journeys seemed like an eternity.

I have travelled with Thomson most of the time over the last 20 years and always been happy with the experience until this year. We flew from Leeds Bradford to Palma on a very old 757, our knees where touching the seat infront, there was no inflight entertainment even radio. I will be flying to Corfu in August hoping for better or I will seriously think about using another travel company.

Glasgow-Sharm El Sheikh return. Flight left on time and ended up getting into Sharm 20 minutes ahead of schedule which is about the only good thing about this flight. A 757 aircraft which has seen better days. The plane was cramped and uncomfortable, no inflight entertainment and no onboard meals. We were offered bacon rolls and pizza that were extremely over priced and made the entire plane smell. Cabin crew were tired (constantly yawning) even through the safety brief, and were only interested in selling you duty free products. Thomson used to be ahead of the rest and unfortunately this does not seem too be the case anymore. Return journey was the same rubbish that was experienced on the way out. Different type of 757 with slightly comfier seats, slightly happier cabin crew and chips offered instead of bacon rolls.

Flight to and from Gatwick North terminal to Taba in Egypt can only be called rubbish, this "airline" is no better than some of the worst low cost airlines that operate in the UK, all the cabin crew seemed to be interested in was selling snacks and what they call hot food at sky high prices, followed by the duty free trolley at which the crew seem to take forever to sort out change. Have they never heard of carrying a float of change, if it is a comfortable flight you are looking for then look elsewhere.

Glasgow to Orlando return. Seating on outward was terrible, row 40. Seats did not fully recline, no window, cramped. Cabin temperature very uncomfortably cold. Told cabin crew but no action. Due to location, served last, no choice of food and food poor quality. Choice of drinks limited. Return flight not much better. No food choice, food quality very poor. Cabin very cold. Told crew, no action. No choice of beers (only Stella which we don't like). Service slow. Choice of entertainment poor. Overall flights were not good at all.

Manchester to Samos return on new 737-800 aircraft. Excellent flights, helpful and friendly cabin crews, no entertainment so take a book or I-Pod. Paid for food onboard, good value and reasonably tasty. Captain on both flights kept us informed - all-in all a pleasant experience.

Manchester to Sharm el Sheikh. Delayed one hour to allow for luggage to be removed from plane's hold due to drunken passengers not being admitted on the flight. The most annoying part of the flight was when it came to order some food during this 6 hour flight, as it would appear that the only choice left was bacon baguettes! The air stewardess stated that they had to leave some food for the return flight passengers! No inflight entertainment on a 6 hour flight as they do not consider it long-haul even though Virgin do. Parents were at the end of their tethers trying to keep their kids occupied.

We've flown twice with Thomson to Egypt. I've got to say I'm disappointed, it's deteriorated into a budget carrier. It is considered as a short haul flight at 5.5 hrs so its no frills. No inflight entertainment, not even the audio channels in the armrest. No inflight meals and very little legroom. You can buy nasty little pizzas, chips and other rubbish snacks. If you are unfortunate to sit by the galley it's like a greasy spoon cafe. The cabin crew do their best and there's an almost constant bombardment of rounds selling this stuff up and down the aisle. If you're on a package deal you've no choice but if it's a flight only you're after, exercise your choice and look at the other budget airlines as sadly Thomson is now on a par.

Travelling with 2 friends, checked in and requested 3 seats together and duly issued adjoining tickets. About to board the plane and told we had all been separated, when I questioned why and said would we prefer to stay together, we where immediately threatened in a staggeringly rude and threatening manner that our bags would be removed from the plane immediately if we do not accept this. We then obviously accepted this. Of course once on the plane we found our issued seats had been given to ordinary non engineering staff hitching a ride. Nice to see Thomson has their customer priorities in order.

Gatwick to Alicante return on Boeing 737-800. Cabin clean and tidy seating 3x3 and managed to book extra leg room seats in row 15. The seats were fine but a little narrow, well worth paying the surcharge for the extra leg room though. Flight attendants did the job with not much interaction with the pax. Food and drinks were available at a cost but bearing in mind the price of the flight not too bad. Overall a lot better than I was led to believe looking at some of the other reviews, the seats were fine for a short 2 hour flight but for any longer duration would become a problem. Summing up a good value product but not in the same league as a full service airline, at the end of the day you get what you pay for.

This is the second trip we have taken with Thomson and I have to say they are brilliant. My father uses a wheelchair and on both segments of the flight from check-in to destination, nothing was too much trouble. The cabin crew were excellent as was the food and the service. The premium product on long haul MAN-SFB is excellent. Will definitely use again.

Preveza to Manchester. One hour delay in boarding. Then told we would all be travelling first to Kavala about one hour away on other side of Greece to deliver 2 engineers to examine another Thomson plane grounded there. Waited a further hour in Kavala for fuel which the flight crew had been promised on arrival. Finally arrived in Manchester 3 hours late after 6.5 hours on the plane at 2.30am. No offer of free refreshments, and most purchasable food was also not available. I had to cancel work commitments next morning. Many passengers were stranded in Manchester having missed the last trains etc. It is not acceptable to inconvenience an entire plane full of passengers and the staff on that plane for the 'operational reasons' excuse that was given as instructed by Thomson head office.

Edinburgh to Tenerife. Both flights was a Monarch aircraft despite being told that it would be a Thomson flight. Poor legroom, terrible service, flying with an infant and on the two occasions that I pressed the staff call button nobody came, very unhelpful. I had to request assistance by waiting until a member of staff passed by. On the second occasion they realised that the button was lit 45 mins after pressing it. No pillows provided even though I had to sit with an infant on my lap for 5 hours, no in flight entertainment. Return flight delayed 4 hours, very little communication at airport, dealt with badly.

We have just returned from a lovely holiday in Mexico however we were very disappointed about the flight going as we had paid extra for Premium seats and being a nervous flier I expected to be seated next to my husband, but unfortunately I was 6 rows behind him. When you pay extra money you do not expect to be sitting apart for 10 hours. When I phoned Thomson to complain they said that it wasn't guaranteed that you would have seats together even though I pre-booked the seats online. We will not be booking premium seats ever again as it just isn't worth it, at least if you go economy you end up sitting next to each other. We complained to our rep in Mexico and she said she would try and change it for going home which thankfully she did.

MAN-MBJ on 7th May 2012, return 21st May. Manchester based crew outbound were extremely friendly and helpful and made for a comfortable and pleasurable flight, unfortunately the same cannot be said about the Gatwick based crew on the return flight who were surly and more interested in chatting between themselves and sitting in the crew compartment than interacting with passengers. The return leg was on the newly painted 767, instead of spending money on the exterior paint perhaps Thomson should have spent it on refurbishing the interior, the seats in premium were akin to sitting on a wooden bench and were almost impossible to get comfortable in.

BHX to Sharm el Sheikh. Flight was on time and we boarded swiftly. The seats were appallingly uncomfortable with very little legroom and nowhere to store things such as iPod/books etc. Other passengers bags were intruding into the area by my feet which made it even more uncomfortable. Staff were friendly and pleasant but this can not compensate for cramped conditions. There were headphone sockets and overhead screens but no entertainment was provided for this 5+ hour flight. We also had to buy travel blankets, pillows and eye masks for £5. They are really cutting corners if you now have to pay for things that used to be standard. Return flight was even worse. They had run out of lids for the hot beverages, inflight blanket packs and a lot of other things people were asking for. I paid £5 for a ready meal (lasagne) and that was without a side salad or chips included.

Funchal to East Midlands. Aircraft and comfort fine. Cabin staff the most rude and unhelpful I have ever come across and I travel many times a year. Because I am larger than average, a male cabin assistant made rude and embarrassing comments to me asking if my seat belt was fastened, which it was, this was done with a smirk and a loud voice. A female assistant rudely corrected my wife when she asked if they were coming round with duty free and gave her a lecture concerning duty and the EEC, points of which she was well aware! They were a disgrace - drinks ran out as well.

Manchester to Rhodes return. Lack of inflight entertainment made both journeys boring, no space between seats very uncomfortable. The smell of the hot food was disgusting, like a greasy spoon cafe or a flying McDonalds. Cabin crew no more than cleaners with the amount of rubbish generated onboard the plane. Thomson airways used to be the best, what happened? The best thing about the whole trip was the wonderful passenger assistance at both airports.

We flew Gatwick to Punta Cana and back in Premium class on a Boeing 767-300ER return. From the moment we stepped onto the plane, staff were very welcoming, we got a pre-flight drink, then from there on flight staff were excellent. Would recommend, if doing long haul, to go in to Premium class.

Bournemouth - Dalaman. Flight on time both ways. Cabin staff excellent - very attentive. Comfort level and food fine for length of flight and price.

Flew from Gatwick to Tenerife, and it was not a pleasant experience. Absolutely no leg room, it seems the emphasis is on packing as many people into the flight as possible, with no thought for passenger comfort. The crew were pleasant and friendly enough, but as we had aisle seats we did tend to get bashed by the trolley each time it went up and down the aisle. I also had poured all down my leg, simply because the poor attendant did not have enough space to do anything! Not looking forward to our return trip!

Manchester to Corfu. Cabin crew were very friendly and welcoming and went out of their way to move my 85 year old grandfather to a seat with more legroom next to the lavatories. The 'Cabin Manager' didn't have basic maths skills and kept giving me the wrong change. A little girl was sick in the aisle of the aircraft and numerous calls were made, I had to leave my seat to go and get a member of staff from the front of the aircraft, to find them all eating their meals. However, the food was enjoyable, some of the crew were helpful and the seats fairly comfortable.

I have just returned from a weeks holiday in Portugal flying Luton to Faro with Thomson. After reading the reviews here I wasn't looking forward to the flight, however I was pleasantly surprised. Staff were friendly and helpful. The aircraft was very clean, I was shocked at the mess some people leave behind especially when the crew frequently collect rubbish. I was fortunate to be able to book extra leg room seats which were comfortable and very spacious. Minor criticism would be the food available, the toasted sandwich was just about edible. We took off on time and landed ahead of schedule. I would definitely travel with them again.

Newcastle to Sharm El Sheikh return. Seat space non existent, no 'nets' to store your bits, staff constantly trying to sell over priced goods. No entertainment - why have the movies and music gone? The food options are terrible - you can no longer pre-order meals. I found the constant useless sales announcements by the staff particularly irritating especially on the return flight when most were trying to sleep, they no longer seem to think this is important and obviously have sales targets to meet! I used to really rate Thomson flights, but the customer service seems to have gone completely. Whatever happened to the days when you had free tea and coffee and hot towels before landing!

Doncaster-Sharm-Doncaster. Two brand new aircraft's on both legs of the journey, the new inflight menu is excellent. Map is shown as entertainment which is perfectly fine as most people have iPads or iPods.