I echo the dire check in at Gatwick!!!
Just returned (this morning, trying to sync my body clock!!) from Punta Cana, flew SCP. Check in at LGW was appalling!! For SCP there was no organisation re queuing, people were queue jumping, staff grumpy. Priority tags were not put on all bags (ours included, not that it mattered as when we arrived at Punta Cana those that did were not taken any notice of and there was only one bloke loading them on the belt - tooks ages !!) Due to the plane being on a remote stand there was no priority boarding although we were allowed to disembark first (as is always the case when we fly with FCA from LGW!!) Outbound we were allocated 8F&G so not split up although one couple were, one in 1C and her husband in 9C!! Loads of extra leg room and the seats were very comfortable. The service once on board was excellent, staff very intentive and helpful. Food was great, Picked from a choice of 3 (beef, Chicken and veg) opted for the Chicken in herb and tomato sauce! Loved the china plates!! Snack before landning was a Sandwich Selection and it was no trouble to ask for additional drinks. I also thought the IFE was great too, lots of choice although one critisism I have is that the TV shows were th same on the inbound flight.
Inound, allocated 1D&E so still together but no window. but even more leg room!!! Unfortunatley I spent the night before and morning of the flight being very ill (why it took till the last day to happen to me is beyond me!!) so no review of the food although hubby has told me it was very nice!! Crew were great, made sure I had plenty of water and was comfortable and dozed for the flight.
Overall, I enjoyed the SCP experience and would have no hesitation using them again. If you have any questions, please pm me!
Just to advise First Choice customers on an early flight to use the day before check in if possible, it was so quick. Parked up in short term parking area cost £4 , then went through to departures, took all of 30mins start to finish, ie back to car and out of airport.
We always get to the airport early in any case, and usually there are people directing customers to the check-in desks. Was this not happening?
Can anyone help please we are travelling with fca brs-ibz 26th Jul we have booked with thomson holidays through the skytours brochure I am concerned that we may only have 15kgs each I have contacted thomson and they said phone Fca spoke to a really dopey person who did not know.So does anyone know or will it be a case of waiitng till the tickets come.
Just told the hubby we are setting of in the middle of the night for the airport as our flights 11.30am and I could imagine the queues are going to be awful at check in.
First choice only used North terminal for their long haul flights didn't they?? Now a lot of FCA short haul are going from there too has that made check in worse
I am flying from Glasgow to Sanford on First Choice Airways on 12th Sep and returning 26th Sep.
We have upgraded to Star Class Premier for extra leg-room. This is said to be a direct flight, have read on other forums that there is sometimes refuelling stop, is this correct?
Also, can anyone answer the following:
What type of aircraft is this likely to be?
What is the seat-configuration?
What side of the aircraft is the Star Class Premier toilet located?
Any feedback from people who have experience of First Choice from Glasgow to Sanford would be appreciated.
Thanks
FCA have used North Terminal for both short haul and long haul for some time now. However due to the merger, Thomsonfly are now using the North Terminal for both short haul and long haul.
IFE-
I will put this up as soon as I know. They generally dont tell us until about the 26th of the previous month)
TIDA
The toilet is on the left side of the aircraft (or the side that seats ABC are located on)
it will be a 767
I have not heard of any refuelling stops myself on this route any time recently, and the way they fly to SFB I cannot imagine it would be an issue. You may of heard about the Bristol flight that goes via GLA to refuel but the Glasgow flight itself does not refuel.
The seating across the whole aircraft is 2/3/2 seats (3 seats in the middle)
Flying 9.30am to Aruba 9th July can we check in the day before? If not what time should we be at the North Terminal to check in?. We are staying overnight at The Holiday Inn.
I beleive the handling contract of FCA was moved from Aviance to Servisair and in a nut shell it seems the ground handlers don't seem to be able to cope with the work load. I suspect the savings made on the handling costs for the combined airline have been at the expence of a reduction in staff and check-in desks. In turn this seems to be causing their customers long check-in times and delays (and grumpy staff who are stretched to the limit and overworked).
If flying with TOM/FCA from LGW I would definately suggest allowing plenty of time to check-in. And a smile at the poor check-in agents!
Always very pleasant When you say allow plenty of time - are you suggesting more than 3 hours, which is what we usually do. Unfortunately, our flight is at 09.55 on a Thursday which means going down the M25 right in the middle of rush hour!
3 hrs should be fine.
Flying 9.30am to Aruba 9th July can we check in the day before? If not what time should we be at the North Terminal to check in?. We are staying overnight at The Holiday Inn. :cheers
Day before check in is only availabe to flights leaving before 8am or it may be 9am (not sure which) so unfortunately you would not be eligable for this service. I would get to the airport about 3hrs before to be on the safe side. We stayed at the Holiday Inn the night before and everything was fine but a glass of wine was over £6! The courtesy bus picks you up at the hotel door and from 5am it runs every 15mins. The cost is £2.50 per adult. Hope this has been of some help, have a great holiday.
hi, booked into premium seats which i understand has a seperate check in desk, is this still the case and are the queues as bad as the other desks ? also advised that we could check in 90 minutes before rather than 2 hours, do you think we should get to the airport 3 hours before aswell................thanks
Our flight later in the year to Cancun from Gatwick is not until 10.00am but we were allowed to pre-book day before check in and have been sent a letter to present to check in the night before. The letter states that day before check in will not be permitted without either the letter and/or pre-booking reference number - this seems to contradict the brochure which implies you just turn up the day before and check in. The brochure/website also mention that the service is only applicable where flights depart before 9.00am but we were told this is because they have limited storage space which is why pre-booking is essential, but as we'd phoned we could pre-book despite leaving later than 9.00am! Confusing!
From what I have seen, Premium is slightly better but it remains confusing where the check-in lines for this class start. With often hundreds of passengers in a small area the result is rather chaotic. If you are happy to miss all the airside facilities and possibly go straight to the boarding gate, then 90 minutes should be fine (assuming you know your journey to the airport will be trouble/traffic free). Personally I would allow more time. There is nothing worse than having a stressed out family worrying about the size of the check-in and security queues before you are about to go on holiday. Go early, chill out and get your holiday off to a trouble free start.
We flew Premium last year, and still got there early. We had a nice leisurely stroll around the shops and waited about 2 hours for our friends who flew Economy (it was the height of the security risk last summer, so was well worth paying the extra for the separate check-in). Personally, I didn't think anything else was worth the extra, and this year it is very expensive. Staff didn't want to serve us drinks, they ran out of food choices. Seat pitch was nice though - although 33" in Economy seems fine to me, and our friends were happy with it. They didn't upgrade the IFE as they felt the standard was fine.
We have prebooked our seats and I believe from reading on here that we would be at the front
MAN-SSH-MAN (FCA378/9 Dep 10:00 or FCA683 12:55) is operated by a Boeing 757-200. Seat pitch is 28".
Darren
how can you check in the day before if you have luggage to check in?
Re Check in Gatwick just looked FCA & TOM have 14 flights on a Monady between 05:30 and 10:15 thats 2000 + people to check in. Make your own mind up
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