Thomson Airways

Just flown back from Sanford Orlando on the new Dreamliner. Lovely aircraft lots of legroom in economy cabin felt very fresh the mood lighting is very different food was good. Air crew very nice. Didn't seem to suffer as much jet lag this time must be due to the cabins having far more oxygen.

LGW-MAH return. Out on an older B737-800 very cramped seating luckily no one in front so no reclining issues. Return on newer version of same plane much more leg room aircraft about half full. Both legs on time cabin crew good. Did not purchase any food or drinks. Would not wish to travel very long on older aircraft. Used these flights as part of a villa package so no choice of carrier.

9 hour 51 min delay at Gatwick Dreamliner had air conditioning fault - TOM62 11th Oct. No proper information. Constant requests for updates ignored. Eventually offered meal voucher had to join line straggling across main departure area while one person handed out voucher after checking ticket and boarding pass. Eventually took off after replacement standard plane flew in from Manchester. First thing crew did was start selling tea and coffee. 25th Oct Cancun TOM63 Dreamliner another fault. 1 hour 30 min delay. Minimum information minimum concern from staff. Eventually took off. First thing crew started selling. One toilet in economy not working stewards refused to let people use premium loos. Cups marked economy in large print so we did not drink from premier ones. 11 hour flight was made a misery each way by Thomson disgusting attitude to customers.

Went on a Thomson cruise holiday which flew into and out of Pathos Cyprus. The aircraft was a Thomson marked modern Boeing 737-800. No problem with the plane as such but we were crammed into a small seating arrangement both ways. Our biggest gripe is the lack of customer care taken by the airline with regards health. It seems Thomson no longer let any fresh air into the cabins but other than the minimum requirement but just re-circulate the stale air on board. This leads to lots of people getting what's known as "Cabin Cough". They do this as it costs them extra money to circulate fresh air from outside in fuel costs. They are not alone many other airlines are now doing this it seems. This results in many of their passengers getting cold like symptoms.

Birmingham to Mahon and back (9-16th). The plane was a little dated and the seats were tightly packed together in a 3-3 formation. The plane was due to take off at 7.15 however due to a passenger becoming ill we had to wait for paramedics which meant we didn't take off until 8.10. The cabin crew were excellent dealing with the unfortunate ill passenger and constantly keeping the rest of us informed. Once in the air we were served hot food then drinks then duty free sales. There is no inflight entertainment on these short haul flights but this didn't bother me. The food was averagely priced for an airplane. The seats were cramped and had little leg room but I didn't find this an issue as the flight was only 2 hours long. As a nervous flyer I felt totally safe and comfortable with the outbound flight. Coming back was a different story. Once we were started boarding the plane the cabin crew were running around laughing joking and generally being unprofessional. I didn't feel safe in their hands whatsoever. Once in the air I ordered a drink for a woman to practically throw my change in my face. After I muttered she rudely snapped at me saying 'we are busy. You're not the only passenger who wants a drink'. All in all I would probably recommend Thomson for the simple fact that they do decent flights at decent prices. It's just a shame that the cabin crew on the returning flight weren't as nice as the ones from the outbound flight.

Flew back to London Luton from Dalaman in Turkey. The problem was not with the flight itself but the way Thomson uses Dalaman airport. They land about 9 aircraft within minutes of each other and they all (attempt!) to take off again within minutes of each other and the Airport simply cannot cope. The problem arises with the aircraft using remote parking spots on the airport apron. Passengers for these are shunted off into the suffocating basement of the terminal where there are about six gates with nowhere near enough room to accommodate passengers. So you get families with young children sitting on the floor and being treated like cattle. It's human nature - certainly amongst the British - to start forming queues which bear no relationship to the order in which the flights depart. One gate was being used for two different flights. There were no announcements from the departure gate staff even though some flights were delayed without any reference to it on the screens. Such confusion can lead to panic and stress situations - what a way to treat your customers! When we eventually got in a bus - the driver had no idea which aircraft he was supposed to decant us to - he had a choice of nine! When we eventually departed an hour late and after such a stressful boarding process there was not a hint of an apology from the Captain. Mind you he couldn't even remember the name of his Cabin Supervisor. All in all - pretty shambolic.

We flew back from Cancun to Birmingham on 5th October 2013. The outbound flight was good but the inbound flight was awful and not up to standard. We had paid the extra to Premium Club seats and was very disappointed. The entertainment did not work and we were unable to have the menu of our choice and was offered the economy menu as an alternative. The reading light did not work and with no entertainment it made the 10 hour flight extremely long and boring. The cabin crew were very friendly and helpful on the outbound flight but were less so on the inbound flight. Duty free was nearly non existent but there was sales pressure to buy the limited options available. We were advised by the cabin manager to put in a complaint. We had a a lovely holiday but the edge was taken off it by the very poor flight home.

We flew from Manchester to Sanford premium economy on 4th October - I was a little apprehensive after reading some of these reviews but we have no complaints whatsoever! My husband is 6ft tall and he sat in the window seat because I tend to fidget and like to move around - yes the armrest sticks out but no one seemed to have a problem! The crew were absolutely brilliant and couldn't do enough for us the food was delicious compared to some other carriers - it was lovely to be treated like adults with proper cutlery etc and it gave it that special touch. It's obviously a personal choice to go premium to pay that bit extra for the extra service and I wouldn't have been impressed if the rest of the aircraft passengers would've come through to use the toilets in premium cabin. We came back on the dreamliner a week later on the 11th October - we had different seats on the way back but still no complaints. Again the crew were fab - nothing was too much trouble for them they were very chatty whilst still being professional and I wouldn't hesitate to travel with Thomson again. People may say we 'fell lucky' after reading their reviews and the bad time they had but we're thoroughly satisfied with the aircraft and service and will be booking again soon. My only complaint is that our holiday didn't last long enough!

EMA-Sanford in premium on the Dreamliner. We had a pleasant flight both outward and inbound on the 787 dreamliner. It is a spacious comfortable aircraft the seats and legroom are very good whilst sitting but not that great when trying to sleep due to the lack of recline. They are also awkward to squeeze past if you have a window seat due to the centre console. The food and beverages served were reasonable. The cabin crew were good offering an efficient service. In my opinion a service that is at least as good as Virgin premium economy at a cheaper rate.

Gatwick to Larnaca Cyprus 18 Sep 2013 for flight only. As we thought seat pitch would be similar to Easyjet Aer Lingus and Ryanair we did not book premier seating. Wrong decision. We were right at the back of an old 757 in row 36. At 6'4" I could just get into the seat but could not sit back so stood until just before take off. A steward noticed me and after being told the seating was unacceptable arranged for alternative seating once airborne. Better. My wife at 5'5" could just sit down but uncomfortably. The seats had been crammed together so the pitch was too short. The seats were also narrower and the other 3 in our party had an uncomfortable flight out. During our week away I was constantly fretting about the flight back so the holiday was less than restful. On returning to Larnaca for the flight back we arrived early and the Thomson staff tried to convince us that the seat pitch was the same for Easyjet etc and we had not been relegated to the back as we had booked a flight only. They failed on both counts. However we then booked 2 premier seats as no more were available so the 2 men had plenty of legroom but no better seat width while our wives behind us had to suffer our seats reclining on their own. We were again in the back of the aircraft. The seats were uncomfortable as any padding had long since been compacted. Many other passengers in the back agreed they were much too restricted.