Thomson Airways

We were meant to be flying the dreamliner from EMA on 12/06/13 to Mexico but because of the delays were we on a First Choice 767 - we upgraded to premium and don't regret it! Very smooth and quick check in fast tracked through security and through to departures. We were called first onto the plane seated handed drinks and newspapers before takeoff. Plenty of drinks all you had to do was ask and food was nice - for aeroplane standards. Seats were comfortable and aircraft was clean. Landed 30 minutes early into Cancun. On the way home we were checked in quickly due to priority boarding - very stress free! Booked to use the business lounge while we waited. Boarded onto the plane first blankets night packs and newspapers were on our seats and drinks were handed out. Again staff were very friendly attentive and chatty! Food came out and drinks - once service had stopped if you needed a drink all you had to do was press your call button. Breakfast served 1.30 hours before landing back to EMA. I would recommend travelling premium when going long haul it was worth it. The IFE was good there and back lots of films and TV to keep you entertained. I would recommend flying with Thomson.

Flew to Orlando (Sanford) from Bristol in May. Had pre-booked using the select your seat. Waited over 90mins in cramped check-in at Bristol while 2 people checked people in. Had no time to get breakfast and had to dash though Duty free even though arrived more than 2 hours before departure. No-one mentioned that the plane was a stand-in and not a long haul one! Asked to move as the back seat was empty - and staff let us. Coming back we asked what seats we had and were 2 rows from back - asked to move to back and said yes - but on both flights I only got the seats I wanted because we asked to move - when complained (nicely) to Thomson back home was told I was paying to sit with partner and I should have read the small print on website. Am flying with them again but will take my chances as the select your seat is just a rip-off!

Booked premium seating and chose rows 4 and 5 as these were best seats available on the seating plan I rang customer services to explain that my daughter was disabled and would prefer seats on the side of the plane that the toilet was situated if possible just for the ease of it. They explained that this was not possible as all the other seats were taken. I accepted this however on the day we were given seats next to the toilet which was perfect. The staff on this flight from Newcastle 17th June 2013 10.35am flight were very good friendly helpful and attentive best cabin crew I've had. The food was reasonable drinks were plenty. The only bad point I had but it didn't bother me a lot was mould on the cheese sandwich given towards end of flight. Flight left on time.

Thomson Flights say they offer 'Great customer service'. Not in my experience. Upon arriving at the check in desk at Stansted I got no words of welcome no pleasantries at all. A cold reception and unhelpful and unfriendly staff. I was left alone at the departure gate still awaiting the pre booked special assistance. I never got to venture inside the lounge I had paid for it was an awful experience for my very first visit to Stansted Airport. To top it all I was forced to pay almost £120 in excess luggage fees. I was told both check in staff 'I could throw away what I don't need there are bins dotted all around the airport'.

The major problem was the check-in system. There were hundreds of people queuing for several flights when we arrived at Manchester airport at 6.20am for our 7.55am flight to Innsbruck Not early enough obviously. There was no system for prioritising flights and we were called by tannoy from the queue eventually as we were going to miss the flight. We were not the only ones and were not the last to board. We ran through duty free carrying belts keys etc. There was no system for calling early flights to the front of the queue or for allotting specific desks to particular flights. I have anecdotal evidence that this situation arises every Saturday.

Manchester to Cancun 3rd May and Cancun to Manchester 18th May. The plane was dirty the inflight entertainment was poor with a choice of about 3 films and told when to watch them! The clips to the food tray were broken with rips in the seats the cameras to watch landing and take off was broken too. Staff were good! The food was okay when we arrived at Manchester Thomson had one queue for about 5 flights so needless to say we queued for 3 hours and had 10 mins in the duty free before we took off. Will be going back but I will try my best to not fly with Thomson. There was meant to be 2 meals for an 10 hour flight but we only received one? Entertainment poor staff good the plane itself was tatty and aged.

Pleasantly surprised having Just returned from holiday in Sicily flying with Thomson. Was extremely apprehensive after reading some reviews. No complaints whatsoever. Snacks good including decent cup of tea. Will not be at all anxious when flying with them again.

First flight with Thompson Airways and delayed almost 5 hours with no communication or compensation and had a 3 year old to contend with. Incurred costs for meals drinks and a taxi fare not previously budgeted for. Airport side terrible onboard better but only advised about vouchers once on board and due to late take off limited food options and long wait too. Overall experience outbound awful. Inbound better though food options restricted due to bad planning.

Flew to Jamaica from Birmingham in Premium Cabin on a 767-300er. What a fantastic flight! Service was top notch lots of drinks rounds by the staff food good and comfortable seating. Overall very happy. However the return journey was delayed from 17.20 to 22.00 no premium cabin so crammed into smaller seats. Luckily we had the bulkhead row so had slightly better legroom. Thomson handled the delay well. We still received the free drinks amenity packs upgraded food etc. Just not the bigger seats. In spite of still receiving most of the perks we have received a refund of the premium fare.

Arrived at check in 3 hours prior to our flight. After Thompson closed the check in desk as it became uncertain that flight TOM517 would be flying. Told to sit and await news 2.5 hours passed with no news or information. Some 30 mins before a Manchester flight was to depart it was announced there were so many spare seats that all passengers on TOM 517 would be getting on. After being left no alternative we checked in and rushed onboard. This flight was in fact delayed. Moments before check in we were informed our checked bags would be delivered to our house around 48 hours after we returned home. During the flight the pilot announced there was nothing in place to make our transfer to Birmingham smooth. Had we of wished to fly from and to Manchester we would have booked cheaper tickets and driven ourselves to this airport. After we were taxied to Birmingham international via coach arriving at 4.45am we were met by a Birmingham Airport representative that told some of the group their baggage had arrived. I am a very frequent flyer and have never experience such bad service followed by disorganised unclear poorly managed resolution.