Airtours/Mytravel

[alexandra uk]

We're due to go to Orlando 30th Nov - 14th Dec. :p
Flying from Gatwick with airtours/mytravel.

Since booking I have heard some really bad things about them.
I called travel city direct to ask what plane we would be flying on and they didnt know.
I asked to upgrade the seats,as my partner is 6.3, and they said an upgrade wasn't available on this flight, nor was I allowed to up my luggage allowance. ( we have 20 kg each )
I also had to pay full adult price for my 14 month old infant, and I have since heard that infants normally get a seat for half the price.

Has anyone else had any experiences with airtours/mytravel or Travel city direct ?

:jester: 138 to go:jester:

[cool chris]

hi,
Like yourself we are booked on an airtours flight this September but have booked their premiair gold class upgrade for about £149 each (its a bit like business class) which gives us loads of extras including extra leg room and a larger luggage allowance. We used this a couple of years ago to mexico and it was fantastic we got of the flight feeling much more relaxed. Why not give airtours a call back and ask them for an upgrade. Let us know how it goes.

cool chris

[flakey]

juat come back from sanford with airtours,
it was an airbus and on check in i asked for bulk head seats and was given them no extra charge, masses of leg room excellent flight too.

[alexandra uk]

Thanks for your help - To answer you cool chris, I have already phoned and been told that there is no available upgrade on this plane. Thats whats making us wonder exactly what sort of plane we're going to be flying on.
My dp says he's got visions of there being goats and chickens everywhere:)
It must be a plane with no first class area at all.

:jester: 138 to go :jester:

[alexandra uk]

That sounds good Flakey.
I've never heard of bulk head seats before. do you know about how many of them are available?
We've booked the holiday plus where you get to check in a little later, would we be better off getting there as early as possible to get the seats. Also we'll have a 14 month old with us, would that affect it?
:jester: 138 to go :jester:

ps ; thanks 4 the tip

[BevS97]

we flew Airtours from Newcastle last year and they were fine - we had seat back tvs etc - no complaints at all.

Did you want a seat for the 14 month old? Normally under 2's are £20ish but have to sit on your lap. I never bought my dd a seat until she was 2. When I took her to the States (she was 11 months), we requested a Sky Cot which gave her a place to sit/sleep. This is at the bulk head.
And that worked a treat.

As you have a baby with you, you should actually get priority for the bulk head seats, so you might want to phone and request them. The only downside of them is that there is no where to store your bags in front of you, you have to put them in the overhead lockers.

Bev

[alexandra uk]

Thanks Bev

I'm on the phone to travel city direct ( on hold ) right now.

:jester: :jester: :jester:

pS ... WHAT PLANE DID YOU FLY ON BEV ? WAS IT AN AIRBUS ?

[BevS97]

No idea what kind of plane it was, but it had a downstairs Loo just like the one Jade flew on. (do you watch Big Brother...)


Bev

[alexandra uk]

LOL :) :) :)

I DON'T MISS IT

JONNY OR KATE TO WIN :crazy:

:jester: 137 TO GO :jester:

[BevS97]

used a bit of lateral thinking and checked the big brother website, where it says that the Airbus 330 has downstairs loos - so I think that's what we flew on.

Bev

[alexandra uk]

GOT THROUGH AT LAST :rolleyes:

TRAVEL CITY SAID THEY COULD'NT PRE BOOK AT THE MOMENT, AS THEY STILL DON'T KNOW WHAT AEROPLANE IT WILL BE.
THE OPERATOR SAID SHE WOULD LEAVE A NOTE ON THE COMPUTER, BUT TO PHONE BACK IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS JUST TO MAKE SURE.

THANKS FOR THE TIP BEV, THAT COULD MAKE OUR FLIGHT 10 TIMES BETTER. MY PARTNERS LONG LEGS WON'T BE AS CRAMPED. :) :) :)

[MalcolmC]

Airtours from Manchester to Orlando air Airbus 300 with 5 downstairs toilets. We have flown both Premiair Gold and with bulkhead seats. Much better. There isn't a lot of legroom elsewhere.

The problem with bulkhead seats is that the kids start running down the aisles, across the front and up the other side. this means they are climbing over your legs constantly.

Also I noticed the window (outer) bulkhead seats are a bit squashed because the door workings stick into the leg space a bit and you have to sit at an angle constantly. These were the front bulkhead seats. I can't comment on the others.

[Milly]

Just back from Sanford on MYtravel airbus 330 with down stairs loo etc. etc.

Just to throw you another little spanner - we booked via Thomas Cook with JMC - we were supposed to fly Airtours then the flight got cancelled and we were with MY Travel - consequently - on arrival at Gatwick - we were told that the pre-booled seats that we had paid extra for had not been transferred from the original booking !!! - good start!!!- despite contacting all and sundry both at Gatwick, Sanford, Florida and again before departure at the reps office and being assured all along that on the way home we would have our pre-booked seats......guess what.....when we check in at Sanford for the return flight .....same again.....!

I'm 6'4" and yes - it was cramped - we had tried to upgrade but these seats go fast and were not available to us.

All I can say is that you are able to get up and move around quite frequently and this helps - along with the seatback TV screens showing TV, Films and a great two camera angle views out of the plane (Not recommended for nervous flyers on landing!).

Good luck

Milly

[Scottish_Maleficent]

Originally posted by Milly
Just back from Sanford on MYtravel airbus 330 with down stairs loo etc. etc.



Just thinking of my last trip on Airtours airbus in February.
The flight was fine as charters go. The seat back tvs were great.
Didn't like the downstairs loo though.......stairs were very steep. I decided to pay a visit without my shoes......slipped....and fell down the stairs. On inspection of my foot I found I had taken the anil of my left big toe...........on retiurn home I found out I had BROKEN the toe.........so beware of those stairs.

Another wee point. There was a stewardess in attendance the entire flight downstairs outside the toilets. I thought ahe was making sure noone took ill or anything. My husband says it's to stop people joining the mile high club!!!!!!:teeth:

[banjo]

scottish maleficient can you tell me what airport you you left from in febuary as i leave glasgow aug 22nd and curious if it will be an airbus or small dc10 that iv'e heard alot of people are getting with airtours-my travel
thanks margaret

[Scottish_Maleficent]

Hi Margaret,

We flew from Glasgow with Airtours on the Airbus.
2 years ago we flew from prestwick with Airtours, but it wasn't an airbus we flew with.

[banjo]

thanks i hope its the airbus we get fingers crossed although i got the flight quite cheap so i guess i cant complain either way thanks again
margaret.

[BevS97]

a great two camera angle views out of the plane (Not recommended for nervous flyers on landing!).

this is so true - I never considered myself a nervous flyer, but I didn't like watching the landing at all - I was terrified.

One funny thing though, as we were pulling up to the gate, there was a guy directing us in with the ping pong bats - he kept walking backwards waving us in, andthen slipped and completely disappeared from view. 250 passengers on the plane all burst out laughing - I often wonder if he realised he had an audience.

Bev

[Homer Timpson]

banjo,

Keep us Glasgow out-bounders up to date when you get back. We, 5 ad 2 ch, fly out on 15/9 - with MyTravel (via Travel City Direct).
Manchester and London flights now seem to have Jumbos with TCD - the only chance we get at a jumbo is in Harry Ramsdens before we depart!!

Have a good holiday.

Brian

[banjo]

brian
my sister leaves on the 10 aug she booked throuth tcd although she flies out on a saturday and i fly out on a thursday but it will likely be the same flight so i'll keep you informed your right about the jumbo no chance of one of those leaving from glasgow but hopefully it will be the air bus we'll just have to wait and see.
margaret.

[Homer Timpson]

Margaret,

We go out on a Sunday!! If it is the same plane, it will have done some mileage by the time we get on!! Or has Glasgow now been granted 2 Florida flights :p

Brian

[banjo]

well my sister flew out from glasgow yesterday and guess what ? it was not the airbus as i was hoping so i guess i will have to settle with the b767 as thought . she did call last night and said the flight was fine and food was not too bad either and that it was quite a quick flight so anyhoo only 11 days to go and getting soooo exited i can hardly contain myself lol :Pinkbounc :Pinkbounc :Pinkbounc margaret.

[Homer Timpson]

I'm tempted to go to the airport next Sunday to see what flight actually leaves with Airtours!
I only stay 5 miles from the airport, so it would be no problem time wise - only problem would be seeing it go Sanford bound without me :p

[Carrickdisfan]

Hi,

I have flown with Airtours/MyTravel from Belfast many times to Sanford, Orlando. IMHO the flight is basic with no frills - nothing is complimentary. Also the prices are just as expensive as with anyone else and also because we fly from Belfast it is always more expensive - 2003 is about £1000 more than this year for my family. Airtours seem to have the monopoly on Belfast so they think they can charge whatever they want.

As for the upgraded seats. We have seen them several times and I do not think they are worth the extra for our family (£600 in total). There is some extra leg room but not an awful lot. The only other extras are the complimentary drinks. We upgraded with them a few years ago for £89 each but the plane was a larger one whereby you could lie flat out - not as now. If this was the case I would upgrade but there are a lot of things to spend £600 on in Orlando.

Last year we flew with Delta from Dublin and they were excellent with more leg room and everything complimentary and also their air hostesses were IMHO a lot friendlier.

One thing we always notice with Airtours is they never have any change when you order drinks or duty free. This is very annoying and I wonder if anyone else has also noticed this. It seems to happen all the time.

Since I prefer a direct flight I put up with it however next year seems unlikely due to the prices.

Upgrade if you really need the extra leg room but I do not think it is worth £600 for a family of 4.

[Homer Timpson]

Carrickdisfan,

I thought we were stuck with 'rip off' prices in Glasgow - seems you've got it worse in Belfast :(

As you say, if you want a direct flight, we're stuck with charters in the 'Northern regions' - and the higher costs, [and lesser legroom], that entails.

And I agree with you on the upgrades - 7 of us would have given them in excess of £1000 for decent legroom - money we would rather spend in Orlando.

We went via Gatwick last year - the extra 6 hours that added to our return leg was 6 hours less sleep at home before work next day :eek:

If only Glasgow was extended to take Jumbos :jester:

Brian