Thomas Cook Airlines Customer Reviews and Passenger Trip Reports

Gatwick to Cancun. Outbound staff happy and friendly but on return a miserable bunch. Food good and the afternoon tea a pleasant change. We were offered water twice in addition to the bar service. On the return our blankets and pillows were on our seats ready for us. I would recommend booking the Business / Executive lounge at Cancun, priority check-in and payment of departure tax with no queues and complimentary canapés (club sandwiches, nuts etc) and also soft drinks teas and coffees and also premium brand spirits. Glad we pre-booked seats as the flight was completely full and some passengers split up. Only snag was I had pre- booked champagne for 2 and it was not provided even though I had a printout with it on, staff told me to complain when I got home.

I paid £55 for pre-booked seats on my return flights to Tenerife. On arrival at NCL airport, no seat reservations had been made and my party and I were messed around for ages and in the end were seated together but not in the rows we paid for. The return was even worse, check-in staff tried to split my party over 3 rows. Eventually an English Thomas Cook employee got my party seated together but not in the seats we paid for. The best they offer is a voucher for £15 off the next flight.

LBA-LPA return. Check-in quick with friendly welcome. Got seats together, not having paid for the convenience. Flight boarded early took, off on time. Smart and very friendly cabin crew, seats were fine. received inflight meals which was a breakfast - very poor considering the charge if paying for meals. Drinks were fine, little bit of sell sell but not off putting. Flight home, again friendly crew, seats together and meals of which we enjoyed on return. Leeds Bradford very crowded whilst still being upgraded (we always fly from Newcastle, but the flights we wanted don't start until June). Will use again.

Dalaman to Manchester. A 5hr delay in what has to be one of the most expensive airports in the world. No reason for the delay as TC don't seem to have any staff there. A letter with a brief message, no explanation given. We were then made to wait 2.5 hrs for a child's chicken burger, small cup of watered coke and 12 chiplets as light refreshments. So we get on the plane home, staff, plane no problem. Captains explanation for the delay - what a joke. The plane had a malfunction in Tenerife on the Wed and so was delayed 5 hrs in Turkey on the Sat.

Gatwick-Bodrum. Mixed feelings about this airline. Both outbound and inbound flights ran on time so no complaints there. Outbound we were sat in 2E and F and were awake the whole flight. Seats were uncomfortable but not unbearable. On the way back we were in 8E and F. I am 5 ft 8 and my partner is 6 ft 2, so if I found it horrible I don't know how bad he must have been feeling! Seats are very narrow and barely enough leg room to get in and out! The cabin was very hot on the return flight, even with my air vent on full blast. Outbound flight the crew were lovely. They were very busy but still treated you as an individual. We were sleeping during the meal service and awoke as the crew were just a few rows in front of us. When they finished and were pulling the carts back we asked them for coffee. The girl snapped, asking if we had ordered food and why we didn't ask at the time. She chucked some tea onto our table, not even giving us sugar/spoons/milk and stormed off. All in all there was no crew consistency, the way out the crew were lovely, but the return they were horrid. I will avoid Thomas Cook in future the best I can.

Flight out to Kefalonia fine. Currently stuck in Kefalonia airport as return flight has not left UK. Likely delay at least 8 hours. Would like to thank Thomas Cook for having gone to the expense of a bottle of water and a dried up cheese and ham roll for all their passengers.

Manchester to Lanzarote. When booked we took the choice of extra legroom but unknown to us when booking seats online, they are charging an extra £30 per head per flight, as we were a couple travelling, that would add up to £120. Out of principle we didn't pay, but when as I am 6ft9, it really is not practical to sit in the (cattle crates) of normal seats and think there should be a bit of common sense.

Manchester to Kalamata return. Boeing 757. Both flights on time, cabin crew very attentive, pleasant and friendly. Extra legroom seats both ways, well worth paying for. Meal warm and well cooked, not "Michelin" but perfectly ok and tasty. Been with Thomas Cook several times and never had a bad flight experience. No inflight entertainment nowadays but no problem on a relatively short flight. Going again this June so we are looking forward to the flights as well as the actual holiday!

Gatwick to Antalya. The flight I booked was 16.15, delayed until 21.05. I had a 5 hour wait with no explanation from ground staff whatsoever, not to mention they were incredibly rude. Food was meagre and tasteless; they served me the same meal on the way to Antalya, Turkey and back to Gatwick, London. Not enough leg room but just enough arm room. The flight back to Gatwick left on time we arrived 5 minutes early, the flight was smooth and enjoyable and the cabin crew polite and helpful.

Flew from Antalya to Glasgow on Sunday 6th May. When we arrived at the airport we were herded like cattle into 3 long lines. It took us 1.5 hrs to finally get to the check-in desk. We constantly spoke to Thomas Cook agents (and there were plenty of them doing nothing) who told us that they have no control over the check in desks. We were very concerned that our golf clubs would not make the flight as the flight was boarding when we got our boarding passes. What a surprise when we got to Glasgow our clubs did not come off the plane. At 2 o'clock in the morning that the last thing you need.

Manchester-Cancun. Delayed 1.5 hrs due to a burst tyre whilst landing. Finally took of from Manchester 2 hours late. Seats were cramped and not very comfortable. The crew were extremely rude and sarcastic to other passengers. Inflight entertainment was poor. We had 2 inflight meals, the first one was basic, then afternoon tea which was poor. I do not think those meals were filling for a 10 hour 55 minute flight. 15 kg is not enough for a long haul journey. I would not fly with Thomas Cook for long haul again!

Having purchased extra legroom seats costing £120, (£30 per seat) I was obviously disappointed that these were on offer at Glasgow Airport for £25 for two seats although I do understand the need to sell empty seats - however to include priority check in with the offer, whereas I had to queue for over half an hour to check-in is very unfair. Surely the extra legroom seats sold at the proper price should include priority check-in as part of the price!

Never travelled with such a poor airline. No leg room and the seat did not recline on a 5 hour flight to Egypt. Food which we paid for was disgusting - save your money and take sandwiches. No pillows or blankets even though we were travelling with children however I could purchase a comfort pack for £5. They charge for everything but when you would like a drink of water you have to go to the rear of the plane and beg. Staff rude and unhelpful. Only reasonable point was we were on time.

Departure was ok, however they sat some of us separately. Onboard staff friendly and happy to help from Manchester to Las Vegas. We had to pay for any drinks and we received only one hot meal, given a snack of afternoon tea towards the end of the flight which consisted of two tiny sandwiches - food for a 10 hour flight was a joke! Return was awful, our check-in time was wrong so were met with a big queue. Check-in staff rude, unfriendly and far from helpful. All sat separately, at the gate I approached staff to ask if any seats had become available - 3 members of staff turned their backs on me and ignored me. One in our party did not receive the meal she paid for as they had ran out, she was offered a snack box which was not close to a meal. Onboard staff were great and wanted to help, even trying to seat us together.

Vancouver to Gatwick. 11 hours of torture, my knees were jammed in the seat in front. Seats riveted in more than upright position. Supposed to be an Air Transat flight, so check your ticket.

I have had the mis-fortune to fly Thomas Cook twice now. The first time we pre-booked seats, they then moved us to another area as the seats had apparently been booked months before and it just "hadn't updated on the system". However when I called them, they said it was an aircraft change, I knew it wasn't and pursued this. They also changed the flight times to a later flight and there was no inflight movie on the flight out to Gran Canaria. Second flight to France on a skiing trip - no problems on flight out, but on return flight we were delayed due to another aircraft needing maintenance and they also had to take off luggage. We still have not received our ski equipment back.

Manchester to Antalya on 767-300. Flight time changed 3 times before leaving UK. Check-in at Manchester was quick and painless, flight was delayed but we were not notified until a matter of minutes before the gate was due to open. In the air, flight was uneventful, legroom good but the seats do not recline. Inflight meal was dry. Return flight from Antalya had young kids running amok up and down the aisles. Again, inflight meal left a lot to be desired and no inflight entertainment if sat in mid or rear sections of the plane as IFE system had crashed. I would like to say that I would avoid using Thomas Cook airlines, but given the lack of choice on this route that it not possible. I only hope they improve their service.

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