CSA Czech Airlines

TLL-PRG Economy class. The aircraft was new clean and comfortable cabin crew pleasant. Announcements made in several languages. The food could perhaps have been better. Baggage delivered quickly in PRG.

PRG-MAD-PRG Being native Czech I prefer Czech airlines if possible. Unfortunately due to economic situation they started to cut down all expenses including onboard service and even cancelling some of the routes. The food a sandwich was nothing you would remember but was edible. IFE poor as only some old clips were shown - watching the position of the aircraft on the map was much better. Soft drinks complimentary. Airplane quite new and clean.

CDG-PRG-EVN return. CDG-PRG on Air France. The 3 next flights on Czech Airlines were pleasant fair food comfortable seats in Economy FA smiling. The only thing wrong is that I don't understand why all flights from Central Europe arrive so late and leave so early in Yerevan. IFE bizarre with stupid video gags but nice map system.

Marseille-Prague-Marseille Economy class. Sandwiches offered both ways were fresh and tasty. Cabin crew spoke good English and heavily accented French were professional and engaged with passengers. Other people's comments about poor seats were borne out by people around me though mine were fine. Good legroom. Whereas I don't think I would choose them to go on to another destination after Prague for a simple round trip I'd certainly recommend them.

Prague to London economy. I checked in online the day before travel. The process of online check in is ok not as easy or user friendly as BA or Star Alliance (LX LH). At least it’s available. Prague airport empty and very easy to navigate. However if you arrive early there is nothing worth seeing/buying at the whole airport. Everything is overpriced. Used the CSA lounge which is nothing special. Very poor choice of food and drinks. A320 seat pitch adequate. Food was pretty tasteless. On Economy class you have to purchase wine/beer. Service on board was very robotic but ok for a short flight. Arrived at Heathrow T4. Same nightmare as usual. Very long wait after landing due to traffic control. Luggage belt area was very crowded and messy. One positive thing about CSA is their quick response to email. I had few queries on my FFP card and all was resolved within 20 minutes on 3 exchange of emails. Very efficient and friendly. However CSA ticket price is the most expensive in most routes including Prague to London. In the future I would opt for easyjet for the low price or BA for the quality of product of service.

FRA-PRG-TLL. Morning flight FRA-PRG delayed for over an hour. Missed connection to Tallin in PRG. Over 60 mins standing and waiting in line at the transfer desk in Prague to then find out that the only option to get to Tallin would arrive in Tallin at midnight. No apologies no offering of compensation highly "uninspired" staff. Flying CSA is also like flying in the 80s : the machines are probably 20-30 years old with broken arm rests being fixed with duck-tape. Not to be recommended.

TLL-BRU connection in PRG. Economy. Each and every flight was delayed +/- an hour. First of all my flight from Tallinn got delayed about 50 minutes because of de-icing. When we arrived in Prague I only had 10 minutes to catch my flight. I only barely made it thanks to not having to pass any security checks anymore. That flight was delayed as well and I arrived in Brussels an hour later than planned. On the way back my flight from Brussels was delayed over an hour so I missed my connection in Prague. So I had to stand in line for another hour to get my tickets exchanged. Of course there were no other direct flight to Tallinn so they gave me one through Helsinki. At least I got to travel in business class because economy was full. Then my flight from Prague was delayed AGAIN and I missed my connection in Helsinki AGAIN. So I had to stand in line once more (another hour) to exchange my tickets wait an hour for the flight to Tallinn which was also (of course) delayed about 50 minutes. In conclusion I spent my entire day in 4 different airports and got to Tallinn 8 hours later than I was supposed to. And with a headache from all the standing in lines in poorly air conditioned airports.

One way flight from Prague to Munich. The flight was early in the morning with an ATR42. Check in was a bit chaotic at the beginning.. sort of a rush hour and the new "check in for all Czech airlines flights" system that I am not very keen of but I have to admit that its a saving factor for the airline. More check in counters opened 20-25min from my arrival. I guess knowing their bottle neck times all check ins should have been ready. But all in all it took me around 25minutes to check in. Czech airlines check in kiosks were all over with ladies helping those who didn't know how but the line for the baggage drop was as well full. Beware Czech airlines will not let you with even 900g of extra weight! The check in agent was polite and helped that I took one of the fairly larger bags with me onboard (around 10kg) so I kind of wonder of the logic as I had a back pack and this bag with me. Passport control quick. Czech airlines has a fairly large fleet of turboprop ATR42s however I caught one of two older generation so the interior even though clean showed its age and older design. The cabin crew did their job looking at the fact that this was a very short hop. Security demonstration English Czech and German as well as newspapers in all these languages. Captain talked to us explaining de-icing and 5 minutes delay. A small sandwich and free (juices and water tea and coffee). I love Czech airlines but a reason for taking a star away is having to pay for coca cola beer and wine on their flights. CSA was known for impeccable service and plenty of food and drinks. Saving on visible things like food and drinks make a difference. Good value for money but have to monitor how much is CSA cutting in service - afraid it will come in line with other "sit shut up till we arrive" kind of airlines that we see today

Barcelona-Istanbul with connection in Prague. Excellent value for money all flights arrived on time or early and friendly and helpful staff. A320 between Barcelona and Prague and return was clean comfortable with excellent legroom and a bit of IFE on overhead screens food same old sandwich and very limited free beverage service (only one round and a very stingy one) however. A bit too many announcements from the flightdeck for my taste. 737-400 between Prague and Istanbul and be aware that these aircraft seem to have a third substandard class which starts halfway down the economy section and features narrower seats and less legroom than the economy seats up front. I´m not sure if these are for passengers who have paid cheaper fares but I was seated in this area on PRG-IST but on the return flight I was seated closer to the front and was much more comfortable. Passengers who have booked business class on this aircraft should know that the first row in Business class located right behind the bulkhead features considerably less legroom than in economy. Prague airport is not my favourite but all connections were smooth and CSA staff were very helpful. On the return I only had 40 minutes between flights but I managed to get to the gate unhurried with time to spare. Will look into them again in the future.

Bucharest to Amsterdam via Prague. Booked in economy; frequent flyer upgrade to business class on PRG - AMS leg. Czech Airlines are OK though not as good as they were a few years ago. Their model is a hybrid of full service airline and low cost. The pressure on their prices if obvious with only charter airline quality food and drinks available free in economy class. The main problem I encountered was changing planes in Prague. Prague airport has simply not worked out how to be an efficient hub. Connections between Schengen and non-Schengen zones in particular are a pain as the airport is rather sprawling. As there was a 50 minute delay to the OTP-PRG leg I had 15 minutes connection which I only made by a lot of running and some fairly shameless pushing in front of queues. Only 2 passport booths were open and these were monopolised by a group of Russian school children. CSA are fine but beware tight connections in Prague. If your incoming flight is late neither CSA nor Prague airport will help you expedite the process; you're on your own and don't get priority in any queues. The result is extremely stressful. CSA are as good as any other airline for point-to-point travel at reasonable costs and onboard service can be very good but beware connections.