Thomson Airways

Gatwick to Burgas. Was meant to be on a Boeing 787, but our flight had no plane and no crew, and ended up having over a 6 hour delay. To make matters worse we ended up taking off at 1.20am surrounded by a drunken stag party, using bad language in front of children, shouting, jumping on seats, and swinging on the back of seats, throwing food around, at one point even shouting for the children to put parachutes on ready to jump from the plane. Despite this the cabin crew continued to serve them double whiskey and coke in one hand and a beer in the other, topping them up all through the flight. I strongly disagree when their policy clearly states that no one under the influence of alcohol will be allowed to board the plane. Their case was that because the police had escorted this party onto the plane it was not Thomson's responsibility, but why did they continue to supply them drinks? So the rest of us passengers on that flight at 1.20am had to remain unhappy, very tired, unable to sleep and suffering abusive behaviour. I might add that the return flight was better but I have been put off Thomson by their attitude to this event - and the customer services told me this happens on a lot of flights.

Arrived at Gatwick to face a tediously slow 45 minute queue to check-in, before proceeding through the well renovated security clearance in North Terminal. Swift boarding, although flight was delayed an hour whilst sat onboard due to an ATC issue which required a rerouting. Frequent updates provided by a friendly Captain. Once underway food and drinks service prompt and although not generous, tasted good. PTVs are good but the fim/tv selection is very poor (c. ten films). Seat pitch good (33") and decent recline, although seats are narrow and can be uncomfortable when you've a large person seated beside you, as I did. On the return flight, smooth boarding by bus, timely departure and landed 45 minutes early. Meal service and duty-free took four hours to be completed, which left less than five hours to sleep before being awoken for a reasonably good English breakfast. All in all, an acceptable experience - you get what you pay for, value for money, and we only opted for Thomson due to the direct flights to Puerto Vallarta to visit friends - preferable to a two-stop option via MAD/MEX.

✅ Verified Review | Flew with Thomson Airways from Newcastle to Cancun on 09/06/16 and then returned on 23/06/16. Travelled in Economy, had toyed with the idea of booking Premium Club but decided against it. Flight from NCL to CUN was excellent, I had heard a lot about the 'Dreamliner' and thought it was just hype, turns out it really is a great aircraft. The cabin feels more spacious and the air quality much better than any aircraft I've flown on. As for the service, the cabin crew were attentive and had plenty of banter with the the passengers, the food was good and the entertainment system had a decent selection of films and movies to keep you occupied. The bar service was more than adequate, they came round an hour after we took off, served wine with dinner then another bar service later in the flight - you could go to the galley at any time to ask for a drink (on OB and IB flights they did start to run out of bar stock). The return flight was just as good, my partner and I had pre-booked the window and middle seats and ended up having no one sit in the aisle seat. Would most definitely recommend Thomson Airways if this airline is an option on the route you are flying. I flew BA to Orlando last year and this was a far better experience. Only thing I'll comment negatively on is he cleanliness of the planes, my tray table has stains on it and I could see that the whole aircraft could do with a deep clean - sort this out Thomson, you are flying state of the art aircraft that cost millions of pounds, keep them clean.

✅ Verified Review | Stupid 5kg limit on hand luggage. Ridiculous. My mini case weighs 2.5kg empty. Every other airline allow 10kg which should be what Thomson allow. Such a shame as everything else was great flying from Birmingham to Corfu. We paid extra for 20kg hold cases which even full only weighed 17kg so could have done with the extra hand luggage allowance. I did notice they will up grade it to 7kg if you pay! How petty .

✅ Verified Review | Checked in online and pre paid for seats, bag drop facility a was fairly quick with friendly staff. Security very pleasant and considering how busy the terminal was, quick and painless. Warmly welcomed onboard by the crew. The aircraft had clearly been on a fairly short turnaround as it was grubby looking in places, but spacious and the legroom was better than some leisure carriers (we were sat in row 17). Selection of drinks and snacks very good, including hot sandwiches. 2 drinks/snacks rounds, as well as duty free carried out. Crew were extremely professional yet friendly and chatty - on the 2 hour 50 minute flight, they worked extremely hard yet always with a smile. Landed on time and very quick processing in the small airport at Preveza. Would recommend and use again.

Preveza to London Gatwick with Thomson. We have always talked about memorable flights over the years and a Thomson Airways from Cyprus over 12 years ago always came to mind. However, our return flight from Preveza, Greece has just taken the prize. Flight delayed for approx 1.5 hours and sat in the aircraft awaiting clearance. The pilot kept us honestly informed with a touch of humour so the whole episode was quite relaxed. The cabin crew where brilliant and a credit to the airline. Smartly attired which is becoming a rarity, great humour and real attentive service.

✅ Verified Review | Flew with Thomson Airways in May from Stansted to Paphos return. The flight was on a Boeing 737-800 with the sky interior and large overhead lockers. The legroom was good for a 4 hour flight and seats were comfortable - I managed to sleep on the return as it was a night flight. The food was good and reasonable priced. The cabin crew were very efficient and friendly, and on the return journey, tried to get their services done quickly so that people could sleep. The plane was clean and we departed on time both journeys. No IFE, although we had a TV overhead with the airshow.

Trip to Jamaica on 21st May from Manchester with Thomson. Boarded on time, but an issue with seating in the economy cabin delayed us on the Tarmac for an hour. Cabin crew were trying to sit a woman next to her child, the passenger was not cooperating and the cabin crew didn't handle it well. When we were finally in the air, all of the crew were obviously not happy with what had happened, and proceeded to take it out on all of us poor passengers. No smiles or kind words, scared to even ask for another drink. The captain was good at keeping us informed though. On the return journey, crew were slightly better but as it was a night flight didn't see them much. Same issue on way back with seating but thankfully we weren't delayed. Inflight entertainment was rubbish to say the least, and 9 hours with nothing good to watch was not fun. Will try another company next time.

Flew from Birmingham to Crete and back for half term. I knew the 757 was quite a old plane, but the interior especially the plane on the way back was not only dirty with left over food from the previous flights, inflight magazines all stuck together and the general seat condition needed replacing / upgrading. I don't mind if the plane is old but the interior really needs looking at Thomson. On the positive the flight deck gave updates regularly and the cabin crew were helpful. We are using Thomson again (booked to go again next half term) just because the flight times from BHX at the moment to Crete are good.

✅ Verified Review | First time with Thomson and was very impressed with the speed and efficiency of check in both in Bristol and Naples despite long queues. Knew that food had to be bought so took sandwiches. Expected leg room to be tight but not bad. The main problem was that my husband was on the aisle seat of three, the other two seats being occupied by two enormous ladies. Yes, the extension belt fitted and the armrest was down but the flab came over and under so he really only had part of a seat. Not pleasant. Doesn't seem fair that very obese people have the same luggage allowance but anyone slimmer who is slightly over has to pay an excess. This problem can only get worse when travelling this way. Not the fault of Thomson whose flight left on time both on the outward and return journey.