Tunisair

LHR-TUN return. Outbound experience was a complete nightmare. Terminal 2 at LHR is a joke. Arrived at check-in 2hrs 20 mins before departure and queued for 1hr 15mins to be served. TU are handled by Air France who handle other airlines in T2. Only 2 check-in desks were open for the bank holiday weekend/half term week. When we did manage to check-in my party of 6 were split up although I had pre-assigned seats on the TU website when I made the reservation in January this year. Called TU reservations in London 2 days before to reconfirm my assigned seats. Flight was delayed 1 hour due to the late arrival of the aircraft from Tunis. TV departure screens displayed boarding so all passengers went to the gate on time and were then told about the delay and could not leave the gate area. The actual flight was very uneventful. Staff were rude and seemed extremely stressed. One stewardess actually pushed a child out the way who was in the aisle. My nephew had a child meal. The tray arrived with a NLML sticker on it (which is actually a Non Lacto Meal). Regular meal was pretty bad on a tiny tray. I opted for the chicken hot which was bland and for some reason was coated in egg/omelette style coating!? Asked for a cup of tea at the appropriate time and got coffee. Stewardess realised mistake shrugged shoulders and walked off. Never got the tea! Had a quarter bottle of local white wine with the meal but it was off and tasted like vinegar (didn't bother asking for another one). Return flight was more successful. Managed to get Business Class seats for us although we were separated but this didn't matter. Flight was an all economy service although there was a business class section. Seat was comfortable but not sure I'd pay for it. Last minute gate change at Tunis without any announcements. Boarding was a bit chaotic with families first then supposedly rear seats followed by forward seats. Could not believe the meal! Was expecting a hot meal on a tray but was given a plastic packed Tuna sandwich (no choice)... No tray either so no napkin no cake/salad not even a cup for tea/coffee. GB Airways last year were much better - just a shame they don't fly out from LHR! Anything good to say about TU?? Book in advance and you could get a really good fare. I paid £105 rtn including tax

TU is the bargain carrier between BEY and DXP and it shows. Outbound ex BEY on TU833 on 28 March '06 Y class. My comments mirror Peter's comments from '04 posted below. Flight arrived on time ex Tunis well- handeled on the ground by MEA boarded ontime and arrived in DXB early. Bags arrived. Good. However onboard you realize why it's cheap. The Airbus was dirty seats were broken toilets in disrepair and untidy. No sevice whatsoever for the frist hr of light. Then a dinner service (at 4:30am DXB time!?). Same comments as Peter except that there was no choice of unappetizing tough meat dishes!). At one point I was standing in the aisle and a female fllight attendant approached me from the rear and shoved me into my seat. No "excuzez moi" or anything! (A first for me in over 25 years of international travel) I yelled at her in Arabic and all I got was a Gaullic shrug in response. the lights were kept on full force until they finished Duty Free sales. In-flight entertainment was watching the progression on the little o/h monitors. At least it induced sleep! Smiles not returned by the flight crew. Return flight TU834 on 2 April '06 was better - slightly. Poor check- in procedures by local agent kept many of us waiting endlessly while they dealt with a costomer who seemed not to want to pay for his many extra bags. Thus no time DXB duty free shopping despite being at the check-in 2hrs early. . Better plane this time friendlier crew - but not by much. Better food but no doubt catered in DXB. Don't waste your money on C class. Seats can't be any wider than Y class and in Y class the armrests fold up so you can get some extra hip and elbow room and even stretch out if you are in an empty row. BTW still no English newspapers and only a few flight crew even attempt to speak it. The flight announcements seemed to be learned by rote and not really understood. Anyway its cheap.