Scheduled or Charter to Male???

[inglebyboro]

Hello.

When travellign to Male, would you have more comfort / better IFE, meals, etc, when travelling (for example) Thomson Fly in their upgraded cabin, or scheduled with Emirates in ecomony?

Thanks for your thoughts

[Musket90]

Charters normally fly non-stop from LGW and MAN which is a big plus. First Choice product is good with adequate legroom and IFE. Emirates is OK too but connecting time at Dubai, particularly on the return leg may be awkward depending on the day of the week you choose. Also if on a seaplane transfer they only operate in daylight which could mean extra cost at the Male airport hotel if Emirates return timings don't match. Sri Lankan operate non-stop from LHR but return is via Columbo.

[Antdenatale]

I flew with Sri Lankan back in 2005 to MLE boh outward and return via CMB, nice airline with good quality food and excellent staff. Seat pitch in Econ was not bad at all to be honest. All round good experience :ok:

[thrubwell]

hi folks, first post. recently flew to male and return on Monarch. No problems , seat pitch was not the nightmare skytrax said it would be. A330 both ways, IFE was pretty basic unless you upgraded to premium. Food average. Arrived and left early afternoon so loads of time for transfers to resorts etc. I have flown on a lot worse.

[rog747]

flown to male many times since the 80's on charter and it was the only quickish way to get there but 757's or tristars (then dc10's if they didnt go tech) were awfully cramped lol!

i understand MON has improved slightly the seat pitch on the A330 but if yer unlucky enough to get the A300 then its pretty poor (A300 will tech stop)

FCA and TOM, yes 33inches in the back, but TOM a/c are 2-4-2 whereas FCA are 2-3-2 config...what will happen in the merge?

the flts are non stop and the food/ife/crew vary depending what side of the bed they all got out of that day!! however overall FCA is ok...

but have heard too many horror stories lately about the way one is treated now on charter airlines so i tend to avoid, which is a shame as britannia and air2000/caledonian were fantastic,
the crews are often good but also often too inept at realising passengers are actually going on holiday and brusque announcements and cabin service and pay pay pay for this and that on a long haul flight is not for me sorry...
(the crew DO work for a holiday airline and it would be nice to expect to find a jolly crew!)
nb, this is my personal opinion of charter these days and that of many reports i have read, so please dont think i am harsh on crews here as many are great espesh with some of the nightmare passengers they have to deal with too.
good cabin service comes from the TOP so i cannot fathom why things are so inconsisent now.
(i am ex airline btw since 1972 !)

(the best charters i have been on in last few years have been GB airways medium haul but alas EZY have swallowed them up grrrrrr!)

EK etihad sri lankan qatar all offer the scheduled product via a stop (UL does offer non stop MLE too)
have heard that etihad is v good and qatar too...
i enjoyed sri lankan very much when i flew on them

you can of course get provincial UK connections on EK

if you can get good scheduled timings with a good fare then i think scheduled is the way to go but as other posters rightly pointed out its not always possible to connect with seaplanes etc....

[Skintman]

I'd go charter everytime. Direct flights and much better seat pitch/IFE now. First Choice broke ranks a few years ago and their product is excellent. :D:D

Better seat pitch (33in) in economy than Emirates, BA etc and better IFE (you can start/stop films whenever you want). The scheduled carriers are having to do catch up.:eek:

First Choice Premium is even better and great value (36" pitch and free drinks etc).:ok:

Look at the cost difference, the flight times (allowing for transfers etc) and it's an easy choice. :bored:

Charters are not what they were, they are now setting the pace for mud/long haul as the LoCo's have taken over their traditional bucket & spade routes. :D

Skintman