Meridiana

We flew LGW-FLR FLR-LGW. Outbound slightly delayed with no explanation. Return unremarkable. This carrier offers a great value but deceptive pricing. Beware that although the "transportation document" you receive by way of receipt when you buy a ticket says "first checked bag is €17" what they mean is "first checked bag is €17 if you pay online in advance and print out your confirmation of payment otherwise at check-in you will be asked to pay €35+€5 ticketing fee at the ticket counter in FLR then to return to the check-in counter with your receipt to check your bags." Since flights booked LGW-FLR-LGW are not eligible for online check-in it is easy to miss that (1) there may be another extra Web App elsewhere on meridiana.it you may be able to use to pre-pay for luggage and (2) there may be a different price for checked bagage paid for at the airport than the price indicated on the receipt you receive when you buy a ticket. We bought an extremely cheap ticket (£214 round trip for two pax) but I would have preferred that they bundle in this extra effective €23 surcharge for being a non-expert into the ticket price. It makes them look slimy to advertise a product at one price and to actually charge a difference price. Flight was unremarkable; seats cramped but manageable staff friendly enough. Most seats don't recline very much.

Just returned from Florence. Check in at Gatwick - brilliant flight on time good service no problem. Return flight: At check in we were told our pre paid (40 euro) extra leg room seats were not there and we were given separate single seats on the plane. Eventually it got sorted no explanation why we had to fight to get what we had paid for. We had two screaming babies sat behind us. This family had the use of five seats and only paid for two. Would I fly Meridiana again - no. Would I recommend them - no.

Disgraceful to tell people with children and babies to check in two hours before a flight to keep them waiting one hour for staff to turn up which ultimately delayed the flight. Found Meridiana staff disinterested in passengers and more concerned with how they were looking in as much as they allowed the passenger sitting outside of me to keep two large bags at her feet which made it almost impossible for me to get out. This happened on our flight to Florence and back to Gatwick where this practise seemed the norm. Curtains used to divide classes were not drawn back before landing and the passenger in front of me was not reminded to bring his seat upright on landing. We have travelled worldwide for many years and this has to be the worst flight we have ever taken staff need re-training in air safety and people skills.

I went from Florence to Gatwick just a few days ago. Boarding went well the staff even helped with checking a tripod as extra luggage without paying a fee for it. Onboard one of the male steward looked somewhat irritated but that is to be expected. We arrived on time and I found no serious issues. Would recommended to others.

Travelled from Turin - Catania return with an infant under 2yrs old. Check in smooth and flight left on time and even landed early both ways. Crew were friendly and even gave drinks on board at no extra cost which is not bad for a low-cost airline. Flight from Catania to Turin was on new A319 and had no problems. We have taken Meridiana a few times now and have never had any problems and would recommend.

Was scheduled for an 8.10pm flight from JFK direct to Palermo on July 9th. The fact that they flew direct was the reason for selecting this airline - big mistake! They phone that morning to say the flight was canceled until the next morning at 9.30am arriving in Palermo at 12.30am. There was no attempt by them to put us on another airline that evening even if we had to connect in Rome Milan etc. They said they were only co- share with KLM and that KLM did not fly to Palermo. These change of their plans totally messed up my vacation and the only thing they did was offer a full refund which I took and canceled my trip and will reschedule with another major carrier.

My husband and I travelled to and from Sardinia in June. The trip from Olbia to Rome was a nightmare. Our flight which was due at 11 am was cancelled without any explanation. We had to get up at 4.30 to be able to get another flight to Rome. There we had to wait 7 hours with our luggage waiting for our flight to Lisbon. Sardinia is beautiful but is not worth the hassle. Our trip was completely ruined when we eventually got to Lisbon about 6pm. We'll never fly with Meridiana again that's for sure.

Gatwick to Florence return. Very nice Airbus A319 with leather seats. Very easy check-in at Gatwick and flight on time. Soft drink tea and savoury or sweet biscuits offered. Very easy check-in at Florence and again flight on time. Same Soft drink tea and savoury or sweet biscuits offered. Thought they were one of the better airlines we have travelled on.

London GTW to Florence. Flight delayed 4 hours and diverted to Pisa because Meridiana brought a plane too big to land at Florence. No apologies or explanation from staff or the crew. Every staff answered "it is not my fault". We were forced to take a bus offered by Meridiana from Pisa to Florence but no staff explained where the buses were and passengers had to walk around the Pisa airport parking lot to find them. The worst flight experience ever.

Moscow-Bologna. This is one of the very few direct flights from Moscow to Italy. The check-in procedure was fast and the plane left on time. Plane was an Airbus which I like more than Boeing because they seem less noisy. Staff were nice and they served a drink and snack. Basic service but the price was more than ok. However they only speak Italian and English not Russian which is a pity on a flight to Moscow.