Hi sydney why dont you DIY it flights are not a bad price for the beginning of December with kingfisher, (through an agent)and maybe you could contact the hotel you stay yourself, we have booked for the 9th december with kingfisher, only a thought Gel

Sydney, if First choice haven't got it, it's possible that it is in the thompsons brochure.
This has happened to us with the Phoenix park.

Thank you for your replies Green eyed lady and del949.

My other half doesn't want to do diy flights that are not direct and Thomsons are not doing our hotel either this season. Apparently, they are dropping our hotel because it was not particularly popular.

He might not want it but it would be interesting to price it up. He might change his mind if you get a good deal

hi sydney
have you tried travel pack,they are a lot cheaper than first choice,as we found after booking, also cosmos cover alot of hotels in goa good luck

I called in to Thomsons to enquire about prices for 3 wks in Feb next year and to try and find out why the prices were so high. The price was still £250pp dearer than last year,and the reason given was that they are reducing the number of flights/accommodation on offer for this season (09/10) We have also spoke to an independent travel operator who we have used in the past and she seemed to confirm what Thomsons had said. We did get a more reasonable quote but the flights are with Monarch (via Bahrain) and it looks like we will be booking this as its a lot less expensive than the Thomson quote.....cheers Keith

Rather stay at home than fly with Monarch

Papa

Papa, my wife says the same. I thought that she was joking untill I found a cheap deal and she turned it down because it was with monarch flights.
Surely someone at monarch MUST read these type of comments and think that it is time to upgrade their flights to the competitions level.

I know what you mean Papa & Del but the only saving grace is that the £400 we will save sort of softens the blow a bit.
I am sure we will find ways to enjoy the savings as it will cover our trip down south for a week,and to convince us even more (that its not going to be that bad) we can always take our own sandwiches and a sleeping tablet for the flights... ...cheers Keith

I have only ever flown to Goa once with Monarch and I said then never again.

However the choice of Monarch or not going I'm afraid I'd have to choose Monarch.

Del,

Momarch are well aware of what people think but understand at what end of the market they operate.Like Easyjet and Ryanair they display a contempt for their customers that is almost beyond belief.

Thomson and First Choice(now of course the same) have really stepped up their game as the product they provide on long haul routes.

I remember the days of the old tri-star.Cramped,noisy and that stop over in Bahrain.

Since the introduction of the extended range 767s that most tour operators now use the whole Goa flight experience is transformed for us.We have no intention of going back.

Papa

we usually fly monach premier because we are not exactly small people, do you think we would be ok with the seats on tomsons or first choice .we are also looking at kingfisher or jet airways but everything seems so expensive for feb next year any suggestions would be greatly appreciated
thanks sharon

yorkie 10

Thomsons should be fine if you want to go on a charter flight. First choice no longer exists as an airline they have merged with Thomsons which is now known as Thomson fly. I am 5ft 8" and find the leg room is ample. The width of the seats is also enough to be comfortable.

Thomas Cook airlines seats are now the same as Thomson fly with a 33" pitch I understand. I hope so anyway as that's who we've booked with for this year.

As this topic is about prices for 2010 I thought it worth mentioning that I booked our flight with Thomas Cook when we came back in January for £600 which included in flight meals and we paid the extra for 20kg hold luggage instead of 15kg flying out of Manchester on December 27th I've just looked and the same flight is now £850.00.

Yorkie10,

It will depend on which aircraft you get for your flight.Hard to explain but I will try.

We always try to fly premium for us it is worth the money but would certainly not criticise anyone who would prefer to keep the extra money in their pocket.

Bear in mind that Thomsons have now taken over FC and if I am not mistaken the rebranding of all aircraft is due to be finished by May(Ithink)

Anyway if you fly to Goa on a Thomson 767 the seating arrangements should be.Standard cabin 33" pitch with a seating arrangement of 2-4-2.In the premium cabin there are approx 37 seats with a pitch of
36".

If you are lucky enough to be on an ex FC aircraft then in the "star class"cabin you get 33" pitch with an arrangement of 2-3-2.In the "star class premier"cabin there are approx 67 seats with apitch of 36".

Now of course since the merger all this could change and it is difficult to find out what aircraft you may fly on.

The flight forum has some excellent contributors who will do their best to help.

I am of course being a total anorak and am aware that some people just want to get to Goa.But for us now how we get there(and back)is just as important.So we will always pay the extra.

Not sure exactly what I used to do with my life before the internet.

As for 2010 prices they are all being very ambitious at the moment.They may well be cutting capacity but demand during this recession will ultimately decide prices.It is simply a matter of how long you can hold your nerve before deciding to buy.

Lots of people will go down the route of a scheduled flight and booking accomodation seperately.We are reluctant to go this way because we are based in the North West and this would involve us in 3 flights.For us the extra cost is always more acceptable to get the direct flight.

Papa

My OH and I also prefer a direct flight but this year as the packages are more expensive we have chosen to take the route of booking a charter flight only and booking separate accomodation.

I think that an increase of £250 in the flight we have booked from the end of January until now suggests that there is a larger demand over the Christmas period than the operators thought there might be this year and they have increased the prices accordingly.

This thread spurred me into enquiring about booking 'our' apartment in Candolim next January only to find its fully booked!!!!!!!!!!!. Luckily they have built a small extension and have offered us one of those apartments for the same price as last year.
We are the odd ones out who actually like flying Monarch, we like the stop off in Bahrain to stock up on duty We have never found Monarch to be that bad, extra leg room seats certainly help

Good lord I have just priced up Monarch flight for next January through their website price is coming out at £1280 per person

I booked our flight with Thomas Cook when we came back in January for £600 which included in flight meals and we paid the extra for 20kg hold luggage instead of 15kg flying out of Manchester on December 27th I've just looked and the same flight is now £850.00

Good lord I have just priced up Monarch flight for next January through their website price is coming out at £1280 per person

This is all quite unbelievable... just read the last few posts and i am truly stunned...what is going on? and a recession on too??!!
Chilly

roxey is it possible that those prices were an error? as i have just checked out one of the websites i book family on (that use monarch ) out of interest after reading your post and they are coming up for under £500 including 20kg allowance, for next Jan and Nov/Dec...
chilly