Thomson Airways Passenger Reviews and Thomson Airways Customer Trip Reports

We flew from Cardiff to Sharm el Shiek on 10th Dec 2012 and back on the 17th. This is a 5 hour flight out and 6 hours back. With no inflight entertainment! There were lots of children on board with absolutely nothing to keep them occupied for the flight. This is acceptable for a flight of up to 3 hours but not longer. If there is any alternative to Thomson Holidays in future we will be booking with them.

Have flown with Thomson, Glasgow-Funchal for 10 years and noticed a general overall deterioration, not only in flight quality etc, but in check in times and rush to board at Funchal allowing very little time to relax prior to flight, this should not be too difficult to improve. Unfortunately it is Thomson or nothing from Scotland. It would seem that Thomson are ignoring these reviews.

Flew to Madeira from East Midlands. Flight left on time with quite a few spare seats. Very disappointed with the cleanliness of the interior of the plane. Substances were splattered over the tray, seat and menu card. When this was brought to the attention of a member of cabin crew I was informed that "it was probably just tomato juice." This is not the first time we have experienced dirty interiors on Thomson flights but feel on this occasion we had to complain.

Flew from Manchester to Tunisia on 2nd December, flight was 6am and left at 9.04am - the excuse was staff problems. Arriving at the airport at 4am and having to wait 5 hours is awful but Thomson could not care less. On the plane, a 737/800 was ok, the seat space was terrible and staff rude and bad tempered. Return journey on the 16th December was a lot better and landed almost on time.

Newcastle to Las Palmas (Gran Canaria), Dec 2012. Both flights on B737-800. Usual Thomson Faux leather seats not the most comfortable. Just because it has recaro written on it doesn't make it comfortable. In flight entertainment was non-existent. Inflight meals non-existent. The outbound aircraft had even had the radio channels disabled in the armrests! Leg room was minimal luckily the person in front of me didn't recline their seats on the outbound or inbound flights. The crew on both flights were professional but are basically just sales people/cleaners. The levels of comfort and service that Thomson now provide would never have been allowed to exist in the days of Britannia before the bottom line became more important than customer service.

EDI-ACE-EDI. Both outbound and inbound journeys fairly comfortable on a B757-200 having paid for 'Extra Legroom Seats'. I would not travel on this airline if I had to use standard seats, as the pitch is 'tight' at around 28''. The food and drink for purchase was reasonable in quality but rather highly priced in my opinion. Cabin crew, GLA based, were kept busy throughout and were friendly. Flights operated on time. Hold baggage arrival a bit slow at EDI, perhaps as aircraft was parked on a remote stand?

Thomson used to be one of the best airlines for short haul - how things have changed. Flight to Sharm El Sheikh with nothing more to do than look at the seat in front of me! I will never fly them again unless they bring back the Inflight Entertainment and the proper Inflight meal.

18.11.12, MAN-PFO on board B757-200. Our 9am slot was delayed twice for air traffic control reasons even though we were all onboard at 8.50am. At 9.50am taxied onto the runway, braked heavily, taxied off and stopped. Repairs completed about 11.15am and then pilot had to wait for fuel top up. At 11.30am fuelling completed and then another air traffic delay. Eventually took off 12 noon and once in the air were offered a small carton of orange and a 2 finger KitKat to compensate for the 3 hours we had already sat on this old aircraft with no individual air conditioning vents and one of the smallest seat pitches in the industry. With the 4.5 hour flight we spent 7.5 on that aircraft. Unfortunately our return 2 weeks later was on the same aircraft, but at least we got off on time. Never again.

London Gatwick to Male, direct flight out 25 Nov 2012, flight back Male to London Gatwick on 3rd December 2012. I should of realised things had changed when we first had to pay £30 extra each to sit next to each other (total £60) having paid just under £4,000 for the one week package holiday. Next the baggage allowance of 20 kg checked and 5 kg hand luggage - fortunately we under so no charge. Checked in 2 bags, told the one with 2 wheels was OK but the one with 4 wheels would need to be checked in as 'oversized baggage'. When I politely refused they accepted the 4 wheel case but told me it would be my fault if it didn't arrive at our destination, it arrived as expected. Boarded and took off on time. All tea, coffee (except with a meal) was charged extra, all water, beers, wines, spirits were extra. The service was the worst ever and the food awful. The cabin staff are rude and rush through the cabin. The aircraft and crew were the same on the return. Return flight took off 1 hour late. Crew and attendants arrived late. Service was better but still not good. At check in at Male Airport the Thomson check in assistant kept our landing cards which we later needed to pass through border control. The cabin was freezing, my wife asked for the temperature to be increased on 2 occasions and no change, all passengers were wrapped in blankets. Cabin Manager did offer us an entertainment upgrade but I used my ipod anyway. Thomson, you have taken the pleasure out of travel and taken economy to a level.

London Gatwick to Puerto Plata (Dominican Republic) on 22nd of November and returned on 30th of November. The Long haul product was fantastic. The flight out was very long due to head winds but the 767 used whilst being full was still very open and airy. The flight home was a bit of a surprise as the plane that we were supposed to fly home on had one of its emergency slides deployed after landing and after the allotted boarding time had passed we were told by the Captain that unfortunately the plane could not fly with a full complement of passenger and that 50 people would have to be left behind to legally fly. As this was not an option for the Captain all 258 of us were put up over night in a 4 star hotel. Staff were fantastic answering all questions and keeping us informed at all times. A 15 hour delay and most was spent in a very nice hotel. We still returned on the Friday but at 8pm rather than 6am. I found the food very nice and plentiful, however take lots of money for drinks. The in-flight entertainment looked good and varied but I listened to my iPod and slept so didn't use it. All in all I was very impressed and would fly long haul again with them.

What a change a year makes, having used Thomson for the last 5 years of holidays which have all been excellent, we decided we would have no problems booking our August honeymoon to Cyprus. The flights there and back were a complete nightmare! Our outbound flight we found out that the in-flight entertainment and in-flight meals had been scrapped on short haul flights. We only found out about this 3 hours into the flight when we questioned the stewardess when the meals were being served. At this point all hot food had been done with so we had to settle with cold cream teas. On the return flight with the knowledge of the meals situation on the plane we knew we had to purchase them during the hot meals service. Due to our seating location on row 24 E and F by the time the meal trolleys from both ends of the plane had reached our seats they had run out of practically everything. Only Soups and a few snack pots where left. There was several items on the menu that where not even available at the start of the flight. Not the comprehensive snacks menu you see in the brochure. The overall feel of the flights was of a cheap budget company. Not the sort of flight we expected to get for what we had paid for. Never again with Thomson!

Flew LGW-ACE on 13th November ageing B757 AW The seats were so close that when the person in front reclined the seat back it hit my right knee. I really cannot see how this airline can have certification for such a seating plan. God forbid in an emergency situation I cannot see how you could exit quickly. Very expensive food no entertainment rude staff. The return flight was a tad better ACE-LGW 27th November solely because the aircraft was a newer B737-800 however it was still cramped. I will not travel with Thomson again in these conditions.

We have travelled on many Thomson flights/holidays with and without children and used to look forward to the flight as the first part of our holiday. Not any more. What an endurance test! The seats are so cramped, hard and uncomfortable. Doing exercises to prevent DVT impossible! With the unsubtle removal of the back- of-the-seat-storage nets to try to create a feeling of more leg room, we were left with nowhere to put book, glasses and ever-needed purse/wallet. The cabin staff (sales girls) had to start by going through the plane offering "comfort bags" at a mere £5! (containing a blanket, pillow). Drinks are dispensed slowly as "food" items are sold at the same time. We were 1.5 hours into our flight before we had a drink, which were expensive eg gin/tonic £5.20. The "food" on offer was horrible. Please bring back the hot meals - we don't mind paying a few pounds for them. Our 4.5 hour flight had no entertainment, music, radio or film. Overall, a huge disappointment and takes cost-cutting to new depths. Worse than many of the low cost carriers.

Took 90 minutes to get through check-in at Sharm El Sheilkh. One check-in desk for LGW TOM235, queues getting muddled then refusing to open extra check-in desks. Tempers were frayed, flights getting delayed and some passengers getting checked in with flights wating. Thomson reps just leaning on desks with head in hands! Thomas Cook check-ins just sailed through. After 40 years and many a trip to Sharm, never seen it as bad as that. Why have all those flights on one day, the airport is not that busy on other days. Never again!

Avoid this airline on short haul at all costs. The comfort, entertainment, food, customer service by cabin crew are deplorable. As it was a short haul flight there was no choice of cabin class. If you cannot get extra leg room you need to be a midget. The food is disgusting. We were most upset with the care and attention of the cabin crew, they showed none. I felt like an inconvenience to them. I will never fly with this airline again.

Flew Barbados to Gatwick as part of charter P and O post cruise package. Paid to upgrade to PE and paid another £15 to secure two seats together which seems a rip off. This has to rate as one of the worst flights I've ever done. Apart from fresh fruit, the food was virtually inedible, coffee and tea so strong that a bitter taste was left in my mouth. No extra pillows offered and the seat was hard with a very limited recline. My bulkhead seat had less leg room to stretch out than I have in BA's economy. I dread to think what economy seats must have been like if this was my experience in PE. Never again. 8 hours in this discomfort is totally unacceptable.

Flew Manchester to Sharm on 8/11/12 and returned 22/11/12. Flight out OK as we had 3 seats between two of us. Flight back really uncomfortable due to poor, cramped seating. We knew about the new catering arrangements and took our own food on both journeys as the Thomson offerings seem poor value for money. The lack of entertainment on a 6 hour flight is a joke. Staff on both flights were OK but they are obviously under orders to make as much money as possible.

Flew to Cape Verde in July and after reading comments regarding the aircraft and leg room felt compelled to write a review. 757-200 series was old, cramped and had no leg room whatsoever. Middle Toilet was blocked resulting in large queues and they ran out of tea and coffee on return journey. Again no in flight entertainment even though the flight was 5.5 hours long. After this flight I will be seriously considering flying Thomson again, unless you pay for an upgraded seat or happen to be lucky and sit behind the toilet block where there is plenty of leg room!

Manchester - Marsa Alam, 06/11/12, return 20/11/12. No premium economy cabin available on either flight. Suffered nearly six hours in unbelievable cramped conditions as far too many seats are crammed into the aircraft. Situation made worse when passenger in front of me decided to "fully" recline his seat, further reducing what little space I had. Warm wine with tasteless microwaved panini was very expensive. In flight entertainment non existent. Cabin crew on return flight considered far from "friendly" saving any smiles for disembarkation.

Flew from Manchester to Marsa Alam and back. No entertainment on the plane. Very cramped for 5.5 hours. On the way back sold out of food when they got to me only had snack box and soup, no bread. The cabin crew were great despite the problems they had to deal with.

Flight out from Manchester the Sharm at 13.55 on 2nd November, good size plane. Warm enough. Staff friendly, helpful and efficient. Very disappointed about no in flight entertainment. We expected it so packed the books in the suitcases. Couldn't hear anything the captain was telling us over the tannoy because he was too quiet. Return flight 9th November 18.30. Delayed an hour but nobody was told, in fact at 7.15 pm the screens showed our flight departed which was a bit disconcerting. We got into the smallest, most uncomfortable plane I've ever been on. Cramped to the point every time the rude staff went up and down the aisle I got knocked sideways. The seats reclined to the point where the person in front was laid on you. I'm 5ft2 and my knees were touching the seat in front. Staff were rude and inefficient. The plane was freezing. Given the choice, I will never fly Thomson again. 6 hours if far too long to be cold, uncomfortable and have nothing to take your mind off it.

Flew Manchester to Sharm 7/11/12 returned 14/11/12. Flight out day flight, cabin was unbearably hot - they sold lots of drinks, return flight night flight, cabin freezing - they were selling fleece blankets. Is this a coincidence? Service going out was ok but return flight was poor, they ran out of chips, no fresh sandwiches and we were row 7. Seating is unbelievably tight and the seats still recline which makes the space between you and the person in front unacceptable. We are frequent flyers on budget Airlines and know what to expect and have become accustomed to service levels, so it came as a shock that Thomsons fell far below our expectations and indeed the levels we enjoy from budget airlines. We would never recommend Thomson and we would avoid using them again.

Flew GLA to Sharm El Sheikh on 27th Oct - back on 5th Nov. Flight out was bearable mainly due to it being only 70% full - we had 3 seats between 2 people, so could stretch out. No warning that there would be no in-flight entertainment - 6 hours is a long time to pass with no distractions. Having been ripped off for excess baggage at check-in, we were further stiffed by the price of in-flight food - although, in fairness, the chicken sandwiches were edible. However, return journey was a nightmare. Fully loaded, it also felt as if an extra row had been put in the front cabin. Added to the joys of a child kicking the back of my seat, a faulty tray table led to my husband wearing more of his drinks than he managed to consume, and both of us struggled to get into any sort of position where we could be remotely comfortable. These seats are obviously designed with smaller than average passengers in mind. The worst aspect of the flight home was the food. Very little on offer. If we ever have to resort to flying with this company again, we'll take a cool-bag and buy sandwiches at the airport.

MAN - Montego Bay on 767 G-OOBK. Ex First Choice Aircraft. To sum up - "The Big Sale". You pay for everything except your meal and one cup of tea or coffee. Even water costs. They do a bar service first so you do not receive your meal until at least a good hour after departure. Then its Duty Free sales followed by 2 or 3 further bar runs. IFE is on a loop unless you want to pay an extra £5 to upgrade to the On Demand system. This uses the same screen and handset on the seat back. They just go to the back of the cabin and punch in your seat number. You get issued with a head set once which you have to keep for the way home. If you lose it then you have to pay for another set. An adapter is included and required if you want to use your own headset.

BHX - Antalya - TOM253 Boeing 757-200 (same plane inbound / outbound). What's happened to Thomson Airways? - It seems in the space of a year it has become a flying cash register. We were unprepared for a 4.5 flight as I had not read or seen anywhere that inflight entertainment had been cut from the budget for this year. Apparently no-one watched it according to the cabin staff, however, on both inbound and outbound I counted the 18 seats around me and only one person had anything to do. The past inflight meals were garbage but at least edible on occasions and were actually something you looked forward to, but the simple thing is its paid for as part of your initial holiday cost - it just does not feel right paying cash at inflated prices for something that represents less value than the old style inflight meals. Seats are small, you can see where the rows are altered against the window alignment. One steward seemed really grumpy on the outbound but was smiling on the inbound but as we were last flight of the day for the team they were as keen to get home as us.

Flew premium economy long haul to the Caribbean, we made an excellent decision to go premium! Staff were very helpful and kept us supplied with drinks. If staff weren't serving, you could always ask for a drink or snack and they'd organise something. Leg room was fantastic even when passenger in front reclined their seat, lots of space to stretch out. Complimentary pack was useful but not essential. Blankets issued on both outward and return flights with neck pillow, neither were used on outward flight but were good for the night flight home. Seat width more than adequate and seat was fairly firm, fine on the outward day flight but on the return overnight I found the seat very hard after a few hours. However sitting on the neck pillow helped. The only criticism I have was that the film choices were very poor and fairly old. Also the plane interior was showing signs of age, the seat storage fell apart easily and spilt contents on the floor, some neck rests wouldn't adjust on some seats. However I really enjoyed flying Thomson and would recommend premium economy to anyone flying long haul.

Manchester-Funchal and return onboard B757-200 series. Seat pitch dreadful - tatty interior and not clean. Large wad of paper towels stuffed in trim above window about row 3 and signs of some liquid having run along the bulkhead. Roof drop down screen (no longer used) but held together with black and yellow tape. Latest announcement from the captain included reference to no more than 1 passenger to queue for front toilet for security reasons. Probably because it slows down cabin staff pushing trolleys up and down trying to sell very overpriced and poor quality food and drink. Can't avoid flying with this second rate airline when going on a package holiday booked with Thomson.

BHX-Zakynthos-BHX. Both journeys comfortable. However, due to my height I paid for extra legroom seats and if the day ever comes when Thomson will not allow me to do this, perhaps because of age, I will have to stop using them. Even though airline food on charters is not great, it was infinitely preferable to the offering currently available. IFE - I don't think there was any.

EMA-LAS PALMAS (15-10-2012) return 22-10-2012. A very uncomfortable experience and disgraceful legroom for a 4 hour flight. The crew advise moving around during the flight but this would be impossible. Drinking water is ill advised as it is almost impossible to get out of your seat to get to the toilet this increases the risk of DVT.

Just back from Crete and flew Thomson Airways on a 757-200 both ways. They really are just another budget airline and far from the best may I add. Gone are the flight meals and the inflight entertainment and in comes a trolley of overpriced microwave slop. I've flown Thomson long haul for the last 2 years and they are like night and day compared to the short haul product. The legroom is ridiculous, verging on unbearable if the passenger in front reclines onto your lap.

LGW to Bodrum. Outbound 8th October, return to LGW 15th October. Full flights both ways. First Choice A321. Seat pitch tight. Cabin staff on both sectors worked hard and were pleasant. Didn't bother with food or drink as too expensive. Lack of IFE not a problem as had reading material. Flight Deck info was clear and informative on both flights. Only problem was both flights left and arrived at the farthest gate at LGW making for a very long walk. Overall not brilliant legroom but you get what you pay for.

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