Monarch Airlines Question.

Aiadi

dmg24 wrote:

We didn't have a refuelling stop, and there was a Premium section (Kuoni offer theses upgrades), but from those I spoke to that sat in there it really wasn't worth the extra money.

Is there any chance you could change to Emirates?

Do you know whether Kuoni would offer such a change. I may try and get in touch with them and see if this is possible.

jozvaldo

My wife flew as a hostess for Monarch for years - I won't tell you some of the stories shes told me. All I can say is steer clear of the warm towels that they hand around after meals:eek:

jodie

I went to tenerife with them last year and they were fab, no delays, no long lines to stand in for checkout and I thought the food was quite nice.

I would pay the extra for the leg room, my sister was pregnant so we got upgraded for fre so maybe u could tell a porky, lol

lynn44

stratford wrote:

You can read reviews of monarch here:
http://www.airlinequality.com/Forum/monarch.htm
You may wish to invest in a premium seat upgrade, as seat pitch can be tight according to these reviews.

I flew with them for the first time in recent years to Egypt earlier this year (I had no choice in carrier due to the dates/times that I could fly) and it was not a particularly good experience, especially with a 23 hour delay on the return. I personally would never ever fly with them again - they really do cram people in - and both flights were by far the worst in the last 30 or so that I've flown, albeit that is usually economy with full service scheduled airlines.

I hope you have a better experience though, and if you got a great late price it could be worth it! Also, I will that the crew on both flights were young and charming, but did seem to be embarrassed with the overall quality of the Monarch product.

couped up in little pen.....we flew back from florida with them and have same thoughts as stratford...
but hey things may of changed since may

dmg24

Kuoni let me change, it also means you can fly from a regional airport rather than Gatwick. It may be much more expensive though, for me it was marginally more than upgrading to Premium with Monarch, but it really is worth it.

If you can change you can also do a stopover in Dubai!

Where are you staying in the Maldives?

Aiadi

dmg24 wrote:

Where are you staying in the Maldives?

Cheers dmg. it is the laguna resort. and to jodie, I may convince my OH to do the pregnancy thingy as it would also help increase the measly 5kg hand luggage allowance...lol.

Aiadi

Just spoke to kuoni who said that I won't be able to change carrier as I am on a special offer or something. The only advice they gave is that I should try and speak to Monarch at the check in on the day of travel and see what happens. The guy offered a premium seat with monarch for ~£800 extra:eek: :eek: :eek: .
I guess the only option left is to try and speak to Monarch themselves and see what happens.

dmg24

I've been to Laguna Maldives twice. It is fantastic.

Hopefully your rep will still be Chloe, she is adorable! She lives on Laguna so is always about if you need anything.

I got extra legroom free of charge on Monarch (and Emirates!) just by asking (I'm one of those people that gets dirty looks onboard because I'm only little!). I think the best thing is just to arrive at check in v early, as well as requesting specific seat numbers beforehand.

As an extra treat I would highly recommend the lounge at Male airport. The airport itself is a bit of a dive, but the lounge is lovely. Lots of big leather sofas, internet access, food and (non alcoholic) drink and very clean toilets. Well worth the cost (especially if you use the Egg Card deal - just ask if you need more details).

dmg24

Just seen your last post - nightmare! Premium is definitely not worth £800.

In that case I would make the best of the journey that you can:

Book into the airport lounge at Male.
Take a pillow - those cushtie ones are great!
Take your own food - I just use it as an excuse to use as much chocolate as I can!
Beg and plead for legroom seats!

If I think of anything else I'll let you know! x

arnie&caseysma!

We flew a few years ago to Zante with Monarch and dad uses them every year to go to Tenerife. If you want seats with extra legroom get to the airport early to get to the front of checkin and make sure you ask the the emergency exit seats as these are not pre-bookable. My dad is 6ft2 and has never had any legroom problems in these seats.
We had no problems flying with Monarch whatsoever, the stories that you hear re one company will probably apply to most airlines (hot towels; eye-drops in the food/drinks of customers who p1ss off the crew etc).
At the end of the day, the flight is not the most important part of the holiday although it may put a slight dampener on things but I'm sure the Maldives themselves will more than make up for any problems that may or may not occur on the journey to and from.