Thomson Airways

I regularly fly to Cyprus with Thomson but was none too happy when my return flight was arranged with Jet2.com Thomson charged me £320 for my flight and I found out from other passengers (on the Jet2 flight) that they had paid circa £180 for their flights with Jet2. What a rip off - no meals no entertainment and they arrange a budget airline for the return flight. I have flown with Thomson for over 20 years but they have now lost me as a customer.

I was unfortunate enough to fly from Tenerife South to Manchester early morning on the 3rd of October. The Boeing 767 was packed and I was sitting behind a woman who thought it would be fun to slam her reclining seat hard into my knees which because of poor leg room and my height (1.88m) were touching the back of her seat. I told her that her reclined seat was causing me pain. At this point a member of the cabin crew arrived. After informing him of the problem he told me that she was quite within her rights to move the back of her seat and that I should have informed Thomson of my knee problem before the flight. He then went away and did nothing further until after an hour of agony my wife insisted that another seat be found for me. This he grudgingly did. Whilst I have to concede that there are people in this country who are prepared to let others endure over 4 hours of agony whilst they lay back in comfort. I do not expect this behaviour to be condoned by Airline staff.

Gatwick to Marsa Alam return on a fairly new packed 737 both ways. Both flights left on time and arrived early. On both flights the cabin crew worked hard to ensure every passenger was able to buy food / drinks / duty free etc and cannot be faulted in their diligence or cheerfulness.

Exeter to Tenerife and return in a 737-800. Took off on time and arrived at both destinations early. Got the seats we selected and the only problem was the leg room which I found a bit tight but managed the 4 hours without any aches and pains. The cabin was very clean and the CC were pleasant but very busy. Cockpit kept us well informed throughout the flights. All in all not bad flights.

BFS-PMI. Quick check-in at both airports pleasant crew meal is expensive but nice and fresh. B737-800 was clean so were the toilet facilities there is no entertainment as its short haul flight. We had pre-booked our seats in front rows so had enough legroom.

We flew from Glasgow to Cape Verde islands Boa Vista like most people the plane was very cramped. It took around 6.5 hours to get there we did get the usual meal but again no inflight entertainment. Coming home we were advised we didn't have enough fuel to get home and had to stop at Gran Canaria (for one hour) to re-fuel. Again we got food but no entertainment and the flight was just over seven hours in total. Not a great flight in either direction but like a lot of people there is less and less choice in holiday companies available unfortunately.

Travelled from East Midlands to Sharm and I don't think I have ever been more uncomfortable on a plane. There was absolutely no room to move and the staff had forgotten to smile. Thomson proudly boast they take more people on holiday than any other airline it is likely the also do this on fewer aircraft's!

Return from Gatwick to Luxor 12 and 19th September 2012. At 1.95 m the seating plan made the trip absolute torture. My wife is 1.58m and had very little room to spare - when a seat reclined she had her first attack of claustrophobia on an airplane ever. Cabin crew expertise extend only as far as selling overpriced horrible food booze and cigarettes. Other airlines shift passengers around for the sake of comfort and safety when things are tight - quite infuriating when some passengers were allowed to sleep across 3 seats when others cant even sit with their legs pointing forward. Check in staff on the 12th at Gatwick were rude and dictatorial. Paid 24 pounds for being 2 kgs (combined between my wife and I) over what was a pathetic baggage allowance. We travelled with them as 'holiday experts' but really every aspect we can do ourselves.

Flight Luxor-Gatwick 5.5 hours (plus 1.5 hours kept on plane by Port Authority) As others have commented absolutely no room whatsoever to read or attempt comfort and I and a friend are only 5ft 1". My husband and another friend both 6ft 2" struggled in pain. Crew knock you sideways in your seat every time they whizz through the aisle with no apology. The seat space is criminal. Food - what food? They told us they didn't have anything as the previous flight had had it all. But they have alcohol at an extortionate cost even tea and coffee are charged for! Crew - manners were obviously alien to them. Night flight lights were left on - but you won't get comfortable enough to sleep anyway.

London Gatwick - Antalya return - Boeing 767. Overall this was OK. We used the day before check in at Gatwick which was superb - no queues and on the day just turned up at Gatwick and went straight to security. Boarding at Gatwick was by row which meant no hassle on the plane. At Antalya boarding was a free for all and a bit messy. We sat towards the back of the plane both ways and at 6'2" I had enough legroom! Certainly more legroom on the 767 than the 757's. TV screens in all seat backs however nothing shown other than the 5 different Thomson images for the entire flight. They could at least have put the map on to show where we were flying over. Cabin Crew were fine and friendly both ways but what lets the Thomson holiday experience down is the onboard service. Food portions were small and quite expensive for what you got. Drinks prices were very expensive. Luggage limits are also small so you're forced to pay more. The whole Thomson airways short haul feel is a low cost and tacky. There's nothing to get you in the holiday mood on board. All other elements of the Thomson package are slick and glossy apart from the flights.