mickeyb94 wrote:

Hi, Anyone know what kind of aircraft will be operating from Doncaster to Barbados on 13.11.09. Flight No. TOM 174.

It'll be an ex-First Choice 767, not sure where its comming from on its previous flight to track for delays, possibly Goa. I'll know in about 10 days.

Hi David.
We are flying From East Midlands to Barbados TOM 830 on 23 - 01 - 10. Depart 15:55
Two questions :-
(1) What type of aircraft will this be.
(2) Isn't the departure time rather late in the afternoon? This means we will not arrive in Barbados until 9 pm local time !

Thanks !

Gasman737,

Welcome onboard
Aircraft type is as the posts to mickeyb94 above. The arrivial time in BGI is probably to co-incide with those disembarking the cruise ship and you embarking.

Darren

Hi,

You'll be on a 767 but it will be from the ex-Thomsonfly fleet, same legroom, just less premium seats and it does have four seats in the centre, rather than three.

The reason your flight is comming in so late into sunny Barbados, is the day before your flight, it operates BHX-SFB-ACA-SFB-EMA, which takes about 29ish hours, over the usual 21 hours to/from Barbados. Your aircraft operates TOM805 into EMA and TOM804 out of BHX the previous day. It is scheduled to arrive into EMA at 13:55.

All the flights arrive late that day, you are the last of Thomson's however Thomas Cook will have several flights that day also. I have been involved in a cruise charter delay, they will hold the ship for you, as they can very easily make up time.

Hi Andy66,

Re: Extra Legroom Seats on 757 - 32A, B and C

Although there wee 2 toilets siuated in front of these seats, we never had a queue of people lining up to use them. We also had our own TV on the bulkhead therefore no need to strain your neck to look at the overhead TV. However, one thing I would mention is that on the return flight, there was a noticeable draft when sitting at the window seat, so I would have a sweater handy for the return trip.

The telephone number to book these seats is 0870 607 6757.

Have a great holiday!

Pat

Having followed some threads on here Ive just prebooked my seat numbers using the link someone posted for TOM 144 (MAN-CUN) on the 22/11 returning on TOM 145 on the 6/12.

I noticed the premium cabin only showed 5 rows, does anyone know if this is an EX FCA or TOM aircraft?

Thanks.

If it has five rows then its an ex Thomsonfly 767-300

Oh well it will be quieter at least! Thanks for quick response.

Hi Pat, thanks for the extra info. the tv viewing is a good point! i'll let the missus decide which ones to go for and just forget to tell her the window seat is a bit draughty! it also depends which are still available? also thanks by tom amm fca, for the honest input , whichever i get i will post a full review.

Not all have the wall mounted TV screen at row 32 the majority don't.

Hey all,

Not a question as such, but more of a quest for experiences and opinion. Since they had their 767's upgraded I have flown on Thomsonfly long haul a number of times and cannot speak highly enough of the quality of the product ( food apart sometimes..!! ). The comfort is fab and the seat back entertainment makes the time fly by.

We are off to Florida on Sunday, ex Newcastle, and I know it will be an ex First Choice 767. Now, my daughter has flown on both types, loved the Thomson one but was quite surprised at the interior of the First Choice 767, describing it as 'tired' compared to the Thomson. Also on her flight, there were quite a number of people whose seat backs were not working, which makes for a long, long trip.

How is the reliability of the IFE on the ex First Choice fleet, are some aircraft worse than others and do you think Thomson understand how important it is to the travelling Joe ( mega important to me ). It is also a contributing factor when I choose who to travel with.

Best regards,

Mal

humanist,

First Choices 767's (interiors) have been in service a couple of years longer than Thomsonfly's, hence the slightly poorer state or repair. Fleet reliability is equal, although there have been a recurring maintenance issue with two aircraft, but all seems to have been resolved now. Reliability of the IFE is 100% in my experience. I've never had a problem with it. It's had to be rebooted a couple of times, but that's always resolved the problem. There are bound to be odd screens that don't work considering there are 283 onboard, but I've never had the misfortune to have one.

Darren

humanist,

humanist wrote:

quite surprised at the interior of the First Choice 767, describing it as 'tired' compared to the Thomson

First Choice Were The First To Introduce The "New" Long Haul Conception So, Their Interiors Are Slightly Older Than Thomsons And I Think That The Green That First Choice Used Fades Quicker Than The Navy Of Thomsons.

humanist wrote:

How is the reliability of the IFE on the ex First Choice fleet, are some aircraft worse than others

I Have Never Had A Problem Before And It Is Often A Case Of The Cabin Crew Needing To Reboot Your System To Get It Up And Running Again

Gower

PS, Darren Just Beat Me Too It Well It Would Have Been If My Internet Hadn't Disconnected Itself

In my experience there are more minor problems with the ex-FCA aircraft than the ex-Thomsonfly 767's the main reason, Dazbo has already explained their refurb was quite a few years prior to the Thomsonfly Birds, one only done early last year(G-OBYE)

The main reason so many screens and individual TV's don't work on the ex-FCA aircraft is they have the hand controller- something else to break. It doesn't help when you see customers banging them on the arm rest or tray table because it isn't doing what they expect or they leave them lying on the floor dangling by a wire

The main culprits are G-OOBM and G-PJLO from the ex-First Choice fleet and G-OBYD-(front economy cabin seems to suffer- row 6-14) from the ex-Thomsonfly fleet.

To answer your question, do Thomson Airways realise how important it is? definately, earlier this year there was a major problem with the IFE wiring in G-PJLO causing severe inflight problems for customers and crew, So they took the difficult decision to ground her(it?) for 4 days to repair the wiring and use a short haul aircraft, otherwise the problem would still be ongoing- grounding her for just those four days cost the company a lot of money in refunds and goodwill/repeat bookings(probably less than if they hadn't of fixed the problem)

Maybe too soon to ask but here goes anyone any idea which 757 will be based at Birmingham this winter on the Cape Verde run will it be ex FCA or Tom.

qatarman,

They swap and change all the time and have aircraft from both fleets based there. We'll be able to let you know closer to the time.

Darren

Thank you Darren,is there any difference in the seating configeration?

qatarman,

Not that you'd notice. The biggest difference is the seat design. The ex-TOM's have the Boeing enhanced interiors fitted with slimline Recaro seats. Even though the seat pitch is the same, the seat frames are thinner and the seat back pocket is at the top of the seat infront instead of the bottom. This gives you more legroom for the same seat pitch. The ex-FCA's have the standard seats fitted and feel a little more crampt in comparisson. I would expect (hope!) for an ex-TOM on that length of flight.

Darren

Cheers Darren thats why I booked the extra legroom seats.