canadian_critic

It's a classic con though. Sucker people in with attractive flight pricing. Then wait until they are at the airport before throwing the spanner in the works. Pay the extra or don't fly. I would thoroughly recommend investment in one of those hand held scales.

If they weigh carry on luggage at check in, just leave it in the car or with someone with you who is not checking in. I agree that the weight limits are crazy, and seemingly designed to ensure that EVERYONE gets stuffed. It will not be long before they start weighing individual passengers and penalizing those who exceed 1950 weight quotas, i.e. EVERYBODY.

I would recommend paying the extra to fly with a decent scheduled airline who are focused primarily on customer service and satisfaction, than ripping people off at the point that walking away means sacrificing the flight they paid for.

jamesmc

having traveled uk-canada with.... Zoom,TC,Transat, globespan...and have priced BA etc.
, it would have been difficult for 2 off us to fly BA for the price off 3 going budget.
I coudnt care if i had to take sandwiches with us and bring our own water as long as i get to my destination in one piece and as cheap as possible.
what really bugs me is it costs more money to fligh from ...toronto---winnipeg ..than glasgow ----toronto...
james

Canuck2b

The TC aircraft are being used for the Calgary/Vancouver routes with the exception of the occasional Gatwick Toronto flights. From Glasgow you can really only get TC on the Vancouver Calgary route.

nativenewyorker

We flew Thomas Cook Manchester to Vancouver yesterday. Did the same last year and it was very cramped etc etc. This time we upgraded for the luggage allowance and it was much better. Very comfortable, good service on a par with a lot of the other major airlines, well worth the money. Still got stung for £300 for excess baggage though However it still worked out cheaper than flying with BA or AC with the same luggage.

printer

Don't hold your breath on that one. I could list similar experiences on Air Canada to and from Heathrow last year. I had no working seat back TV all flight then on the return the same happened but i managed to change seats. Poor service of refill drinks and other passengers also complaining about broken TV's or overhead reading lights, faulty headsets, yadda yadda.

My wife flew Thomas Cook last summer and had a really good flight.

__TJ__

We flew tc thru ac. And it was ok. You get what you pay for, dh and I are big and could literally not both move our arms at the same time, but if we didn't go that way we couldn't afford the recce trip which was vitally important.

My problem is I'm allergic to garlic and despite putting this on the booking form they were unable to confirm either way if it had garlic in it! And you couldn't buy a sandwich to replace the meal so I had nothing to eat for 10 hours except some biscuits and dh's bread roll. Staff couldn't care less. On the way back I got a 12" sub at the airport took that on the plane, other passengers looked on enviously as I tucked in and they had a soggy stew...

But you get what you pay for!

DandNHill

We have flown TC several times between Gatwick and Halifax.
The seats are ok, the food is edible. The staff? Well on the outbound flight they're great but it's a different crew on the way back and every time the return journey staff are miserable and unhelpful!
I don't complain, it's a means to an end and I'd rather save myself several hundred pounds by flying with them. I then get to spend my savings on much nicer things! Or more flights with TC!!!

johnehsmith

Im due to fly Air Transat to Gatwick on July 31st so I too am wondering
whats going to happen. The following is at least a positive.

Travel Advisories Details
- Notice to passengers - Negotiations with Flight Attendant Union
[Jun 17, 2011]
Transat and Air Transat wish to reassure their customers regarding the negotiations with the company’s 1,500-member flight attendant union. Bargaining sessions will continue next Tuesday and Thursday with the goal of arriving at an agreement satisfactory to all parties. Air Transat has always maintained excellent relations with its employees. Negotiations are taking place in a spirit of positive collaboration, and we have already reached agreement on several collective agreement clauses.

DandNHill

But it's not only Air Transat you need to worry about.
Tomorrow in the UK school teachers are striking AND immigration officers and air traffic controllers!! So you might not get to the UK if they repeat this through the summer!

justme31170

I have never flown with anyone other than TC and never had a problem. My attitude is if i'm getting my flights at a reasonable price and I land safely 9 hours later then all is good. I personally wouldn't eat the food on ANY plane and although i've flown all over the world i've never been on a plane that isn't cramped. A plane is a plane unless you pay extortionate money for first class Virgin or BA.

ladylord

When we used Canadian Affair, we were charged for every gramme over the limit of 20kg. We paid for three adult tickets. Our toddler is a fraction of the weight of a full sized adult, but they wouldn't budge even though we explained we were emigrating. They said they also couldn't make allowances because the plane was full, which was not the case once we boarded. I think they were mean, and maybe they should just weigh individuals if it is that important, then it's fair to all.

chanceUK

boyfriend flew last wednesday on air transat gatwick to toronto - he was 2.5 kgs over the limit but they let him off with no charge. Sometimes I have been charged for excess, other times I have been let off - just depends on the day

Canuck2b

Also, remember it depends who checks the flight in.......Thomas Cook handle some and the others are by a handling agent. At each check-in they have a CA rep breathing down on them to be strict....So.....If they can get away with letting you off they probably would.

Juliet C

Hi

Just thought I'd put my 2pennith in, we flew Man - Van last week TC, two adults and a toddler, we upgraded to premium which was well worth it, I was expecting it to be horrendous as I have heard so many negative things re TC but to be honest it was pretty good. We were slightly over on our suitcases but she let it go and she didn't even weigh our hand luggage! The staff were all great and the food pretty edible, the little extra leg room made it bearable.

Upgrading to premium still worked out cheaper than BA and Air Canada and we didn't have the hassle of changing at London.

Juliet

Londonuck

We just spent 2 days trying to ring Transat to upgrade our seats so we could use the bigger baggage allowance. We only booked a week ago. They wanted 150 quid each to do it and then told us there wasnt any seats left, even though we wrongly told we had to ring Canada first, and she said they did have seats. Why is everything so difficult these days!?