As you say the imformation is in the brochure.
So it was there for you to read.
Though i would have thought they would have said at the time of booking the flights went via manchester.I assume they are picking up people there to fill the flight.

When I went to Mexico last year we went from Birmingham via Manchester to pick up pax and the number of people who hadn't been informed was huge I'd say at least 50%. I thought at the time this was odd as when I booked it a message came up on the screen to say this was happening so the agent couldn't have read it to you. This is a legitimate complaint in my opinion and has to be worth a call especially as if you went from Gatwick I'd say the flights are probably cheaper anyway.

On the way back we were direct to BHX is this the case with you or is your return via MAN also? I wouldn't fancy the two hour stop on the way back but on the way wasn't too bad.

As you say the imformation is in the brochure.
So it was there for you to read.
Though i would have thought they would have said at the time of booking the flights went via manchester.I assume they are picking up people there to fill the flight

Although the info is in the brochure I didn't have it when I booked over the phone. It was only when I read on som other forums about the detour that I went to my local First Choice TA to get a brochure to see if there was any info in it.
I also made a dummy booking online to see if it came up and it does but only at the stage just before payment and you have to tick a box to confirm you have read it.

BIGBEAR - The detour is only on the way over and not on the way back. The reason they do it is because Bristol Airport's runway isn't long enough to take off with a full tank of fuel so they have to fill up in Manchester and start again.
If it were only the 2 of us I wouldn't be so put out but with a 4 & 6 year old it is going to be a right royal pain and tempers are going to become frayed with all the "Are we there yets".
At the time of booking Gatwick's flights were a couple of hundred cheaper but we chose Bristol as it's so close.

If I was you then I'd phone and tell them you weren't informed (the call's probably taped if they want to check) and that you want to be transfered to a direct flight.
The worst they can do is say no but I'm sure they'll try to reach an agreement with you.
Did you ever ask if the flights were direct non-stop or did you just assume they were.
You have the right to hear the tape of the call to see if you feel you were mislead.

I really dont think you will get very far with a complaint as the airlines obligation is to get you from Point A to Point B and they are doing this. ( they dont even have to do this by aircraft )

As you know the aircraft is going via Manchester you could ask to join the aircraft there but I dont really see the point of driving there when you can fly from your local airport. You also say the aircraft comes back direct to bristol so your car would be in Manchester.

Kind Regards
Stewart

I'm with stewartwilkie on this one. I can't see ringing up demanding to be put on on a "direct" one will get you anywhere. If First Choice had one would you not have been put on this in the first place?

Their brochure does state that "Bristol flights have a short technical stop on route (outbound only) for refuelling. Passengers will not be required to disembark". Whilst I accept that you say you did not see a brochure before booking on the phone I'm sure that there is an assumption that you have, afterall there is lots of information in the brochure that a call-centre representative simply wouldn't have the time to talk you through - you would otherwise be on the phone for hours.

Try not to let the stop via MAN put you off and spoil your holiday. It will add perhaps 90-120 minutes to your total outbound journey time. It's an inconvenience I accept but don't let it spoil your holiday to Florida.

hiya

i had to do this a few years ago, i went to mexico from bhx because the price was over £400 cheaper from man with first choice, my flight stopped on route at man to refuel it took about 1 hour but we didnt leave the plane and we still got all the movie's and drinks and everything like normal.

i understand you have children, but they still served everything like normal.

try and not worry

xx

Cant see the complaint going far on this as pointed out the t and cs in the brochure cant be read out over the phone youd be there forever and as it is a technical stop it is to allow you to replace the fuel used in the 90 mins to manchester as otherwise you may fall short of your destination (not fun!) people wont be getting on or off so they do make it as quick as possible, Is it worth the time to drive to gatwick, or the 6 hours plus to drive to manchester to save 90 mins flying time?

I agree that stopovers are a pain with small children. Before we started going long haul to Florida when mine were little, I did my homework re flights and found that some were and some weren't stopovers. Where possible I always booked a non stop even if it was more expensive.

As it's in the brochure, I assume that they would have expected you to research all the terms and conditions and ins and outs before booking. I don't think that you will be able to do anything about it bar change your flights and that would most probably incur an ammendment charge. I have done both and although it's a drag and does add to the journey time, you don't get off and the passengers joining are usually loaded on quite quickly and then you take off again. Also it's only on the way out.

I would chalk it up to experience and check carefully next time booking a non stop flight.

Interesting point, if it is only a detour on the way out then by switching to LGW you would use up more than that time and have the inconvenience of a long journey after the return to the UK so it may still be the best option.
With kids we find it best to make a game or highpoint out if it. Taking off and landing are the fun parts of the trip so they get a bonus.

Whatever you do, do not let them watch Shrek 2. Every single time my grandson gets in the car it is "are we there yet donkey?". With two if them to egg each other on, they could keep going for the whole trip!

i booked a holiday over the phone with Thomsons to Turkey.After the booking had been made the agent told me it was going via Bristol(from Newcastle).I asked her to refund my money as there is no way my husband would sit on a runway for 2 hours.She did this and I booked another holiday with a direct flight.I think they should have told you as having information in the back of a brochure is no excuse as not everyone has a brochure.

i had a similar problem with first choice in 02. we booked flights only to australia via kuala lumpur a year in advance. our tickets came about 9 months before travel which we thought was odd. the flight dates and times were exactly as we had been told in the shop when booking. when we got to heathrow 3 hours before the time of the flight we were amazed to see on the board that we had to go straight to the lounge. on booking in they told us that the flight time had been bought forward 6 months ago and we should have been issued new tickets. i went to a help desk to ask about the return flight we had for 5 weeks time and was told that the date of return had changed as well as the time! i had a taxi booked for the return journey and a dog in kennels, i had to ring around as we were running to the departure lounge to get this all rearranged.if we hadn't looked at the board information straight away we would have missed the flight as check in was about to close.
then on the flight from kuala lumpur to melbourne we are informed that we were stopping at sydney to get more passengers. we were never told this at any stage until it was announced on the plane. we were not allowed off the aircraft and had to stay there for about an hour and a half waiting for the other passengers. this was hard with 2 kids.
i did get compensation but this was mainly for the flight changes and not the stopover.
first choice are good at not telling the whole truth at time of booking.maybe we should have rung the airport beforehand to check times but we were told that if any changes are made first choice would inform us by letter.
if it was me i would try to get them to change it for you, ask them to prove you knew about it, bet they can't.
good luck