Transavia

VLC-AMS. The boarding arrangements appear to be poorly managed with little evidence of co-ordination or teamwork. The already delayed flight was subjected to additional delay because of the inefficient boarding system. Cabin crew stood aside as passengers took their time to place their luggage while blocking the aisle. There is little sense of urgency or purpose on the part of the crew. I narrowly missed a connecting flight in AMS as a result.

Orly-Heraklion return. Tickets are cheap if you buy at least 1 month in advance. All flight on time aircraft clean and modern B737-800. Onboard crew were nice the seats comfortable with good legroom. Both inbound and outward the plane was not full so I moved to another seat without any problems.

Paris Orly to Luxor return from Hurghada to Paris Orly. The flights themselves were as good as on any other airline. I appreciate being able to pre-reserve an emergency exit seat for a supplement of 20 Euros. However I have downgraded my score because of one very unpleasant incident - 3 weeks before the return flight I was contacted to be told the flight times had changed from 13.00 on Saturday to 01.55 on Sunday. I found this unacceptable but was able to re-route via Hurghada instead even though this meant an additional 4 hour road journey. But that is preferable to a miserable short half night flight.

No check-in machines available at Alicante and no online check-in so had to queue for boarding card with only hand luggage. On boarding there were other passengers in the seats I had reserved. Passengers refused to move and spoke only Dutch but none of the crew came to help there was no welcome aboard. My seat was broken and would not return to the upright position and when asked to rectify this on landing I explained the seat was broken only to receive the reply that Transavia is a low fare airline. I was offered no assistance whatsoever.

I was supposed to be at the airport 3.5 hrs prior to departure but the desk didn't open until 1.5-2 hrs before. No one at the gate until 30 mins before departure. Staff when they finally showed up were unfriendly. Poor service onboard the only service are the trolleys with merchandise I had to opportunity to buy a drink just once. Only 5 kg is allowed for hand luggage and only 1 bag.

Djerba-Nantes. Operated by the Dutch Transavia since the French sister company had a broken down plane. Crew all Dutch but Dutch purser spoke almost fluently French when addressing passengers in aisle. Very attentive crew (better than French Transavia crew) who were present a lot in aisle even during a night flight to Nantes. Pity the entertainment program was not in French but Dutch subtitled (probably the result of the Dutch branch taking over this particular flight). Very pleasant experience!

Amsterdam-Athens. Transavia was the third airline used on a recent trip and were by far the best. From easy online check in to modern clean aircraft with friendly efficient staff. The on-board snack menu and the cost of the items were about the same as other low cost airlines and entertainment was ok for a short flight. This flight also left on time which is a rarity these days.

Paris Orly to Granada Spain return. Web check-in available and working except for seat allocation not possible to change it even after ringing Transavia hotline (miserable service). Aircraft clean and modern poor inflight entertainment cabin crew friendly but not very professional. Good food and drink service - as a low cost airline everything has to be paid for but quality is OK. Aircraft delayed both inbound and outward without any explanation or apologies given approx. 1 hr late on each leg this airline does not look very efficient however the price paid is OK and Paris Orly much better than Roissy even though it is still a bad airport where something goes always wrong this time the bus to disembark was not there and we had to wait for 30 mins in the aircraft. Transavia seems OK if you go on holiday and are not too fussy about excellence or punctuality.

Amsterdam-Barcelona and back. While going I had 1 checked bag and 3 handbags - no problem. I paid for 1 bag. On the way back exactly the same bags and no extras but I was forced to check 3 instead of 1 and was charged 30 euros. The reason the bags even though 5-6 kgs (within the 10 Kg limit) were an inch or two outside the dimensions. When I got on the flight half of the people were cribbing as they went thru the same and the other half were carrying large bags in the cabin. It was sheer misconduct of one of the ladies checking in this flight. If you went to the man you were fine - if you went to this lady she was forcing everyone to check. But we couldn't do anything she was the boss.

AMS-BCN-AMS was able to book a day return a day ahead for 140 euros. Online check works only for a few airports including Amsterdam. Could use fast track security and KLM Lounge with Elite plus card but no miles on flights. Transavia colored 737 but inside it was half a GOL plane and half another airline with ridiculous change of decor half way the aircraft. Seat pitch is tight no inflight screens. Catering is for sale only with above average prices. Crew just ok. Arrival in old terminal in Barcelona that looks bad with all stores closed. Transavia does not allow for web check-in on return flights so had very long queue. I was told the flight was full but plane left with 20% open seats so I guess the remaining passengers got stuck at check in.