MarcusUK flew Thai Smile Economy, on a A320

BKK - Krabi south west Province of Thailand, has 4 Thai Airways flights a day.

Warning:
Some of these are listed as "Thai Smile".
They maybe 25% cheaper, but you are going low cost, though it is owned and run by Thai.

Check in and boarding at BKK done by Thai Airways, and they will charge extra for over luggage allowances.

I have taken many low cost carriers, but the seats on this new A320-200 were extremely cramped. I would say 28-29 inches only, at 5ft9 my legs were jammed to the seat oin front. The velcro cushion was digging in on the base as it was not put on right fitting. The flight was full with rows 30+ to 59 only...?

Music was blasting out of the speakers through the plane, better suited to a teenage birthday party, with boy bands, and very annoying to many people.
Screens every 5 rows came down to show cheap tacky clown like US TV of tricks in the street, pretty stupid and mind numbing noise again blaring out through the flight.
You could not cpeak to the person next to you and be heard!

A "chicken meat croissant" and glass bottle of water handed out in a plastic bag..which i gave back, was on offer for the 1.10 hr flight.

Hot drinks were luke warm bad coffee which i also left.

I could not wait to get off! I would NEVER choose such an aircraft with basic and cramped seats. Ryanair, Easyjey and Aur Asia have much better seat room, and better quality food and drink, and do not Blare music few people like, at you even when landing.

Use Thai better Aircraft for the other 2 flights a day, the 777 and A333 flights at other times, but you pay a little more but it is worth it.
A great mistake, and i would not recommend them at all. New, and they haven't got the balance right.
Bangkok Airways, or Air Asia are far better for the same price.

MarcusUK flew KLM World Business Class, on a B777-300ER

KLM alternate a 772/3-ER every other day (roughly) on this AMS-BKK route. The 777-300ER's are all less than 2 years old, and 777-200ER's around 6 years old +.

Check in for Business Class and Elite Plus members, offers fast track at Schiphol via immigration, and security at the gate, as well as boarding.
Use of the Intercontental Crown lounge is always a pleasure, calm, one of the largest lounges in Europe with terrific views and a nice ambiance. It is set between E/F terminals, the principle long haul gates at AMS.

But always remember what Shiphol offers to everyone, not to miss...
There is a Mini Museum arranged by the Rijksmuseum very near between the levels, which changes the paintings there each month or so. An library with ipads, and paper books also, A special area for children to read and play, also. There is a piano anyone can come along and play. A Physio holistic centre (with Dutch Registered Physiotherapists), offers massages, reflexology, fish and feet experience (urgh), O 2 boosts,and a water massage system, through a sunbed like machine. You feel wet but never get wet!

Schiphol has all the usual airport facilities but some amazing areas to rest, sleep, eat, and flavour Dutch culture, including a casino, and many things that simply do not exsist in Europe's airports.

The crews are always professional, natural and warm on KLM. The Senior Purser came round to introduce herself to all in WBC. The Cabin was also managed by the Junior Purser. Seats remain the best KLM have on the new 773's comfortable, nice large pillows, but are angled lie flat. You do find yourself slipping down a little and unless you sleep on your back it can be uncomfortable.
This is going to change with their new seats being fitted through the fleets now.

The menus were excellent featuring michelin star Chefs from Holland.
KLM have in the last 2 years greatly improved meals, using the aim "restaurant fresh" as from the kitchen, and it really is wonderful food. The tablewares were recently re-designed by Marcel Wanders, and all catering equipment now weighs 1/3rd of its orginal to save weight and fuel. It looks great also.

The wines features some world award winning Australia Dessert wines, and several chile, french, New Zealand experiences, with all the usual other refreshments. The presentation was excellent, standards one of the highes on board any Airline these days, and impeccable quality, ingredients.
I often fly and have Asian Vegetarian for long haul, so was given an abundance of breads, flavours of pickles, curry, fragrant rice, and really healthy aromatic foods.

Entertainment was easy to navigate, very wide screen as wide as the seat in front.

Slept for only around 4 hours, but with some quiet and peace, ready for breakfast served about 2 hrs before landing. KLM have a Hotel style breakfast card where you select your items before, which is delivered all ready in the morning, individually

Landed as always with KLM on time, luggage came out first as usual priority tagged.

An excellent flight for Long haul with KLM. New Aircraft, fresh natural friendly crew, clearly enjoying and happy in their work as compared to many Airlines these days, where you feel unhappiness and inexperience.

The Business Class will be upgraded as per the seat on 747's from now, and 777 fleets will follow next year, a little slow, but it is being done.
Schiphol itself can always be a rewarding an remarkable airport, if you look around and take some time to enjoy it, unique in Europe.

The fare was taken from a KLM sale of Business class. £1,340 (Equiv) each return Z class AMS-BKK, saving over £1,200 from the cheapest Airline option for two, ex LHR, and all its associated taxes, charges, and poor service.

AMS will remain a simply excellent gateway choice for travel througout Europe , worth travelling too, and is well utilised now for Ex UK business and leisure travellers. Great for KLM having such a hub, but they remain an impeccable Airline, well run and reflected through the whole experience from purchase to leaving the aircraft. One of Europe's best Airlines.

PatJordan flew British Airways Club Europe, on a A320

DUB-LHR-EDI (Club Europe& UK Domestic)

Booking and check in

In the wake of their takeover of BMI, BA have returned to the London-Dublin route, in direct competition with Aer Lingus. As a result, Club Europe makes a welcome return to this route.

I needed to go from Dublin to Edinburgh and with no time constraints, decided to explore the possibility of a reward flight with BA via LHR.

There was availability for the dates I wanted, and little trouble in making the booking. The total charges and fees were 125euro and 10,800 Avios. This was for both flights, DUB-LHR-DUB in Club Europe and LHR-EDI-LHR in UK Domestic. This was excellent value indeed, and provided a further opportunity to sample the BA product on the DUB-LHR leg.

As a BA Executive Club Gold Card holder, I was offered the opportunity to select my seats online at time of booking. The front rows of the Airbus 320 were available, and I chose 1A for DUB-LHR-DUB on both flights. I chose the same seats on LHR-EDI-LHR.

On line check-in is available 24 hours prior to travel, and I used this facility to print my boarding passes for all my flights.

I arrived at Dublin Terminal 1 just after 6.20am for my 07.50am flight and proceeded straight to security. Since Aer Lingus and transatlantic operators have migrated to Terminal 2, there is a lower number of passengers using T1 which makes it far less crowded than heretofore. BA Club Europe includes use of the fast track security lane which is useful. I was airside in less than a minute.

Lounge (Dublin)

BA use the Dublin Airport Authority executive lounge in what was formerly known as Pier B. The lounge used to be the Aer Lingus Gold Circle lounge and retains the same panoramic views of the apron. There is a variety of seat types: I chose a deep beige leather armchair beside the business area.

A small range of newspapers and magazines is available, and restrooms outside the lounge.

There is a very limited range of food: fruit, cheese, biscuits, crackers, crisps and packaged bread. Orange juice is available in small cartons in the fridge. Not the most enticing of offerings, and certainly below the standard of the majority of BA lounges.

The coffee, however, is good and strong (perfect for early morning!) with a good range of soft and alcoholic drinks.

The lounge is a short walk from gates 301-313 (the old B pier) and makes boarding quite easy. Flight information screens showed BA 0831 departing from Gate 313, which is very close to the lounge. The flight was called for boarding @ 7.20am, and I proceeded to Gate 313……..where the screen showed the flight boarding as an Aer Lingus to Berlin. Having asked a member of staff, I was assured that BA would be the next flight to board from there. Seconds later, the screen changed to BA 0831!

Boarding

Boarding is through an airbridge and rearmost rows are called first to minimize delays. Priority boarding is usually offered to Club Europe and BAEC Gold & Silver cardholders, but was not on this occasion. I presume this to be an oversight on the part of Servisair, BA’s handling agent in Dublin. After my boarding pass was inspected, I proceeded to the jetway where a number of passengers were waiting. After some 10 minutes of waiting (in a chilly area) we were informed that there would be a delay of approximately 30 minutes due to a technical issue and we would be informed of any developments.

I returned to the lounge, and an announcement made that any passengers booked in Club Europe with hand baggage only should report to Gate 313 to be rebooked on a later morning flight. I duly went to gate 313 where an agent was dealing with a customer. No other agents were in sight, so (along with a number of others so instructed), I waited. After some minutes, a number of Servisair staff arrived, and without any preamble announced boarding for BA 0831, with apologies for the delay.

Communication appears to be an issue amongst BA, Servisair and Lounge Staff.

Being in row 1 my hand baggage had to be stowed in the overhead bins, so if the flight is busy it can be worthwhile boarding early to ensure space is available close to the seat. There seems to be a high load factor on this route, so it is worth bearing this in mind.

The Airbus 320 was immaculate, with blue carpets and darker blue leather seats. The cabin is configured 3-3 with the first rows allocated to Club Europe. These have the middle seat converted into a table top with space for drinks, etc. It also allows for much more personal space, particularly in row 1.The cabin crew warmly welcomed passengers by name.

Inflight

The Captain gave a welcome, apologised for the delayed departure (explaining the precise details of the technical issue!), and details of flight time( approximately one hour).This was followed by a safety announcement from the cabin crew. We pushed back shortly afterwards and were airborne around 9.00am.

When cruising altitude was reached, there was a hot towel service, followed by a hot breakfast :

• Bacon
• Sausage
• Mushroom
• Tomato
• Scrambled egg

This was served with a cuplet of juice, sliced fresh fruit and a choice of warm breads & pastries. Feeling self indulgent, I asked for a snipe of champagne (Pommery) and thoroughly enjoyed the meal.

We landed in Heathrow around 10.15am, and were on stand shortly afterwards. There was a technical issue with the jetty, which could not be pushed positioned in such a way as to allow the aircraft door to open. The Captain was very apologetic and said that steps were being fetched. The steps outside obviously weren’t the right ones! After almost 20 minutes wait, the correct steps arrived, and passengers began to deplane from the rear of the aircraft. At this point, a technician had arrived to the jetty and within seconds it was in position so as to deplane from the front!

As I was flying onward to Edinburgh, I had the option of using the flight connection centre or going landside and approaching security directly. I chose the latter as past experience of slow security clearance using flight connections can be an issue.

T5 security

The fast pass lane was empty, and I was airside very quickly indeed.

Lounge

My Gold Status meant I could use the BA First lounge in south end of T5. Given the amount of comments regarding the new catering company, I was very interested to compare the new offering. On approaching reception, I was warmly greeted and welcomed to the lounge.

It is a very large and impressive lounge with several seating areas, excellent views of the apron and a smaller selection of international newspapers and magazines than heretofore. There is a huge choice of seat types too: finding a comfortable spot is certainly not going to be an issue!

There is a business centre which offers complimentary internet access, fax and printing facilities.

The range of food on offer is much less than before: jars of biscuits, plain crisps….and little else

There is a dedicated champagne bar which had a choice of Bollinger Rose, Eric Lemaine or Tattinger. I had a couple of glasses of the latter and thoroughly enjoyed them!

As well as the aforementioned range of food, there is a hot buffet self service area. Up to noon, breakfast is available, with lunch after noon.

The breakfast buffet was somewhat tired looking. It was 11.30am, but the bacon and mushrooms were very dried up and unappetizing. The grilled tomatoes were cold.

The new caterers’ buffet consists of:

• Fresh fruit
• Breads, scones, pastries
• Cereals
• Yogurts
• Bacon
• Pork sausage
• Scrambled egg
• Beans
• Mushrooms
• Toast

Additionally a number of items are available to order from a menu and are served on request. Again the range is greatly reduced:

• Poached egg & kippers
• Breakfast sandwich
• Boiled eggs & soldiers
• Porridge

There are a number of very friendly attendants who regularly ask of there is anything further they can fetch. The lunch menu begins at 12 noon, and the buffet changes to:

• Jacket Potatoes
• Pasta
• Rice
• A couple of curry/chilli type dishes
• Salads (but no cold meats)
• Small range of finger sandwiches

This is a much reduced range and appears to be of a quality similar to a Galleries lounge. It is almost identical to that which Star Alliance offer in their T1 Business lounge. However it falls short of what should be available in a First Lounge. Remember this lounge is the BA & One World flagship.

The table service menu consists of:

• A range of hot sandwiches
• Caesar salad
• BA Burger with sea salt & cracked pepper wedges
• Poached Salmon, crushed new potatoes with horseradish and sorrel cream sauce
• Szechuan chicken with wok fried vegetables
• Elderflower panacotta, berry compote
• Delice Chocloate Opera
• British cheeseboard: applewood, long clawson stilton, denhay cheddar, Bath Oliver biscuits with chutney, quince jelly.

The staff who serve these meals are very friendly indeed, and I ordered the Szechuan chicken. It was served quickly, and was presented in three separate dishes: chicken, rice, vegetables. It tasted as nice as it looked.

I had a long conversation with Sindy (BA Customer service in the lounge) about the catering. My views are that the buffets are vastly inferior, but table service very good indeed. It seems that many others have voiced similar views, and these are being actively considered, which is good to hear.

It is a learning curve for the new catering company, and only time will tell if they are able to meet the former standards which BA customers have come to expect.

Boarding (LHR-EDI)

Boarding is through an airbridge and there is a dedicated queue for BAEC Silver & Gold members. Boarding began almost as soon as I arrived at the gate, and I was on board very quickly.

The Airbus was immaculate and cabin crew warmly welcomed passengers. The seats are upholstered in Navy blue leather with adjustable headrests. UK Domestic is a single class service and seats are configured 3-3 throughout the cabin. I had selected 1A which I particularly like at there is no seatback in front of me. Unlike Club Europe, the middle seats are occupied, and it was a very full flight.

Inflight

The Captain gave a brief welcome, and details of flight times, followed by a safety video shown on a drop down screen.

Given the short flight time (1Hour) the service is basic but quite acceptable. There is a full bar service and a choice of crisps, nuts, etc. The cabin crew were excellent in all regards. We landed at Edinburgh on time, and were quickly on stand. It was a short walk to the arrivals hall and I was outside the building within minutes of landing.

Returning to Edinburgh airport later in the day, I went directly to security, which was very quiet and I was airside within minutes.

Edinburgh is quite small, but quite busy. BA’s lounge is well signposted and is opposite the departure gates. The lady at reception was very welcoming. This lounge is large, bright with lots of natural light from windows in the roof. There is no outside view, however. Unlike most BA lounges, restrooms are outside and shared with other bars.

There is plenty of space and I selected a quiet corner to read. There is a business section with complimentary internet access, printing, etc.

I was pleasantly surprised with the range of food: plenty of sandwiches, Scottish lentil soup, bread rolls, biscuits (in jars!) cheese, crackers and cold cuts. When the lounge got busy later, the staff excelled themselves in making sure the food was replenished regularly.

There was a good range of savoury nibbles and a full bar, with champagne served on request by very friendly staff. The friendliness and professionalism of the new company’s staff is exemplary.

The boarding gate for London Heathrow was adjacent to the lounge, with a separate lane for BAEC Gold & Silver cardholders.

The aircraft was identical to that on the inbound flight, with equally good service. We landed in T5, and deplaned quickly. After a short walk, I was landside and used the Heathrow Express to transfer to T1.

Security Heathrow T1

I arrived at security around 8pm for my 9.40pm flight. There were few passengers and I was airside within a few minutes. I have found security at T1 to be usually much more efficient that T5, and today’s experience mirrored this. After a small bit of shopping I made my way to the lounge.

Lounge Heathrow

The former BMI Lounge is very big and was refurbished shortly before the BA takeover. I was curious to see what changes had been made since my last visit. The décor and furnishings remain unchanged, as does the very relaxing night time lighting. I was pleased to learn that I would be boarding from Gate 8 right beside the lounge.

There was a good range of newspapers & magazines, and a business area with complimentary internet access.

The food on offer consisted of the remains of a vat of mushroom soup: scraping the bottom yielded just enough to half fill a bowl. There were no bread rolls left, nor sandwiches. There was some tired looking sliced cheese with crackers. Bowls of fruit and crisps were available, with very few biscuits.

The very least I expected would have been a decent bowl of soup and a sandwich: I was very disappointed in the fare on offer.

Boarding

My Dublin bound flight boarded at gate 8, almost beside the lounge. There is a dedicated lane for BAEC Gold/Silver card holders and Club Europe passengers..

The Airbus 320 was identical to that on the inbound flight . The cabin crew warmly welcomed passengers. The flight was quite busy both in economy, and Club Europe.

After a welcome announcement from the Captain, we pushed back at just before 9.40pm. During a lengthy taxi, the cabin crew gave a safety demonstration. Followed by a hot towel service, however.

The meal offered was a cold plate (sliced salami, prosciutto with shredded vegetables) but no warm breads. Having had such a poor offering in the lounge, I was hoping for something more substantial, but given the lateness of the hour a light meal might be deemed appropriate. I asked for a glass of champagne, and was served a snipe of Pommery. This was nicely chilled, and a replenishment was offered which I gratefully accepted.

The flight landed on time, and after a short taxi, we were on stand and deplaned. There was no delay at passport control and I was landside very quickly.

Conclusion

The UK Domestic product is perfectly acceptable for such short flights. Given the full flights between London and Edinburgh, the travelling public agree.

As to the Club Europe product, I was disappointed with the boarding and deplaning on the DUB-LHR flight, but felt that LHR-DUB was let down by the very poor lounge experience. The new caterers in BA lounges have not yet managed to equal the previous standard, but may well get there in time.

Festering flew Jet2 Economy, on a B737-300

Being registered disabled I have to give only 1 point on each count of my ratings for JET2. In fact I have never flown with this airline and because of my disability and JET2 policy relating to my class, am very unlikely to do so.

I made enquiries of JET2 with a view of a flight to Turkey from East Midlands airport. The reply was a shock in that while there may be seats specially designated for the disabled, thay are actually just seats! Apparently there are no extra leg room seats on the B737-300 and JET2 made great play on the fact that only able-bodied passengers are allowed in the seats adjacent to the exits. (Teach me to suck eggs) This to someone who has been flying before we had jet aircraft.

I suppose it could be worse there are airlines that do have extra leg room seats but wont designate them until check in. So if there are more disabled passengers than available seats someone well over six feet tall with excruciating Arthritis may have to be extracated having to winched out of his seat at the end of the journey.

TimFitzgeraldTC flew Etihad Airways Pearl Business, on a B777-300ER (three class)

I travelled as part of a group to our annual conference on the 16th May to Abu Dhabi on 20. As the trip was partly sponsored by Etihad they gave a good offer to upgrade to Business round trip as as I wasn't paying for the rest decided that this would be worthwhile. And I wanted to try Etihad Business Class. As on a special deal I didn't get the chauffeur service (not a problem but can't comment on this).

So my trip from Brighton meant I left my door at 10:40 for the 10:49 train to Victoria, a change at Clapham Juntion in 5 minutes for the Feltham train and then the 490 Bus from Felthams station (every 12 minutes) to T4 (bus goes onto T5). This took 15 minutes so made it to the check in desk by 12:20 for a 14:45 flight. Very easy and cheap (used Oyster for the bus service).

For anyone travelling from the south coast I can't recommend this route highly enough if you aren't using a car and wanting to avoid central London train/tube.

I had checked in online the night before and got window seat 7A. Seatguru website actually had this seat listed as last row in the front cabin whereas it is the first row of the main cabin. The seat map on the online check isn't great - this could be much improved.

Check in was quick and I only had hand luggage. Made my way to security with Fast Track pass. T4 Fast track was very slow (a couple of Americans weren't impressed). It was quicker than the normal security queues but as T4 has many international travellers whose first language isn't English I would suggest that they have 2 security lanes open for Fast Track at T4. This isn't the fault of Etihad - but they could pressure the airport to improve this.

T4 itself isn't all that, but got a couple of books and then headed to the Etihad lounge. I was the first of my colleagues to get there but quickly joined by another 5 of us in Business Class. They also allow economy passengers to pay £45 to use the lounge, so some of my other colleagues who hadn't paid to go Business also took the opportunity to try the lounge.

Overall it was good, not as good as some of the other lounges there but the food was good (especially the duck) and service was quick and efficient. I also had a 10 minute neck and back massage before the flight which was a nice unexpected bonus.

Flight was delayed by 30 minutes so got to use the lounge for a bit longer and we were called when flight was ready to board. Boarding was very quick and easy. Directed to my seat 7A. Couldn't swap as the flight was full so close to the loo and I wouldn't suggest this (I had 9A on the way back - much better seat).

Pre take off drinks offered promptly and took a glass of champagne. Another round quickly followed after take off (smooth ascent heading straight off in an Easterly direction).

Dinner orders taken, starters were Arabic Mezze, Pan seared tuna with Black Pepper and Yellow Pepper Soup. I chose the Pan Seared Tuna (had the mezze on the return flight). Mains were Chicken Parcel with vegetables, Arabic Lamb Ragout (my choice), Pan Seared scallops or Pappardelle Pasta.

Food was reasonable - they weren't dishes I would have ordinarily picked, but sometimes on a plane it is a good chance to try something new. Having never had Pan seared tuna I couldn't tell you if it was good - but I enjoyed it. Arabic Lamb was tasty.

At the same time as taking the dinner orders they had 3 choices of red & white along with the champagne option, so I had Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc 2012 from Marlborough with the Starter (other choices Domaine Laroche Chablis Premier Cru Les Beauroy 2009 Burgundy or Terrazas de los Andes Reserva Torontes 2011 Salta (Argentina)). With the Lamb I chose a Red - George Wyndham Founders Reserve Shiraz 2010. Other options were Segla 2008 Margaux and Wairau Hills Pinot Noir 2011 from Marlborough. After the champagne I had already had difficult to say how good the wine was, but seemed to work well with the food.

I had dinner to Django Unchained and the entertainment had a good choice. The magazine onboard could have been thicker - with more descriptions rather than all on the screen. But lots of new film choices available and could have watched films the whole flight. Ordered a cognac whilst watching the film which seemed to take a while to come to me - but then it was served warm in a warm glass which was a nice touch.

After the film decided to try down but got a bit of indegestion so didn't sleep well (no fault of the bed). Overall I thought the bed was much comfier than the other Business Class I have flown recently (BA).

Downside to 7A was that the feet have a narrower space to fit in but I could get into a Z position. Also had no one to climb over me to worry about. Seat 9A doesn't have the smaller foot area so again a better bet if you can get it.

Snoozed for about 90 minutes and then watched another film. My water bottle was quickly replaced after I had finished the first one. Got to Abu Dhabi about 30 minutes late and given our Fast Track passes for immigration, but as we were first off by the time about 5 people were in this queue it was quicker to use normal lanes as no one was in them so very efficient. (However my colleagues who arrived at 7-7:30 am on the following flights had to queue for over an hour to get through - not something you would expect from a place like Abu Dhabi).

I didn't have any luggage so went straight to our meeting point.

Adding the below for the return journey back to LHR:

Lounge at Abu Dhabi was good - much bigger than Heathrow as you would expect. And the premium check in area is very nice. One of my colleagues was travelling with his wife in economy who was 5 months pregnant. As a quiet flight they gave her a middle row of 4 (with her husband) and blocked out the other 2 seats, and the seat directly in front of the one she was allocated so no one would recline into her - very thoughtful nice touch.

Terminal 4 Fast Track - hideously slow for an EU passport holder - should sign and say for non EU as much faster to go through these lanes. Realised that mistake when in the queue. But at least I now know!

Overall Impression: The 777 is a nice aircraft and very impressed with the Business class offering.

Service was a bit slow in places but then all served by hand - and staff were very personable. They also asked how you would like to be addressed which I liked - I just said Tim. Compared to BA - they win head and shoulders above. I feel there Business Class seat is incredibly narrow and coffin like. BA might be consistent and great for shareholders with "get as many seats in as possible" sardine like feel. However from a customer perspective I would choose Etihad over them on applicable routes.

As always this is subjective and down to experiences that we all have. From what I have read on here I guess not quite Qatar/Cathay Pacific standard for Business but I'd have no qualms in recommending it to people.

SM55226 flew Jet Airways Economy (short haul)

My wife and our 4 month old baby came yesterday from the US (Newark) to India (Mumbai) on United Airlines - your partner airline.

And, your staff did not allow my wife to carry her baggage for her domestic flight from Mumbai to Indore 9W381 saying that it is overweight. She had 2 pieces of luggage with her that were allowed by United - 23 kg each, 1 per traveler. In fact, they claimed that the allowed baggage limit is only 15 kgs. When I re-checked the e-ticket, it clearly says that the baggage allowance is 20 kg per traveller. For the extra 3kg/bag my wife was asked to pay Rs. 7000 for the bags. This is absolutely outrageous.

The price of her ticket was around Rs. 5000. We could not find a nominal priced ticket to Indore as one complete ticket from the US. Not that its easy to find such tickets from the US.

Do you want people who travel domestically after an international flight to India to shed 3 kilos once they have arrived in India to avoid your baggage fees? Ultimately, she did not pay Jet a dime and gave both her bags to her uncle who had come to see her off. Her baggage will now arrive separately when her uncle comes to Indore by train.

SimonS1 flew Easyjet Economy, on a A320

LGW to Geneva and return on a Swiss registered A319.

You can check in and select your seat up to 30 days before the flight and it was handy to do this over the weekend a few days before the flight. Straight through security at LGW and boarded by jetty from North Terminal.

I had speedy boarding and extra leg room seats (row 10), however the move to allocated seating has largely stopped the pushing and shoving that used to take place when boarding. Service on board was adequate for a short flight, a Starbucks branded coffee was £2.50 - little more than at the concession in the terminal.

Flight departed and arrived on time and within 30 minutes I was in the client's office in Geneva.

For the return flight I was originally on the 21.45 flight but arrived at the airport at 17.45. After a queue at the desk (one agent and a few others hiding in the background - this was the one negative of the day) I asked to switch to the 19.15 and they did this....for free!!

Return flight on time as well.

Overall a good experience, competitive price and increasingly at my company we are making Easyjet the carrier of choice for short haul (sub 3 hour type) trips.

gwynMacmillan flew Thomson Airways Short/medium-haul, on a B757-200

Newcastle to Mahon, Menorca. Outward plane was very old. Paid for extra legroom at check-in "special offer" 2 for the price of 1, paid £25; after returning home found the non-discounted price was £15 for each seat, OK still saved £5. Offered row 1 or 2, being very dozy (6am flight) I picked row 1; bulkhead, big mistake, as there was no extra legroom, luckily 1 seat of the 3 was empty. One big con by the Thomson.

The return flight was a 737-800 and on that plane Row 1 did have extra legroom and was a much better plane and quite a few empty rows.

Other than the above whinge, I found the Thomson's flights were very good, boarding was quick, take-off and arrivals on-time, crew pretty good and would use again.

Just watch out for Thomson "special offers" early in the morning.

ViajeroUK flew KLM European Business Class, on a B737-800

Rome to Amsterdam, after check in used the Alitalia landside lounge which was very well run and much better the the airside lounges, drinks served by bar staff, ample choice/supply of afternoon nibbles.

Business/Skyteam elite pax have separate security lane to save time, one last ice cream in the B terminal gelateria before efficient boarding for 17.30 departure.

Busy flight with a full front cabin, latest KLM Euro meal service big improvement over the previous 'box' offering, small menu leaflet, two choices of main hot food, tasty appetizer, and choc pudding. Choice of two red/two white wines plus Cava, no complaints.

Smooth flight with 'snooze' time, arrived on schedule at AMS, short taxi to gate.

canucklad flew Ryanair Economy, on a B737-800

Apologies for the tardiness of my return Fraght review. Far too busy enjoying life last week…Anyway find below. The home straight and it’s all about timing it right.

DUB >>EDI

“Voodoo Prince“ romping home in the afternoon must be a good omen for our evening sprint across the Irish sea. As well as ensuring our trip finishes with a profitable kick into our winning purses. So feeling flush a taxi is now our chosen chariot to DUB. Allowing us time for another juice or two or three, before heading to the plane station for our 9.50 departure.

Arriving well before 8, we Hurricane Fly through security and it’s good to see the boarding pass scanners working, shame about the woman in front who didn’t seem to realise the importance of the barcode! More importantly the x-ray machines are now manned to cope with demand. It took a while, but well done the DAA.

Not so well done is transforming the X-ray machines into a space and time portal. I’m sure before I took my shoes off I was in an airport! By the time my shoes and I are re-aquatinted 10 seconds later, I find myself, face to face, smelling the breath of “The Retailosaur” as it sharpens its teeth and claws in an attempt to free me of my remaining Euro’s!

Almost get to the Sports bar on the 2nd floor, but I succumb to the “Retailosaur” and purchase some fine Irish Power whiskey for my golf trip up north last week. My Guinness awaits me, but I have to gulp up as we are getting huckled out the sports bar at 8.30. In fact I’m made to feel as welcome as Kim Jung Sin at a CND meeting. I have to ask myself if I’m still in Ireland!

Which is annoying because this is probably the best bar in T1. With Neigh chance of a 2nd pint we cantered down to the bar closest to Gate 103. Arriving just after 10 to 9 at our 2nd watering hole, a sideways glance at our departure gate, and all is well with nothing much happening. The departure board at 9, displays “GO TO GATE”.

Now, you might all be wondering why I’m being as precise with time as a Swiss watchmaker. The reason, the last time I flew with FRyanscare I missed my flight due to the massively wrong assumption that the departure boards is representative of the flight status. Not wishing this trip to turn into another £110 FRightmare surcharge I was more”MEERKATISH” than Alexsandr. That is how you spell his name.

Now at 9.10, my pal decides we have time for 1 last pint in the Emerald Isle and oddly he wants a sandwich too! ”We’ve got plenty of time he declares as the pints are being poured. Like our O/B flight, queue the boards to change to “BOARDING”.

A quick glance at the long queue and it’s as stationery as an obstinate mule!

Mate at the bar confidently declares “We’ve plenty of time, we’re not scheduled to depart till 9.50 ”. A few minutes later we reach a compromise and walk and drink the 50 yards to the gate.

Well the horses have well and truly bolted. Now at 9.15 the board is flashing “FINAL CALL” and our “Q” seem’s to have “Shergar’ed” itself. We beat the Gate Dragon's by a short nose!

BOARDING
We are literally the last 4 people to board, and not having checked luggage I’m sure we would have missed the flight if we had remained in the bar area until 9.20 (the official gate closing time). Being last to board we avoided the normal Beechers Brook chaos and quickly took our seats, managing to sit together as the flight was probably about 75% full 5 minutes later we were airborne. A FULL 20 MINUTES BEFORE OUR SCHEDULED DEPARTURE….

FLIGHT
Nothing to report, apart from the young Polish lass getting herself into a tizzy as she tried to work out the correct change for the family who paid in Euro’s but wanted Sterling back, Sounded like she was trying to work out a treble reverse each way forecast! Anyway the CC did their normal Del Boy sales routine, resulting in a pleasant glass of wine and we were soon arriving into EDI, a full 40 minutes early.

ARRIVAL
Deplaned quickly at Gate 1A (next to International arrivals). The pilot needn’t have bothered. UKBA or whatever they call themselves nowadays didn’t even bother cheerily greeting us back to UK so we were soon in the terminal. Having to reschedule our taxi to pick us up! And worse still the EDI non-airside bar was SHUT!!

IN SUMMARY
As I mentioned in my first review, if you play O’Leary at his own game, you can certainly enjoy cheap travel, with relative ease as long as you know the quirkiness of flying Ryanscare. But here is the big BUT...I would bet my bottom dollar that the O’LEARYCLOCK is designed to catch out those of us who regularly travel on airlines that play by normal sensible customer focussed rules. I’m sure one of these days a FRIGHTSCARE flight will make the news for arriving before it left.

So as I said at the start, Punchestown festival for a score each way, or £40 return, that’s almost cheaper than the taxi back to our village.