Eastern Airways

Not Verified |  Aircraft interior was decent, comfortable seats, some good legroom in front row seats. Cabin crew definitely needed a bit of polishing in terms of professionalism and customer service. The purser treated the passengers with disdain and loud conversations between cabin crew and the flight deck about non-related work "banter" gave a bad impression. Pilots were fairly jarring in cabin announcements blaming various other parties for delays, which also felt unprofessional. Shut the flight deck door if you're going to make phone calls about the location of the tug- the passengers don't need to hear.

✅ Trip Verified | Used to use this airline for my weekly commute to work. Would only use them in exceptional circumstances now. Good points - the crew are always great and I can say the same about all the ground/gate staff I have come across at both Gatwick and Newquay. Bad points - fares have shot up and remain expensive, no flexibility unless you pay a premium fare, minimal luggage allowance, limited refreshments on board (you can only drink so much tea and eat so much shortbread/cheeselets), inconsistent service levels from customer service team (I call out S**** who was great the few times I needed assistance, other people have been useless) However, their biggest downfall is when things go wrong (which they do all the time with no notice and poor comms) they only pay your EU261 compensation when you make a massive fuss. Happened to me yet again, took 43 days for them to reply to my compensation submission and now say up to 3 months to receive payment. I had already paid out for four trains and a £100 taxi to get me where I needed to get to on time. There are people reviewing on here that they are taking over 6 months to make payment. Similar thing happened on one of the big low cost airlines and compensation was paid within 48 hours. I would only leave such a review having exhausted trying to rationalise with them directly which proved a waste of time. For the Newquay route I would advise to use the other airline that flies to London or even the train. More reliable, less stress.

✅ Trip Verified | My wife and I had travelled to the US via Paris CDG taking the Eastern flight from EMA to CDG with an onward flight CDG to SLC on Delta. On the return journey, Eastern just cancelled our flight leaving us stranded in Paris CDG airport and did not answer any emails or book accomodation etc. We had to wait 24 hours for their flight the next day. I am retired but if I wa still working this would have cost me dearly in lost earnings not to mention the inconvenience of finding a hotel most of which were fully booked due to the olympics. I assume it was lack of passengers booking as the flight the next day was less than half full. But what a shambles. I will never fly with them again.

✅ Trip Verified | I've been working in Cornwall since April 2023 and shall be until January 2024. Give the distance, frequency of return home and drive time as Eastern flew into Newquay from my local airport, Humberside it seems so logical to use them. Initially not too bad. It seemed there was usually a 15 minute delay on published take off times but this is live withable. There were 4 instances however where flight times were changed at short notice and cancelled the day before. In one case the HUY flight had be be taxied to EMA to catch a flight. Once the seasonal flight stop I flew NQY to LGW. What an absolute nightmare. Planes late leaving meaning onward connections missed, planes breaking down on the apron, everyone disembarking and them getting on to another one. Coming out of LGW, delays being sent to the wrong gate and not being told where to go. This is the only airline I've use where you have flight anxiety as to is it going to take off and if so how late will it be. They are shockingly poor. In the last time I had a flight booked with them from LGW while on the train into London, I checked to see if the flight was on time and it was running 4 hours late. My only alternative was to book a train and caught that, ironically I was in the hotel 3 hours before the flight would have touched down. Will never use them again, would rather walk. The customer services is hit and miss at best, mostly they are rude and full of themselves. Staff on the planes are fine but let down by the company and the reliability and quality of the aircraft. It seems not only were my flight affected but looking at other review site of others comments you get a better picture of just how poor an airline this is.

✅ Trip Verified | My review is very similar to others, if you actually get to fly the onboard service was decent for a short propeller flight. Friendly crew and a drink, snack given. The key is "if" you get to fly, my return flight was cancelled at the last minute and alternative offered was to be squeezed into a taxi with other passengers for 5 plus hours and miss my last train home from Gatwick which would leave me abandoned at Gatwick overnight. Or fly the next day but they won't pay for an overnight hotel in Newquay or any taxi fees or expenses. Wouldn't use them again due to being unreliable and obstructive in handling my compensation claim. Shame the front line staff were good its the behind the scenes staff who are unhelpful. Train for me next time.

✅ Trip Verified | Eastern Airways Customer Services does not exist. Wow. Problems with my flight both ways and so rude when I have tried to sort this out. Booked through a third party - "Well you chose to book through a third party". No responsibility for any of the many issues that occurred with the flight, the delays, the service received at both airports - brick wall. Where is the compassion, the understanding, the service to customers - so hostile and unhelpful. I am battling between 3rd party suppliers and Eastern Airways with inadequate support from Eastern Airways. Avoid at all costs. Two planes faulty, (one passenger could not re embark due to the frightening experience) lack of communication, travelling with children and left on the tarmac in cold and rain - wow. Not the airlines fault apparently. Such poor service and support.

✅ Trip Verified | I recently had the pleasure of flying with Eastern Airways from East Midlands, and I must say that the experience exceeded my expectations in terms of genuine warmth, friendliness, and personability. Right from the moment I stepped foot on the aircraft, I was greeted by a genuinely friendly crew who exuded a warm and welcoming. Throughout the flight, the crew members went above and beyond to ensure the comfort and satisfaction of the passengers. What truly set this flight apart was the crew's personable approach. They took the time to interact with passengers on a personal level, engaging in friendly conversations and offering helpful recommendations. It felt more like flying with a group of friends rather than being mere passengers. This personal touch made the journey feel special and created a pleasant and memorable experience. In conclusion, my experience with Eastern Airways was characterized by a genuine, friendly crew who made the flight enjoyable from start to finish. Their warm and personable approach created a positive atmosphere and left a lasting impression. I would highly recommend Eastern Airways to anyone seeking a memorable and pleasant flying experience.

✅ Trip Verified | My wife, daughter and I used Eastern Airways to fly from Humberside Airport in the UK to Esbjerg in Denmark. We had a number of reasons for choosing Eastern: The proximity, as Humberside is only a 10 minute drive away; and our daughter has a disability that requires her to have lots of medical equipment with her in the cabin; she requires mechanical ventilation, via a trachea when flying and it was our daughters first flight. We believed Eastern as a small local airline could provide the service we would need to make the trip a success. They did not disappoint. From my initial communication with customer services, to our 2 flights, all the staff were helpful, considerate and went above and beyond. Nothing was too much trouble and they pulled out all the stops to ensure the medical equipment could be accommodated. At one point the captain of the plane enquired with the air steward about our daughter’s welfare. Very impressed and would not hesitate to use the airline again. We have told friends and family about the route offered by Eastern and recommended them for a break to Denmark. Cannot praise the airline enough and special mention to customer services, the staff and the captain who was on both journeys.

Not Verified | After both flights were cancelled we were made to rearrange other flights, upon trying to claim the cancelled flights back through the 3rd party (Opodo) they said that there is no evidence that the flights were cancelled. I called Eastern Airways for one thing, an email from them confirming that the flights were indeed cancelled so that I could forward that to the 3rd party and progress with the refund process. At this point I, unfortunately, met with a customer service representative, it was pretty clear from the get-go she was more interested in speaking than offering me some help. I appreciated that this booking was made through a 3rd party but I just needed clarity. After repeating herself over and over telling me it basically wasn't her problem, to the point where her tone was something I wouldn't expect from anyone within a customer service environment, rude, abrupt and a complete disregard for the situation. I suggested that she is obviously is working from home because she would never speak to a customer like this in front of other colleagues she then said "No I'm in an office and you are on loudspeaker" and then got her colleagues to confirm that I was on loudspeaker by shouting from across the room that they could hear me. This bothers me for a few reasons, 1) the amount of effort that was taken not to help me could simply have been applied to sending an email and I would have come away from that phone call being a happy customer. 2) When I called I was greeted with a message informing me that there is a high wait time, however, Eastern Airways can afford to have 3 employees listening to a phone call. I am assuming that customers were waiting in a queue whilst these customer service representatives sat around and listened to the representative telling me should wouldn't help me for 15 mins. 3) What on earth am I doing on loudspeaker anyway? I hope that the phone calls are recorded so that this can be looked into, I will be sending an email to customer services and let them know of what just happened. I hope that her manager was not one of the ones that shouted across the room confirming that they could hear me.

✅ Trip Verified | I am very disappointed in the customer service I received. I expected a bit more flexibility to change my ticket considering the new and immediately imposed government lockdown rules in the north of England. I am angry that I can’t visit my family, and that’s not the airlines fault but I would think they would want to treat their customers well to encourage flying as I would think that some airlines are probably struggling at the moment. Keep the £60 but lose a customer for life. Shame as quite decent flight routes in the UK and checked in bag included in ticket price which most budget airlines charge for. Will be using EasyJet and LoganAir for internal UK flights from now. Regret booking and will always recommend against using Eastern airways.