airblue

MAN-ISB on 4th August. Flight delayed 24 hours! No apology given and no explanation only found out later that they did not have a pilot to fly the plane back to Islamabad! Even though Airblue has acquired bigger plane for this non-stop route the seat width and comfort is still same as before put simply its uncomfortable for such long haul flight. There is no inflight entertainment as they have taken the Seat-back TV screens off every seat so 9 hour long flight is pretty boring unless you take your iPad or a book with you. Got served two meals firstly a very minimalist dinner with rice chicken and some salad. About 2 hours before landing they served second so- called meal which was just a chicken role and a drink. Staff seemed clueless and not very helpful. Return flight on 20th October from Islamabad was again delayed by 3 hours. Airblue staff checking-in the passengers on their laptops so it seems that they are not allowed to use proper airport facilities either or could it be a cost- cutting measure. After the announcement for boarding all the passengers were filled into mini buses to be taken to the plane. When reached near the plane the buses took U-turn and came back to terminal without any explanation. Staff then told that due to catering service delay captain has asked them not to start the boarding process yet! They lack service commitment care and are a very poor value for money. I will never recommend this airline to anyone pay little bit extra and you will avoid long delays cramped seating poor and minimalistic food rude unhelpful staff and overall a very badly organised airline.

Abu Dhabi to Lahore. Flight delayed 2.5 hours. Reached Lahore after 2.5 hour delay but misery was not over. It took 2 hours for luggage to be transferred from aircraft to the luggage belt. So overall delay was 4.5 hours including everything. Inflight staff weregood in behavior. No inflight entertainment. Food was fresh and good a chicken wrap with cold drinks/juices and tea/coffee. Table was dirty I had to clean it myself using tissue before I could eat. During online booking I reserved window seats however at check in they issued me aisle seats. When I inquired about my online reservation the staff were very rude in letting me know that they did not have window seats available. I would not recommend!

Return Manchester to Islamabad both times plane was delayed with no apologies service was appalling staff were unfriendly food was awful. Would not recommend this service. Though they may be slightly cheaper shop around and use another service.

Recently went from MAN-ISB delayed for more than 2 days. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 21.50pm on Friday night ended up going on Monday at 1am. We went through customs a total number of 3 times. They did give a us a hotel on both nights first night was in Manchester then on the second night a Birmingham hotel as they were no hotels available in Manchester. What a joke. They fed us chips and beans throughout the time despite the fact it was Ramadan in Aug. The flight overall was ok and the food was good and you expect baggage to come within the hour which it did. On the way we experienced a 5 hour delay however at the start they had cancelled the flight. I would never go on this airline again even if you paid me. Am going to stick with PIA though they not as good as Emirates.

March 2013 from Manchester to Islamabad and back in April 2013. Take off 30 minutes late we didn't get any drinks nor any food for the 1.5-2 hours. After the food they just left the drinks trolley on its own. The seat arm with all the light and fan buttons - none were functioning. They left the lights on during the night flight which made it very difficult to sleep. Served good food and service was ok.

Manchester to Islamabad return. The quality of food was appalling the service was awful and check in staff in Islamabad were rude and totally lost. They charged extra Airport tax from some passengers and some they let go without asking for it. The flight was nearly 1.5 hours late from Islamabad. Instead of blaming their staff for inefficiency they blamed the passengers. Some of the food was stale. Requests for drinking water were ignored or dealt with half an hour later. I shall never travel this airline again.

KHI-DXB. Had to go earlier to DXB change of booking was very easy check-in was a little bit slow but ground staff very friendly. Flight was very early in the morning so after the check in I fell asleep. The friendly ground staff woke me up at the last minute. Flight was on time the plane in good condition nice seats and good legroom. On the flight they served a hot snack and hot and cold drinks. Would fly them again.

MAN-ISN direct. Flight delayed 26 hours! After sitting at the airport for 6 hours we were taken to a hotel room. Six hours later they took us back to the airport and we had to spend the remaining hours at the airport. Served chips 3 times in 26 hours (this was them taking care of us). When we eventually took off there were no flight entertainment. It took them 1.5 hrs to serve food. 3 hours later somebody came to pick up the rubbish. Throughout they left the lights on (on a night flight). No air conditioning in the air and no leg room.

LHR-AUH A319. At check-in told the flight was delayed 3 hours however airport information board did not show this delay. After 30 mins the flight was delayed 2 more hours. After 3 hours it was delayed another 7 hours. No responsible person from the airline available for answering queries. In spite of 12 hours delay no hotel room provided. The food given in the lounge was not worth eating. All this while there was no airline staff to facilitate or compensate on anything. A 15 hours delay and no compensation whatsoever. The plane itself was very cramped. The air hostess friendly and food was fine.

MAN-ISB-MAN (via Ankara). Outbound flight was over 2 hrs late but got a call from Airblue staff 5 hrs before departure time informing me of this. Check-in staff were friendly. Take off was nearly 3 hrs late on small airbus A319 which obviously is not designed for over 4000 miles flight. Seating is configured in 3x3 setting and very cramped. Aircraft was full on both legs of the journey no inflight entertainment at all. Meal was excellent though drinks were served frequently as well as on demand. Flight crew were friendly and willing to help but noticed that they are generally slow in serving meals. Upon landing at ISB baggage was out quickly. Inbound flight from ISB was delayed by 30 mins one hot meal served and from Ankara to MAN only a wrap with a drink was served which I found inadequate for 10.5 hr flight. Overall I found Airblue to be average. Cheaper option compared to others excellent food good inflight staff. However small plane which is painfully cramped and seating inadequate for long haul flight with a lack of inflight entertainment.