Thomas Cook Airlines

I have just returned from Cuba on the 28th September. We had plenty of legroom in our pre booked seats. The crew were very attentive. Nothing too much trouble. We will be travelling with you next year. We have travelled with Thomsons and they were not any better despite comments I have read below. After all flying is just a tiny part of your well earned holiday.

Travelled from Glasgow in late September to Funchal. Dismayed by the length of queues for check on but impressed with the speed at which they moved. There is only one queue for all flights. The flight was absolutely full. We were unable to have seats together but at 6 ft 3 I was glad of an extra leg room seat. The added bonus of being trampled on by people waiting for the toilets was not brought to my attention. The meal which was included was a breakfast and notwithstanding the difficulty of eating it on a tiny fold out table it was not too bad. The crew worked very hard and one had the impression that they were embarrassed at having to sell bingo cards. The return left about an hour late due to a bird strike inbound but we were kept up to date by the flight crew throughout although why we had to board on time and then sit for nearly an hour and a half was not explained. The meal on the return was in all honesty the most disgusting thing I have ever been offered. Overheated and shrivelled vegetables the smallest piece of beef ever and an awful pudding. I probably would use them again where there is no alternative but after this would bring my own food and avoid the aisle seat next to the toilets.

Flight 718 Manchester to Las Vegas Wed 18th Sep 2013. Flight attendants were rude refusing to take rubbish which I had taken to the back of the plane and was sent back to my seat. My friend overheard two flight attendants talking about passengers whilst they served along the plane. Totally unprofessional. Entertainment system dated and basic. As a frequent long haul traveller this is the worst entertainment system I have seen. Small choice of films and programmes and unable to pause stop and watch at your own convenience. On the return flight the entertainment system was broken and was advised to purchase books and magazines to keep ourselves entertained at our own cost. Half hearted apology from the Captain who also clearly thought he was a comedian. No apology from miserable cabin crew and no offer of a free drink to soften the disappointment. This was my first time flying with TC and to be honest I was very disappointed with the airline staff and on-board services. TC is nothing more than long haul budget airline - charging for soft drinks unprofessional staff rubbish entertainment system (when its working!) poor quality food which I'm sure James Martin would not feed to his dog's! The plane we travelled on (an old MyTravel plane) at one point I wasn't sure it would get us home from all the creaking it was making! The seats were not too bad but there was no padding in the head rests which did not adjust the lighting would not turn off causing the lights to shine in our ours for the whole 11 hours journey! I would love to say I would never fly again with TC but unfortunately I am booked to fly to Mexico with them next year. I will be prepared for this flight knowing how rubbish they are and will not expect anything more than poor service and rubbish entertainment. TC advertise themselves as a premium holiday company. There is nothing premium about their planes staff or on- board services. I have had better service from budget airlines.

Travelled to Cancun from Glasgow Sep 9th 2013 so for the 10 hr flight we booked the Premium Cabin and paid £400 extra for outward and inward flights. We arrived at Glasgow airport and even though we had priority check in we still had to queue for 15 mins then on the aircraft we were seated in 1e and 1f we were not offered a welcome drink that most other airlines offer to Premium customers I was astounded when they told me we had to purchase headphones for the movies which I did and when I plugged them in I got nothing but crackling. Then they came round with drinks and informed us we had to purchase them what a rip off. We had children across from us whose parents were offered the same seats we paid £400 for. This put a stop to any chance of peace in this so called Premium Cabin. The drinks service and food service started from the rear of the plane so Premium Cabin customers were served last. After all the services were done the cabin crew pulled the curtains and proceeded to talk loudly to each other and laugh out loud so much for peace and quiet in their Premium Cabin. Meals were poor even though they advertise them as special for Premium Cabin. Same happened on return flight kids who had been offered the seats at discounted prices kept everyone awake for 10 hours. This service is a total rip off at the advertised prices.

We got delayed for 11 hours because our plane had broken down had to sit in the airport freezing as they had run out of blankets! Horrible unwelcoming staff during the flight! Such an uncomfortable flight got split up from my fiancee even though we booked together! Will not be using this airline ever again. I would of been a little more calm if the airline crew could of apologised in a better way instead of instructing us that it wasn't there fault for the delay!

Without doubt the worst airline I have had the misfortune of flying with. I have recently had a fantastic holiday in Mexico the only downside was the flights. Outbound I managed to pay for the premium seats no problem with these comfortable and roomy but homeward bound only extra legroom seats were available.No problem with the legroom but the seats are ridiculously small and narrow. I can only compare the width to that of a child's car seat. Uncomfortable hard and so narrow that to get comfortable is impossible. It would appear that Thomas Cook have tried to cram in as many seats as possible and ignored the comfort of its passengers. On a long haul flight of 10 hours it can only be right that you would expect a degree of comfort but with Thomas Cook forget it. I and I would expect others would willingly pay a little more especially on long haul flights just to not be crippled by the time the flight is over. Virgin and several other airlines have got it right and I for one will never fly with this cattle herding shower again.

Glasgow-Tenerife return trip. Seats very cramped even for those of an average height. Plane was dirty - chewing gum on pocket crumbs all over floor on entering plane have to pay for all snacks even water and they constantly trying to sell something either food/drink scratchcards and duty free. entertainment a joke - one movie on shared screens with headsets that also had to be purchased. would not fly with them again unless desperate.

Appalling seat comfort after 20 mins of a 8.5 flight I had back ache spent most of the trip stood up this is the worst flight we have ever had. Crew more interested in flogging duty free then looking after passengers. TC you need to be ashamed of yourselves for packing people into sardine cans. Flight was from Manchester to Punta Cana the return flight was delayed but this seemed to be the norm for TC. Entertainment was old hat and the supplied ear phones of very poor quality - better to take your own. The cost of sitting together is just another con by the airline. Old tatty aircraft with uninterested flight crews.

Birmingham to Ibiza. Old dirty plane. We had pre purchased meals on board but these were only served after snacks and drinks had been sold. Disinterested cabin crew who were just going through the motions no eye contact or any attempt to interact with customers in fact the senior crew member on return sector spent her time during taxi sat on the jump seat with her back to the passengers to avoid any contact - so much for safety and observing the cabin. During boarding they spent most of the time gossiping in the galley and it was well over 30 mins before they started any service after takes off due to chit chat between themselves then there was a rush at the end to finish tax free sales. Good parts were the flight being on time and quick delivery of bags.

TCX2142 / TCX2143 MAN to FUE and return on 4 and 11 September 2013. As part of the booking I paid for the ability to book our seats. Once I had the booking reference I went onto flythomascook website to book the seats. However it would not let me do it without charging me extra. I therefore had to ring the customer services line to sort it out. The boarding arrangements at Manchester Airport were chaotic to say the least. The boarding gate was next to the Emirates A380 and both flights were boarding at the same time with the inevitable crush. When it came to time to board the announcement for boarding by row number was not heard by 95% of the passengers resulting in everyone going to the gate. In fact the announcement was for the back few rows but no-one could hear it. A number of people were therefore refused boarding because it was not their row but others outside the announced rows were allowed on. None of the announcements could be heard by those waiting for the flight. I have never been on a more cramped flight (both outbound and inbound). Leg room was impossible. Food on both flights was disgraceful easily the worst in-flight food I have ever tasted. I am not sure how James Martin would react to having his name used for such poor food. As a diabetic I order diabetic meals for myself for both flights. On the return flight my meal tray was 75% white rice a little bit of beef and three small green beans. The diabetic meal was totally unsuitable. My wife's meal on the return was totally inedible (and she usually likes airline food).