So here is that report from sunny Canada.

Apart from the fact G-OMYT is passed its sell by date and looked really tired the outbound flight was as good if not better than BA. Super staff, acceptabe legroom and great service. If the inbound is as good will certainly use TCX regularly. Complaints, only the aircraft really, the IFE was virtually uselss and the headphones from a Christmas cracker. Super pillows and blankets plus amenity kit though and the food on board whilst not great was quite adequate.

To answer my own question row 1DEF are restricted somewhat by the bulkhead and row 6 does fully recline. So far well done TCX.

I arrived back in the UK this morning after a reasonable flight back from YVR. We arrived over an hour early (due to headwinds) which was a real bonus.

The product is good average, certainly nothing bad about it but nothing outstanding either. The best part of the homeward journey for me was the priority check-in. It certainly made a big difference to get checked in after queuing behind 2 people rather than 200!

The priority tags attached to my bag were meaningless as the bags arrived with everyone elses and letting the premium cabin off the plane first would make a big difference (compared to the unordered disembarkation that actually occured) but the on-board service was very good.

The Cabin Service Director on TCX 52 this morning was one of the best I have ever seen - she really took pride in her job and was very patient and kind to an elderly lady sat next to me. That certainly makes a huge difference to the overall experience.

Food was ok but nothing to write home about. A snack box containing a pasta salad, chocolate brownie cake, cheese and biscuits and a small Galaxy Bar. The hot meal was served separately was very small. Three glasses of wine and a coffee were also served with the meal.

Seats were reasonably comfortable and the extra width and leg-room were noticeable but not as good as BA's WT+ (but not as expensive either). But I am certainly glad I was not down the back with their 3+3+3 configuration.

IFE was useless - as Groundhog says the headphones were out of a cracker and only worked in one ear. The well-meaning CSD supplied an "adaptor" but this took away all the sound! The Airshow was not working at all on the way back.

So all in all about right for the price paid but BA WT+ is streets ahead if it is trading at around the £600-700 mark.

I would certainly never travel economy with TC.

Outbound flight identical except for a nice 11 hour delay - due to a technical problem with one of the engines. The Duty Manager at LGW was very friendly and professional and allowed me to leave the airport (which he didn't have to do). He even took my mobile number so he could call me if the departure time was brought forward.

That said I would rather be 11 hours late than wind up at the bottom of the Atlantic!

All in all ok and and I'm certainly glad I paid the extra £150 or so but it is certainly not a patch on BA's WTP and only marginally better than BA's WT.

As promised we are now back in the UK and have to agree 100% with everything Doors To Auto says. In summary.
THE GOOD:- crews, premium check in, punctuality
THE BAD:- IFE pathetic, headsets are a joke, priority offloading and baggage doesn't happen, average food.
THE UGLY:- G-OMYT looks tired and tatty.
We got what we paid for as Canadian Affair were offering a special deal so impressed overall but under normal circumstances the cost difference to flying BA WT+ is not enough to drag me away either I am afraid.

Thmas Cook A330
 

Can anyone help with advice on good seats on transatlantic TCX A330?
Preferably forward of the engines and not beside the toilets please.

There was a thread on this subject a few weeks back - if I remember correctly it was started by Groundhog? That may be a good starting point?

Oops ! :\
Thank you

Thomas Cook/Neilson Ski Carriage
 

Hi,

I'm travelling to INN from LGW with Thomas Cook and I have booked additional snowboard carriage (£15). Just had the details through from the travel agent - it's been booked through Neilson and it says that the baggage limit is 15kg and the boardbag can only contain one board and nothing else. Bassically I pack a bag as normal and the boardbag (containing only the board) is treated separatley.

Anytime i've gone skiing in the past the additonal boadbag basically had no weight limit and you could put what ever you want into it.

Has anyone flown with Thomas Cook and had any experience of this? I've never seen a snowboard bag at the airport hat wasn't packed to the gills some I'm a bit dubious about this supposed rule that the Neilson booking info quotes.

Thanks for any help!

Short of opening it, how would they know? Presumably, bindings form part of the board & the gap between them is usually where I stuff boots, gogs, the lot. Flew out on Easyjet a few weeks back & their policy makes no mention of restrictions once the cvarriage has been paid for.

Flew Tcx three years ago & the policy then was much easier. Ah the good old days when you just turned up & threw it through the big bag hole.

well....basically, the airline has realised that people are avoiding excess baggage charges and carrying more than their allowance, costing the airline more in fuel.

it's logical really and was only a matter of time before they stopped people doing it.

Thomas Cook IFE
 

Friends have booked LGW-SFB-LGW on 14/28 August (TCX98K/L) and have been told no IFE - don't all the A.332's have this?

Only thing I can think is that it might either somebody doesn't know/is playing safe or not be op by their own metal (the leased in A.333?)

SWBKCB

Don't know the specifics of your flight in question but if it is to be operated by the A330-300 then this aircraft does not have the seat back screens that all of our other 330's have. It does have IFE but uses the cabin screens to show one film at a time.
By the way, the 330-300 isn't from another operator, it is from our scandinavian arm. It is fully badged as TCX and operated by full TCX crew.
My advice to your friends; forget the IFE, take an ipod and enjoy the onboard bar (sensibly of course):ok: I never bother with IFE on any airline, it's almost always a complete disappointment.

Thanks - thought that might be the case.

Indeed this flight is scheduled to be operated by the TC Scandinavia leased A330-300, hence the lack of seat-back IFE.

IFE? well even if it does have it the chances are it probably will not be working properly, flew on G-TCXA two days ago and the IFE was as usual rubbish pretty much the same as it has been on every flight in premium with TCX. Is that REALLY 35 inch seat pitch in premium measured it crudely and there was more space on Flybe in economy!

Thomas Cook Manchester-Toronto
 

Hi Guys,
I have a sixteen year old niece that is thinking of going to visit relatives in Canada for the first time in July.
She will be travelling alone and the best deal we can get is with Thomas Cook on the 757.
This being her first long haul flight she is a little nervous, mostly about finding her way round the airport, immigration and baggage collection.:confused:
Do Thomas cook have staff on the ground that could assist her if needed?

Thanks,
Flyer.

I'm not too sure if Thomas Cook have staff available, but if she explained to the check-in staff that she has never flown alone before and is unsure of the airport they would be able to give her suitable directions for the gate, also there would be many staff about in the Departure area, easily identified by the ID hanging around their necks or clipped to their jackets that would, I hope assist her.

LGW to Preveza (Thomson/Thomas Cook)
 

Anyone knows what type of aircraft do Thomas Cook and Thomson operate from Gatwick to Preveza in Greece (Sundays)?

Flight numbers are TCX 505K and TOM 4770
Thanks

TOM4770/1 is a 75W. I would assume TCX505K/L is a 752.

Darren

I went to Preveza with Thomas Cook on a Sunday last year. We were on a Monarch Airlines A300 for some reason :{

Thank God it was only a 3 hour flight crammed into a flying sardine can with an unpredictable IFE system.

Monarch's CC were great though and the service more than made up for the comfort issues :ok:

Thomas Cook LGW-PVK on Sundays (TCX505K/L) is an A330-200 all season.