TCD Sunshine First

[Revtel]

My wife and I have just returned from our two-week holiday at WDW, having travelled with TCD on Sunshine First from Manchester. This is our second trip with TCD, having flown at the same time last year on “Sunshine Premium”. We were so pleased with our experience last year, we thought we should pay a bit extra to see what the “first class” service was like.

First, the good news. The flights were on time both ways, and the seats in first class have great leg room. The food and service on the way out were good (but not great), and the check-in and arrival at Sanford was excellent.

The “not so good news” was that the in-flight entertainment was provided by a PEA, Personal Entertainment Appliance (sounds like a purchase from Anne Summers!), which held about four films and a couple of old television programmes, as well as a screen at the front which showed Pirates of the Caribbean 2. There are no toilets in the first class cabin, so we have to walk back through the plane. The dedicated flight attendants were noticeable by their absence, and the bar service was poor. Choice of meal was also non-existent – I was offered chicken or chicken, as that was all that was left.

The “even worse” news was that the “PEA” on the way back was the same as that on the way out (with the same paltry selection) , and the screen at the front of the cabin was broken, so no entertainment was available. Also there was no coffee offered after our meal, no duty-free and no drinks trolley. Having waited interminably for our meals, there was basically a rebellion in the first class section and we asked to see someone in authority to complain about poor and non-existent service. Eventually, four hours into the flight, the Purser (Carla) appeared and basically said that there was nothing that could be done, and she distributed complaint cards (from a large supply) which would allow us to contact Excel Airways. Worryingly, she told me that “this happens all the time”.

By the way, when we arrived back in chilly Manchester, we parked in the far corner of the airport and had to be transported by bus to the terminal. I don't know if this is the norm, but it was not a good experience!

In summary, “first class” is a huge misdescription from TCD. In my view, it is no better than other airline’s Premium Economy service with additional leg room. I have always defended TCD before, and I would probably still use them if the price is right, but from now on I will explore every alternative before I give them my business – and I’ll avoid “first class”!

 

[Goofysmate]

So sorry to here about your bad experience with TCD , But did you have a good holiday ? and whens the next trip ?
Start planning now and you will soon cheer up.

 

[Revtel]

Yup, the holiday was great, as it always is. We paid our first ever visit to Smokey Bones
Planning to go back in December, but probably not Sunshine First!

 

[tubtruck]

Their plane they use on the orlando route is ancient wont go into the details here but it is an original 747 and looks like it is held together with selotape. Its nothing like a first class service, the fact that it flys to a charter airport miles from orlando (with no magical express) proves its nothing more than a rubbish charter. The real airliines are offering flat beds in buisness class let alone first. You get more TV choice than this in economy with BA and Virgin, then again you wouldnt get out of economy for the price of their so called "first" at peak times with Virgin or BA. For antique loves its probably a good choice, for the more discerning give it a miss.

 

[florry]

hope you enjoyed your holiday though

We flew with TCD out of Gatwick premium upper deck and found the service excellent. The staff were brilliant - very friendly and efficient - We would have definately booked with them again for this year but BA beat their prices by loads so ---BA here we come !!

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

Their plane they use on the orlando route is ancient wont go into the details here but it is an original 747 and looks like it is held together with selotape. Its nothing like a first class service, the fact that it flys to a charter airport miles from orlando (with no magical express) proves its nothing more than a rubbish charter. The real airliines are offering flat beds in buisness class let alone first. You get more TV choice than this in economy with BA and Virgin, then again you wouldnt get out of economy for the price of their so called "first" at peak times with Virgin or BA. For antique loves its probably a good choice, for the more discerning give it a miss.

Tubtruck,
Just a little heads up here.
There are many people on this forum who have never flown to Florida before or are nervous flyers.
Comments like the "sellotape" comment can unwittingly cause people to become very nervous about their trips booked with an airline.
Now, I am no lover of TCD, would personally never use them, but their aircraft have to meet the strict standards of the CAA and would not do so if they were as bad as your comments made out.
Also, the age of an aircraft is immaterial, its not like a car which having a new registration plate means its got better bits in it.
Over the period of the life of an aircraft, its the amount of landings and takeoffs which effect its airworthyness, not its production age, as over the time it has been serviced, most parts on the airframe and interiors have been replaced many times and in that way can be as young as the latest aircraft on the fleet.
Many scheduled airlines still do not have flat beds in thier first class/buisness class cabins, BA only finished fitting out last year and many still only have extra recline seats not flat beds.

 

[Boo Boo Too]

As Obi says, anything flying will be airworthy. However, different airlines do have different "maintenance ratings" (which relates to the level/frequency of the maintenance schedule). Those airlines with higher maintenance ratings are those which exceed the CAA's/FAA's strict requirements more than others.

TCD's "Sunshine First" is not a proper "First Class", but probably isn't bad for it's price (you would expect to pay over £3k+ for proper first class flights). How much does Sunshine First cost?

Boo

 

[florry]

we paid an extra £99.00 each for sunshine upper - did it for the extra leg room as hubby is 6ft 3 and son is 6ft 2. Sunshine first was an extra £199.00. Hardly first class as in BA or Virgin standards but if you want that extra leg room and need the extra wide seat its well worth it.

 

[carolfoy]

I agree with Obi and Boo Boo Too, do not think its useful to knock some peoples choice of carrier - TCD describe themselves as low cost, thats exactly what they are, if people choose to fly with them, thats up to them, I had a very good experience with them, yes their planes are old and tatty but are certainly not unsafe I have also had very good experiences with Virgin, and BA and other carriers, Sanford is no less an airport just because it does not have Magical express - do a search on ME and you'll find a thousand threads from peole dissatisfied with that service too!
Not all passengers will fall into your 'more discerning' category, its patronising to presume that people who cannot afford, or choose not to afford to fly Business/first don't deserve their dream holiday too!

 

[Lizzybear]

I agree with Obi and Boo Boo Too, do not think its useful to knock some peoples choice of carrier - TCD describe themselves as low cost, thats exactly what they are, if people choose to fly with them, thats up to them, I had a very good experience with them, yes their planes are old and tatty but are certainly not unsafe I have also had very good experiences with Virgin, and BA and other carriers, Sanford is no less an airport just because it does not have Magical express - do a search on ME and you'll find a thousand threads from peole dissatisfied with that service too!
Not all passengers will fall into your 'more discerning' category, its patronising to presume that people who cannot afford, or choose not to afford to fly Business/first don't deserve their dream holiday too!

Agreed 100%. I definitely don't see the charters as less of an airline (i've used MyTravel twice before and found the service very good and transport from Sanford airport was no problem at all and really wasn't that far, about the same time as it would take to travel from Liverpool to Manchester airport!) and not everyone can afford to or wants to travel with BA or Virgin (they're not immune to problems either!) I think it's great that Orlando has become a more affordable destination in recent years

 

[Revtel]

My original post was about my experience of the SERVICE in first class, not about the airworthiness of the plane. I much prefer Sanford to Orlando International too.

 

[tubtruck]

Tubtruck,
Just a little heads up here.
There are many people on this forum who have never flown to Florida before or are nervous flyers.
Comments like the "sellotape" comment can unwittingly cause people to become very nervous about their trips booked with an airline.
Now, I am no lover of TCD, would personally never use them, but their aircraft have to meet the strict standards of the CAA and would not do so if they were as bad as your comments made out.

Mabe some people are nervous, my DW is a very nervous flyer, yes their plane must reach the minimum safety standards but surley anyone who is nevous would like to know that if they book with a certain company they will be flying on a plane that is over 20 years old against flying with another company that uses a much newer fleet. I know if I were nervous I would want to know.
Any company that is using an A330 on a route to Orlando is using a newer plane than the TCD from Manchester as these planes have only been in production for a few years, many charter airlines use these such as mytravel if you do not want to spend the money that people like BA and Virgin will be asking for. A330s that Mytravel use have seatback TVs even in the economy sections of planes. It will also be less damaging to the environment.
I retract my comment about it looking like it was stuck together with selotape this was an over exageration and if it caused anyone any distress you have my sincerest apologies.

 

[tubtruck]

I agree with Obi and Boo Boo Too, do not think its useful to knock some peoples choice of carrier - TCD describe themselves as low cost, thats exactly what they are, if people choose to fly with them, thats up to them, I had a very good experience with them, yes their planes are old and tatty but are certainly not unsafe I have also had very good experiences with Virgin, and BA and other carriers, Sanford is no less an airport just because it does not have Magical express - do a search on ME and you'll find a thousand threads from peole dissatisfied with that service too!
Not all passengers will fall into your 'more discerning' category, its patronising to presume that people who cannot afford, or choose not to afford to fly Business/first don't deserve their dream holiday too!

Carol Have I knocked or patronised anyone? No. If you read the OP post they were dissappointed with the offering of Sunshine First, I merly
stated that the more discening traveler who has a tendency to use first or buisness class would not be happy with this service and would use the first or buisness class of another airline in the future and for TCD to be marketing this as a first class cabin may lead to the disappointment of some people like it has with the OP who felt that is was more like a premium economy cabin. I never stated which airlines I use or which class I travel in. Plenty of others have stated that their plane is tatty including yourself.

I have no problem at all with anyone flying with them, to be honest I couldnt care less who anyone flys with, its not my decision how they spend their money, I merly made a comparison between their plane and that of other companies and the quality of service on offer by each and if someone was expecting a flag carrier airline first class service they would not be happy with what is on offer from them. There was no accurate reference to how much each of the examples costs as this is very dependant on when people want to travel and the load factor of the plane. It was purely a percieved quality comparison and not one of cost, note I stated that you probably would not get out of the BA economy cabin for the price of their first, this was merly recognising the fact that the BA product is more expensive but this was not what I was looking at, what I was looking at was the comparison of the two first products and what in my opinion is not what TCD have but it is what they are calling it but to some what they will be expecting.

Some people do not realise that in some cases even though an airline is going down the route of been low cost they may also have a buisness or first class service that is a good first class service, two examples of airlines that have gone dow this route are US airways and Aer Lingus. Aer Lingus are now using the low cost model similar to Ryanair on their short haul rotes i.e no food or drink provided free yet they still have on their long haul routes a full and proper flag carrier buisness class service. US Airways no longer provide food on journeys under 4 hours for free on their US internal flights or free alcoholic drinks on their transatlantic flights yet they still provide a full buisness class service in both of these instances. It is therfore important to let people know what they are dealing with, just because an airline has a low cost economy section it does not mean that it has not got a full and proper buisness class service but in some cases like that of the OP it does.

I mentioned the disadvantage of using Sanford rather than Orlando International and for me and many it is a great disadvantage not been able to get on a free bus to be taken directly to my resort and not havin to deal any further with my luggage, especially after a 9.5 hour flight when the last thing I want to do is drive especially on the wrong side of the road. So yes the service is less at Sanford purely and simply from the point that it is not available from this airport and will not be for many years to come as Disney have signed an exclusive deal with Orlando International Airport not to offer a Magical Express service from any other airport within a 100 mile radius of Orlando International for many years to come, full details of this agreement are available on the Orlando Sentinal website.

Holiday companies who only use Sanford International Airport do not make any reference to the Magical Express service so many first time travelers do not know that it even exists though if they did may plan their holiday differently, their brouchers also tend to imply that it fairly essential to have a car for the duration of your trip, I myself was suckered into this one on my first trip many years ago myself. This was one of the main points of this part of the post was getting at as in many cases the cost of flying to Sanford can in the end be higher, :-how many people do you think are rented "free" (with huge insurance costs) hire car at sanford only to park it up outside a hotel at Disney for two weeks and for them to drive it back to the airport only to realise that this substancial cost would have got them an airline upgrade? or the choice of flying to Orlando International airport at a total holiday cost of no more, Or the fact that people like TCD do not make people aware that it is possible for people to hire a car whilst on Disney property from Alamo and have it delivered to their door and returned the following day if they are wanting a day or two offsite or the fact that people have actually got to pay daily to park their hardly used hire car at the parks if not staying on Disney property.

 

[mushumadness]

sorry you had a bad time, sunshine first was excellent the last time we flew tcd

 

[whitfields]

we always fly tcd and are happy with what we get for oure money!!. we always travel sunshine first and will be doing so in sept 07.

all you need to ask youreself is in youre own opinion is it value for money?

we think and recommend yes.....baggage allowance alone now its better than BA and virgin...

Please remember its a budget airline and the more it saves geting there the more disney dollars

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

we always fly tcd and are happy with what we get for oure money!!. we always travel sunshine first and will be doing so in sept 07.

all you need to ask youreself is in youre own opinion is it value for money?

we think and recommend yes.....baggage allowance alone now its better than BA and virgin...

Please remember its a budget airline and the more it saves geting there the more disney dollars

Actually that's not correct.
According to their web site TCD baggage allowances are:
Econ 1 X20Kg, Sunshine Premium/Upper deck 1 X 30Kg and Sunshine first 1 X 40Kg
You can pay extra in Econ for 1 x40Kg.

BA are:
Econ & WT 2 x 23 Kg (46Kg) Buisness 3 X 23Kg (69Kg)

Virgin are:
Econ 2 x 23Kg (46Kg) PE 2 X 32Kg (64 Kg) and UC 3 X 32 (96Kg)

So even paying extra in TCD you don't get as much as BA and definatly not as much as VS

 

[AlanUK]

Please can we keep to the OP's original topic which was reagrding the quality of service in Sunshine First and was not asking for a comparison between different planes or their airworthiness.

The OP has already posted to remind everybody of this fact so please respect their request.

 

[crux]

we always fly tcd and are happy with what we get for oure money!!. we always travel sunshine first and will be doing so in sept 07.

We're flying SF in September as well - 20th from Manchester. I'm surprised about the level of service being reported in SF, this will be our 3rd trip with TCD SF and the level of service on our previous trips has been superb. The food we've had has also been great, but with only 22 seats in SF there will always be a limit on choice. They do seem to start at the front of the plane when asking for food choices on the outbound flight and then from the back on the home bound flight.

I can't comment on the entertainment system as we haven't used them, I'd read various opinions before the first time we flew SF so I bought a Personal Media Player. This has to be one of the best buys I've made, it contains a 40Gb disk and will play MP3's as well and MP4's/Divx (i.e. compressed films). We've now got arround 40 CD's and 10 films, plus the Disney Planning DVD, on the player and there is still plenty of room left. It will also take an SD card so you can look at photos on the 7inch screen and has twin headphone sockets so we can both watch/listen at the same time. One other thing, we did spend extra on noise reduction headphones, which have been well worth the money - even if they're not plugged into the player, the noise reduction reduces the background noise making sleep easier.

Ian