Thomson Airways Passenger Reviews and Customer Trip Reports

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14 March 2013, Manchester - Tenerife South, Flight TOM2458. Return 21 March 2013, Flight TOM2459. I will keep it short. No entertainment. No proper food - microwaved. Staff more interested in duty free selling than looking after customers comfort. Plastic bags full of sandwiches kept in overhead lockers. Seats torn and sagging, pull down tables broken. Will be a long time before I use them again. I did send a letter of complaint which has taken 8 weeks to be acknowledged.

We travelled to Zante on a 737 800, in all the years we have flown it was the worst plane! It was too small, the cabin much smaller. The seats were uncomfortable and worn and if you are tall then there is no chance! No entertainment on board. Hated the whole experience, cant believe they use them on 3.5 hrs journey. As for the toilets, keep well away, no room at all.

Flew to Egypt in February. From the day before departure up until reaching the airport on the morning of our flight we were trying to book extra baggage allowance. We were given 15kg for an 11 night holiday. At check in desk we were 10kg over between 4 people, that cost us ££110. Said that we tried to book more baggage, told the website closes 3 days before travel. Not told this at time of booking, it is not on there website neither is it in their terms and conditions, apparently it does not have to be. Told to buy extra luggage allowance to save paying on return journey which we did. You do not have to do that as no one checks your weight at Sharm El Sheik airport they are not interested how much your suitcase weighs. We will be very careful when using Thomson again as they are one of the dearest package holiday companies but give you the least of everything.

Flew out on the 13th May and to be honest was dreading the flight because of all the bad reviews, but was pleasantly surprised. Lots of legroom, not cramped, prompt service for food and drink which was good and the cabin crew were fine. Return journey however, the cabin crew were too busy talking to each other to bother about whether or not we had been served food and drink, we had to ask for hot food which we got but were then not charged for because he forgot about us, all a bit hit and miss. Plane was ok though, again lots of legroom, cabin crew needed to be more attentive, we had an hour and half delay out of Gatwick which was a pain but coming back from Gran Canaria on 20th May there were no delays. No entertainment which is not good, people have taken note of this and took their own entertainment on board and a lot of people also took their own food.

I was dreading the Thomson flight from Gatwick to Sharm last week. The last time I flew on this route was on an old 757 with very cramped seats and no elbow room. My flight booking indicated that we would be on the same type of aircraft. What a surprise on boarding! A brand new 737-800, clean and fresh with almost decent legroom. The price is such that this is what should be supplied on this route, it is no longer a cheap option to fly Thomson. There is no entertainment at all on a 5.5 hour flight, not even recorded music. Thank god for i-pods. The bacon baguette was decent and the drinks not too expensive. The only niggle is that I often fly on full service carriers to Thailand (Twice the distance) with everything free and great in flight entertainment for only £100 more. Not only are the fares now much higher you are charged for baggage, seat allocation, food, drink etc.

Leeds Bradford to Sharm El Sheik was satisfactory although many passengers were unhappy with the lack of any entertainment. We had booked the extra leg room seats and these were fine with lots of leg room, however there appeared to be little food to eat and that which was available was rather expensive. However, on the flight back the plane took off late (no explanation nor apology). The crew were the slowest I have seen (it took almost an hour to serve drinks and food to row 5). As the crew started at the front and rear of the plane, it became clear that there was not sufficient food on board (there had been no hot food and only 'a couple of sandwiches' - which had sold before row 5! Since the extra leg room seats are in row 16 which is the middle of the plane, there was no food left even for the children (as adults in desperation had ordered these!). Again the duty free followed the same route, therefore after trying to purchase 5 different items in a row (out of stock, did not have any), one could only feel rather put out that we had paid extra for a minimal amount of extra leg room on the return journey and for this extra fee we got the worst service possible. Even when raising this with the crew, the reply was that they were 'fed up of giving Thompson feedback as it is ignored!'. So, in warning, no entertainment, no food, no duty free. Very basic service.

We fly with Thomsom/First Choice a few times each year to Mombasa in Kenya, for us it is good and comfortable. We have just returned from Mombasa on 5th May 2013, the food was smashing, the staff very helpful and polite - what more can you ask. Being disabled I know they will look after me and my wife.

Manchester to Larnaca return. The 757 was showing its age, and the cabin crew seemed a little more interested in gossiping among themselves than offering a prompt service. However, we arrived on time on both flights, and actually departed early on the way home. The croque monsieur, bacon baguette and chips were all pretty good. We knew before booking that there would be no IFE, tight legroom and no traditional meals and in fairness to Thomson they met our expectations. Far from a bad experience.

Flew from Manchester to Sanford Florida on an old workhorse (as described by the pilot) Boeing 767 in economy, this aircraft was used because of the Dreamliner issues. Seating configuration was 2-3-2. Seat width was not good but legroom was decent. My biggest complaint has to be the staff who just were not interested in the passengers, I was knocked a couple of times by passing crew with not a word of apology from them.

Regardless of anything else, the fact that this company charge me £1500 for a week away and then want me to pay to sit next to my partner is simply not acceptable. I can see why one might be asked to pay for seat selection in the prime spots but to have 2 seats together, no, that is wrong. This is the last holiday I book with Thomson. If I wanted to be treated like this I would have used Ryanair.

Flew premium cabin to Punta Cana, April 2013. Return flight was terrible. The seats were old and the cushioning was worn. As we were served last, we had no choice of menu and had to make do with the food that nobody else wanted. The cabin crew were short and rude to some passengers and they appeared to be improperly trained to deal with passenger demands and were unable to remain professional when dealing with passengers. A training need maybe? Thomson seem to have gone 'downhill' lately. What has happened to them? Lack of competition perhaps?

Departure from Cardiff Airport - surly and unhelpful check in staff. Although my carry on luggage was the correct dimension, it weighed more than the sparse 5kg - my fault for not checking this. However other airlines allow 10kg carry on. I had to pay £44 to put bag in hold. During my holiday I tried to use the 'manage my booking' online option to pre pay for my return luggage and not incur further penalty charges. However, this proved impossible. Thomson's login screen doesn't allow a departure date to be inserted once you have left the UK - so you can't get beyond the login screen. Their systems seem to be engineered to extort as much money as possible out of passengers. This is the first time I have flown with Thomson and will not do so again.

Manchester to Cancun, we were ready for take-off when a fault was discovered. We taxied back to the terminal, then left on the aircraft without water or food for 3.25 hours whilst the engineers tried to fix the problem. We were then disembarked, and bussed back to the terminal without Thomson representation or any advice or guidance on next steps. Eventually we were asked to collect our baggage and stayed at the airport hotel until the following day. We flew out eventually 23.5 hours late. The service throughout was non-existent, with a catalogue of promised updates that didn't come, alongside receiving no updates or advice when it should have been due or apology. To add insult to injury, once we did get under way, food and gift options had been forgotten.

Premium economy Manchester to Dominican Republic return. On both flights we found cabin staff very friendly and helpful. Inflight entertainment provided was excellent. Comfort was good, seats comfy and plenty of legroom. The pamper packs provided proved to be most useful. Inflight meals of the highest standard and drinks service regular. All in all a very enjoyable experience and can't wait to fly Thomson premium again!

Just travelled to Tenerife and back, flight only with Thomson. Flight out from Manchester, 20th April at 13.55pm. Off on time, new plane, great staff, comfortable seats and arrived early. Did not purchase any food. Back on 27th April, 19.25pm from TFS arrived early in Manchester, again a great flight, friendly staff and new aircraft. Such a contrast from our last flight with Monarch. Will definitely fly Thomson again.

Just travelled to Marrakech with Thomson Airways. We have now travelled with Thomson 3 times since they changed from an inflight meal service to purchasing snacks. On the way back from Marrakech which was a 3 hour 10 minute flight at tea time. We were sat on row 20 which is about 2/3's the way back of the plane. The snack service took over 2 hours to get to us. The cabin crew were like headless chickens up and down the aisle collecting hot food from the rear of the plane and passing it between the rear and front trolley. Go back to a full meal service and stick another few quid on each ticket. It is much simpler and surely easier on the poor cabin crew.

Booked extra leg room seats for our flight, however, prior to going on holiday my wife had to have a shoulder op, therefore did not meet the min requirements for those seats, so we upgraded to Premium Economy at the extra cost. One week prior to travel we were told that due to technical reasons our return aircraft had changed and that we would not be traveling back P/E (what technical issues did they foresee 3 weeks down the road). This happened to a number of people on our flight, and other flights after that, apparently not an uncommon occurrence for Thomson to do this. Appalling customer service, with hardly an apology.

Stansted to Rhodes and back. The flight was comfortable and nice clean leather seats although not a flexible pitch. The legroom was enough for me. There was no option for tv but it just for 3hr 50 mins flight. The inflight meal was on payment and they served nice hot meal. The water bottles are really expensive.

Bristol - Tenerife - Bristol, travelled in April on Boeing 757-200. Noticed that we had more legroom than previously and was informed on return journey that they have removed some seats in response to passenger comments and its not much more roomy. Plenty for a four hour flight, but shame about the entertainment being switched off still. Food and drink reasonable and service excellent.

I am a frequent traveller and in the most recent years I have suffered severely with arthritic knees and hence require an extra leg room seat. I have found that this, given the appropriate booking time allowance has never been a problem on other airlines. Thomson however have as other airlines always told me to book only seven days in advance, but never deliver, only to tell you on the day that all leg room seats are booked. I am currently at the RIU Karaamboa I Boa Vista Cape Verde and returning home on the 30th April to Gatwick. The usual story I'm afraid, after requesting my leg room seat on arrival I was told to request 7 days before departure (today) when I'm told that there was none available.

We were flying from Bristol to Orlando on a B767-300. The flight all went smoothly. However, on arriving at Orlando airport we found out the aircraft had pressurisation problems back at Bristol. So we had a long 8-9 hour wait (longer than our flight), whilst they flew in a very old, and uncomfortable B757-200. It was a very bad flight.

I cannot find the words that express how bad this flight is. Just returned from Tunisia - but having left the hotel before breakfast and then find on the flight they did not have enough food, and I am diabetic. All they said y is 'we have sold out of that' - Food, Drinks and Duty Free. Previously on a trip to Egypt they forgot to load the food on board.

Manchester to Punta Cana, December 2012 in Economy and had plenty of leg room. I'm only 5'6" so not very tall but could stretch my legs out fully in front of me no problem. Plane was 2-3-2 rather than 2-4-2 which we had the previous time. Staff were good, friendly and always at hand. Paid the extra £5 for the extra TV options which I think is worth it just for the on demand option. Food was good though the pillows on the night flight home are pretty useless, better to take your own neck pillow. All in all I would definitely recommend Thomson/First Choice and will be flying with them long-haul in the future.

Manchester to Cancun. Booked extra legroom seats in economy, no problem with legroom. The problem was, my seat was faulty and would not stay in the upright position. Every time I tried to relax, as you would on an almost 11 hour flight, the poor guy behind me would have the back of my seat almost in his face. The stewardess did try to fix it, to no avail. Basically we endured a hellish flight, as we had to sit bolt upright. The food was so so, nothing to rave about. The other big issue  was that about 5 hours into the flight 3 of the 5 toilets were blocked and out of order. Drinks were not served after the announcement regarding blocked toilets. Thankfully I had brought water on board, but really felt it for those who hadn't. I would never fly more than a couple of hours again with Thomsons.

Manchester - Malaga - Manchester, 08/03/2013 to 19/03/2013. Both aircraft's were fairly new 737 which have the new Dreamliner style interior. The blue leather seats were comfortable enough for a short flight, especially considering I am 6ft 1 tall! I did notice that the aircraft could have done with a deep clean. Service on board was professional and friendly. The onboard menu was quite expensive - especially £2.50 for a tiny portion of chips. I highly recommend the cheese and tomato Panini which although does not look nice tasted delicious. The only IFE is the map, this may be an issue if on a longer flight. This is the first time flying with Thomson Airways as I usually fly with Monarch and overall I was satisfied and will use them again if the price is right.

Leeds Bradford to Sharm El Sheik. Never been particularly bothered about the quality of 'package airlines' such as this but on this occasion I felt the aircraft was of a poor standard considering the length of flight (5.5 hours). Too often on Thomson flights there is a complete lack of hot food options (despite the fact that prices are over inflated and they need you to buy things). The seat quality and leg room for a medium haul flight wasn't acceptable. Of course a pillow and blanket can be bought - but I doubt this would compensate. No inflight entertainment i.e. TV, radio, papers, magazines. The only thing of interest was to observe how much people bought from the endless trolley services or over priced food, drinks, souvenirs and duty free. Thomson seem to be severely lacking in the art of distraction.

Manchester to Sharm-El-Sheikh return. Without any doubt the worst flight we have been on. Never been so uncomfortable, horrible leather seats, no overhead air vents. Then they have the cheek to charge £1.40 for a tea bag and some hot water, and £7.50 plus £2.50 for head phones if you want to watch a television. Come on Thomson, I didn't expect Emirates standards, but you really need to up your game!

Flight out delayed an hour. We were flying to Cancun we had about 2.5 hours to go when they said there was only 1 toilet working, people were queuing 45 mins to use it. The inflight service stopped which is very annoying when you have upgraded. The seats were very uncomfortable, there was a crying child in front and when the seat in front was reclined they were almost in your lap. Food was mediocre.

I flew twice with Thomson last year, BRS-EFL (Kefalonia) in May 2012 and BRS-FUE (F'ventura) in Sep 2012. Both flights had attentive staff and as I am blind they went through the safety brief, not all airlines do. The seats were very hard with tight leg room, B757s on both routes. I felt the new onboard catering was good, had a baguette which was tasty. I cannot say they are a good airline but adequate and I will use them in the future.

Manchester - Puerto Plata - Manchester. Travelled in the Premium Cabin for the first time, row 2 on right- hand side of plane (opp side to the loo). Very impressed - all aspects comparable to a Virgin Premium Economy seat (apart from Virgin seats are wider), for half the price. Good and plentiful food, individually served. Good entertainment. Snacks/water/drinks/ice cream all kept on coming. Complimentary papers and magazines and useful pamper pack. Coupled with the priority check-in and fast track security I was really impressed - especially after an awful trip to Sharm in the regular cabin the year before. Very pleasantly surprised.

Luton - Sharm el Sheikh - Luton. Just returned from a Cruise and Stay package - a wonderful holiday only marred by the flights. It would seem now that Thomson Airways do all they can to make this part of the holiday as uncomfortable and unpleasant as possible. Staff are miserable, food is awful and seating cramped. You can only concentrate on the disadvantages even more because there is no in-flight entertainment to take your mind of the inadequacies over a 5 plus hour flight. When my husband ordered food on our evening flight home we were told by a grumpy crew member that 'you can only have what wasn't wanted from the outward bound flight, so not everything is available - after all you really can't expect us to cater for 400 people!' If Thomson Airways continue in this way, then we just have to look elsewhere to get to our holiday destination.

Flew to and from Maldives. Outbound flight was okay but return flight was terrible. The cabin crew in premium were downright rude. My husband had been watching one of the onboard films and it reset itself after half an hour, he asked the steward what had happened and the steward said, 'I didn't even know the films had started yet but don't worry, you have another 11.5 hours to watch it'. I was sat in the middle seat of the centre row, I was served my tray of food from the right hand crew, but they bypassed me with the actual meal, wine and roll, so when my husband was being served from the left hand crew, he asked her for a meal, wine and roll for me first, she said I will be served from the other side, who had already finished serving by the way, and when I pointed this out, she huffed and almost threw my meal at me. Later into the flight, my husband needed some water, and as he didn't want to wake the people around him by calling the cabin crew, he went to their kitchen area and asked for a bottle, only to be greeted with great huffs and the crew looking amongst themselves to see who would serve, everything just seems to much trouble for them. We paid a lot extra to sit in the premium cabin, but be warned, the extra wide seats do not apply to the centre seat in the middle row, this seat is the same size as the seats in economy. Thomson really need to look at all the seats on their flights, they are so old, the cushion has collapsed on them and it is like sitting on a block of wood. I will never fly long haul with Thomson again, the crew on this last flight has put both myself and my husband off using this company.

LGW-LXR-LGW. Having read reviews on this airline, I felt dread; mainly because of the seat pitch, my height and a knee problem, but I discovered that although it was a bit tight, it was comfortable enough. Both flights were at least 98% full and when the cabin service was in full swing, the queue for the toilets meant chaos ensued. The aircraft was very modern and clean though and cabin crew were pleasant enough, although a smile from some of them wouldn't go amiss sometimes. Safety video made my partner and I smile though!

Birmingham to Las Palmas on 11 February and back the week later. 757-200 both ways. Pretty cramped on the outbound flight but loads of room on the inbound - there seemed to be some row numbers missing. I thought the cabin crew were excellent both ways and the Captain's handling of the sudden go slow at LPA on the return was managed with great aplomb. Yes I wish they'd bring back a proper meal and entertainment but we coped for 3hrs and 45mins.

Bristol - Tenerife South, 25th Dec. After an early start travelling from Cardiff, arrived at check in at 6.45, check in very slow. After finally boarding our 757 (BH-Dreamliner Livery) we arrived at our seats 35 ABC. The last time I flew on a Thomson 757 I remember it being generally quite spacious, but was shocked when I arrived to our seats. Was very uncomfortable and unsettled before pushback. All IFE has been removed which is really quite shocking due to many youngsters on board flights, not so much a problem for the adults. All meals been removed due to being short haul which is again quite shocking. On the way back exact same aircraft (BH) but this time was seated in 19 DEF these seats seemed much more spacious for some reason probably was exactly the same.

We flew to Cancun Mexico on the 30th January, and returned on the 13th February, flight no's TOM 196 and 197. My Wife and I were delighted with the service we received from the members of staff, they were constantly checking that we were OK and really looked after us. The food was excellent. We received headphones, eye mask, socks etc were all very useful. We travelled Premium class.

We travelled to Cancun on 3rd January 2013. Flight took a couple of hours longer due to headwind which made an uncomfortable flight even more unpleasant. The seat I had pre-booked at extra cost would not fully recline so sleeping for part of the journey to recover from an early start was impossible. The inflight entertainment is limited, you are encouraged to pay an extra £10 to be able to watch films at a time convenient to you. The inflight food is meagre. If you want water it is to be paid for. On long haul flights, surely this should be free. Inflight staff spend most of their time selling food and drink and other payable options. After spending 8 hours on this flight we were then told that we would have to complete customs immigrations forms for Mexican customs but they didn't have any on board. Later we were told that someone would bring them out to the plane when we landed and given to us on debarkation. However, they had run out/ We were then told we could get them in the customs hall. Arrived in the customs area to overcrowded chaos. They managed to locate some forms for us and we then had to try to complete them whilst we were walking in the queue. Another passenger in the queue told us they had the same trouble last year! I always considered Thomson to be a good company to book with. Not anymore.

LGW to Montego Bay. Premium Cabin The crew were great food far better than expected, the same on return journey - would use them again.

Flew Gatwick to Boa Vista Cape Verde departing Feb 4th - (6.5 hrs). Plane full and old. Very cramped seats. Staff spend all their time trying to sell you stuff rather than looking after you. Thomson categorise this as short haul and there is no entertainment on board. This is a company who send people on all inclusive luxury breaks and expect their resorts to look after them when they have no intention of doing so themselves.

Manchester - Cancun, January 15th 2013. Flight approx 40 minutes late departing as had to de-frost wings. Newspapers available for everyone, comfortable flight, leg room adequate. Flight crew were attentive and informative. Meal quite nice including snack before landing. Ran out of red wine fairly quickly so many passengers would have been disappointed. Upgraded inflight entertainment and watched a couple of films to pass the time. Journey back on the 29th was a night flight, similar to the day flight but the snack before landing was not as fresh. Pillow and blankets supplied.

Flew Manchester to Tenerife return. How Thomson flights have gone down. Really old plane with very cramped seats and no leg room, really uncomfortable for a 4.5 hour flight. Did not realise the film and music had been removed. When asked the air stewardess said it had been removed as most people had IPads. How wrong, no one had one and everyone was moaning about the lack of entertainment. Drink prices high. Could not believe how the standard of the plane and the service you received had gone down since I last flew Thomson. Would look for another airline to fly with next time.

La Palma to Manchester. Vast improvement since the new 738's have replaced the old ex Air 2000 A320's. Well worth paying for the exit seats on this 4 hour trip. Seats quite supportive and like the Dreamliner style interior and lighting. Food and drink quite tasty and not badly priced. Not sure if I'd fancy this product on a 9h+ slog to Orlando, Mexico or the Far East, but for the Canaries or less, it's pretty good value.

Outward flight from LGW to FUE on a nearly new Boeing 737-800, in extra legroom seats (row 15). Seat pitch and width good, crew efficient and worked hard. Prompt departure and regular announcements from the captain. Shame about the shambles at check in - whether or not you have to pay extra for being 0.2kg over the luggage limit largely depends on who checks you in. The rude staff member we encountered took pleasure in making us open and re-arrange our bags on the terminal floor. Not the best start to a holiday, especially when people with much larger and heavier bags than us. Food okay but nothing special, also £2.50 for a small bag of chips is excessive. Return was on a Boeing 757-200 again in extra legroom seats (row 32). No problem at check in this time. Again good legroom and seat width and a prompt departure. The only problem with these seats is that they are by the toilets and therefore the aisle area can get busy. The crew again worked hard but two particular female attendants were rude and snappy.

Flew from Birmingham to Lanzarote on 10/01/13. Plane was one of the oldest in the fleet - a 757. We had plenty of leg room, flight was very good, cabin crew were good. Only downside was on a 4 hour flight there was no entertainment onboard. We had the same plane on the return.

Travelled back from Cuba to Gatwick on a 9 hour night flight with the toilet to my left, within 2 hours of the flight I could no longer take the smell. I complained to the cabin manager who was abrupt, very unhelpful and told me I would have to put up with it. My young daughter was sat next to the toilet on the other side and moaned about the smell all night. Never again with Thomson.

Birmingham-Salzburg December 2012. For what is only a 2-hour flight you'd pretty much expect to get by with anything. Wrong. Despite moving our flight time forward by 4 hours so it was a 4am check-in we arrived at 3.50. After the usual ski-queue wait we checked our bags only to be told that only 2 ski bags (instead of the 4 we booked) were on their system. We showed them the tickets and the invoice which clearly stated 4 ski carriage paid for but they said they could not take the other 2. The supervisor was called and clearly knew no better - checked the system and confirmed only 2 bags were showing. Basically we either pay £90 for the other bags to be put on the flight or leave them! No help to get through security and arrived at the gate to be told the gate was closed. After reasoning with the gate staff they got a bus and got us to the plane. The whole lack of awareness, appreciation or any semblance of customer service means unless there is no other option we'll look elsewhere for future flights.

GLA-LPA-GLA. Outbound 15 Dec and inbound 22 Dec. Outbound, B757-200 aircraft appeared to be ex-First Choice. Flight operated to schedule, and having paid for 'Extra Leg room seats' the journey was fairly comfortable. I was seated in row 12, a middle seat next to a main door. The Cabin Crew fitted a draft excluder to the door for the en-route portion of the flight. Inbound, again on a B757-200 with 'Extra Legroom seats' I was seated in row 32, with a window seat next to the Emergency Exit. Return journey could be described as fair only as there was a cold draft of air coming through the Emergency Exit. Both outbound and inbound the GLA based Cabin Crew were kept very busy and were friendly. The Captain's inflight information was good. Inbound, he advised that the flight was operating late mainly due head winds on the earlier sector. This delay was almost 'made up' en-route - the time in the air from LPA to GLA being only 4 hours, not bad at all! Catering arrangements, expensive for what's provided. To conclude, as stated previously in an earlier post 6 December 2012, I would not travel with this airline if I had to use standard seats. The 'Extra Legroom' option is OK, however if booked to travel on a B757-200 I would avoid an extra legroom window seat due to continuous cold drafts!

I flew to Taba in Egypt in Sep 2012. The flight was the worst flight I have had, no entertainment due to the fact Thomson have now stopped this along with the meals. I ordered food from the list, when it came you could not eat it due to it being so hard - this was only a toasted cheese sandwich. People were restless due to the fact you sat there for over 5 hours doing nothing due. Staff were over worked. If you do fly with them take your own food and inflight entertainment.

Manchester - Cancun return in Dec. Had never flown Thomson before and after this experience, will never want to fly with them again. Flight times: 2hr delay on outbound flight plus the pilot had to take us via a longer route to avoid turbulence - meant we arrived 2.5 hours late into Cancun! Flight back was better with only a 40min late arrival. Food: Cooked food poor and on the inbound flight they had sold out of most snacks and wine by the time they got to our seat - no apology. No free water which is deplorable on a 13hr flight (outbound flight) and a 9hr flight (inbound). Staff service: Could hear flight attendants talking loudly and swearing just before take off and landing (on both flights). Toilets: 2 of the 4 toilets in economy were out of order by the end of the first flight and the part of the plane we were in smelled terrible. Seats: OK. Despite the fact we checked in 2hrs early, we weren't able to sit together on the outbound flight but got seats together on the inbound flight as we arrived 3hrs early! Had decent leg room and seat was big enough Entertainment: TV screen quality poor. Films/TV shows on a loop unless you want to pay extra. A number of IFE screens had to be reset (including mine) - which isn't an unexpected thing but the FA was really annoyed when I told him! Kids running around and screaming. Parents were useless and FAs did nothing to help the situation. Overall, it was a rather horrific start and end to an otherwise brilliant holiday.

We have always used Thomson for both our short, mid and long haul holidays and there seems to be a sudden drop in the flight standards. We flew Manchester to Antalya for a Christmas break and the flight out was ok, but the return flight was terrible. Luckily we were prepared with warm clothes, snacks and entertainment, and I can understand them being short staffed over Christmas but the crew just looked bored. No smiles on boarding, no help with loading bags, the safety check was non-existent. My window was covered in some sticky pink substance which I had to clean myself as the crew were too busy trying to do 3 booze/food runs during the 4 hour flight to even pay attention. Worst of all was the behaviour of the other passengers, kids running up and down the aisle, groups of men playing loud music on their phones, people hanging over the backs of seats shouting to their mates, one kid was playing with a laser pointer and then during landing one passenger was still happily playing with his mobile. The crew never said a word, they just sold as much duty-free as they could and then vanished into the back. I cannot fault the service of Thomson staff in-store but this year we will seriously consider choosing another airline.

We flew from Gatwick to Salzburg and back (22/12 and 29/12) on a 737-800. I pre-booked seats together and selected seats 11A and B. Thankfully both flights were short as space was very cramped - my husband is 6 ft 5 and his knees touched the seat in front (I know we could have paid for extra legroom, but this is a rip-off, especially for a short flight). On boarding at Gatwick we were bussed out to the plane and boarded up a set of steps, getting soaked as it was pouring with rain and instead of calling us by seat number they boarded everyone together, causing a queue out on the aircraft steps. Late in leaving, although no reason was given. As it was a short flight, the choice of food was extremely limited - although there was enough time to bring around duty free. On return, by the time the food service reached us, they were pretty much out of all hot options, just managing to rustle up 2 bacon baguettes for £3.90 each - these tasted synthetic and had a measly bit of bacon and nothing else in them. Don't bother to buy food on board, either take some from home or buy at the airport - much nicer. On the return flight there was chewing gum stuck to the seat in front of me and a couple of wrappers left lying around. I have flown with Thomson Airway's predecessor Britannia for years and the service has progressively got worse, even for a charter airline. It now feels like they are cramming cattle onto planes instead of people - I would certainly think twice about using them in future, certainly for any flight over 2 hours long.

How do Thomson Airways really expect customers to return to them now. Our family have been very loyal to them in the past, but their 'short' haul flight to Sharm el Sheikh was a diabolical experience in tightly packed conditions. There is no longer in flight entertainment or decent food because it is not considered to be a long enough flight to provide them - it is over 5 hours. When we complained to staff we were told that people did not want them. Are they serious? This is not acceptable to us and will not fly again with them until they change this policy.

Premium Cabin, Manchester - Varadero Cuba. Bulkhead seats 3F and 3G and 2A and 2B on return. Do not book these seats in premium cabin. Row 3 is better than row 2 but there is no legroom and you might as well sit in economy. Row 2 is extra squashed and the lights from the galley are bright on a night flight as the curtain is constantly being opened etc. The crew seat is on the other side of the bulkhead so every time the crew got up it banged and woke me up. There is a 'reduced service' and night to 'let you sleep' but they still bring put the duty free etc. The plane was an old First Choice plane that was really tatty. Hopefully the new Dreamliner will be a lot better. Was a horrible return flight and I think we might as well have saved the money and gone economy.

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