Thomas Cook Airlines » Short haul

Thomas Cook's short-haul flights offer a basic 28-inch seat pitch, which will be a tight squeeze for some. It makes a distinction between flights under three hours, which are classed as short-haul, and those of three to seven hours, which are called medium-haul, despite the fact that the same aircraft are generally used.

Mid-haul flights include Turkey, Canary Islands, Cyprus, Morocco, Egypt, Gambia, Malta, Bulgaria and Tunisia, Greece and the Greek Islands.

Like all charter airlines, Thomas Cook makes you pay for things that used to be free. Expect to fork out for food and alcohol unless your tour operator has advised you otherwise.

On most short and medium-haul flights, Thomas Cook has now dispensed with the overhead entertainment screens for which it used to charge £5 for headphones. It says that only 10% of passengers used the system and has now switched to PlayStation Portables which offer eight films and seven TV programmes. PSPs cost £7.50 per person. A "splitter", which allows two people to use one PSP, is another £5.

Seat reservations also cost extra. If you bought your tickets through a tour operator, sitting together on a short-haul flight will cost a family of four a hefty £34 on top of the ticket price, or £38 medium-haul - and you still won't be allocated seats until check-in. 

If you bought through a tour operator and want to choose your actual seat, it will cost a family of four £40 extra return. If you didn't buy through a tour operator, the same deal will cost an astonishing £74 extra in short-haul and £78 medium haul.

Similarly, if you want an exit seat - the only option for extra legroom - that will cost an extra £30 return on your basic short-haul fare or £50 return medium-haul. All reservations must be made three days before departure.