Thanks Darren. Will do as advised.

Gail.

Traveling to Goa on 23/11/2009 MAN flight TOM158.

Just curious really.The out going flight duration is shown as 11 hours 15 minutes and the return as 9 hours something.Now I have done this flight many times and it usually takes about 8 hours 40 to 9 hours going out and about an hour and a half more coming back.Of course this depends on routing weather etc but mostly about those times.

Me thinks they may have it the wrong way around on the website.

Papa

I think they have got the flight times wrong. However last year one of the MAN-GOI went via Gatwick when the aircraft goes via another airport it shows the flight time to include the time on the ground. What I think may of happened is some person in Head office copied the flight times from last years times without checking the actual flight time this year.
It definately doesn't go via LGW this year.

"So a last minute First Choice booking could have a lower ref number than a Thomson booking from last year but the "First Choice" couple will be seated first".

Thanks.

If I worked at Thomsonfly I would be suggesting to senior management that they change it to booking date order - last to book gets the last pick of seats.

The current method is not as fair as it could or should be. Some who may not have paid extra for meals etc may have paid as part of a package a lot more for their flight than someone who just dives in at the death with a discount package.

Thanks again for taking the time to find out. I am bound to think of something else soon !!

There is very little in the way of discounts these past few years, Just because a person books late doesn't mean they have paid the lowest amount on that particular flight. I have seen some bookings for well over £3000 to Goa, India as a last minute booking for two, not cheap.

First Choice used to allocate seats on booking date, it was changed I believe either November last year or May this year, It was decided that it was the fairest, after all say couple A are celebrating their honeymoon and can only afford a 3star hotel/holiday couple B are 2 friends able to pay for a 5 star hotel/holiday, who should be split up? who deserves to be split up? Thomson Airways method may still split couple A up however it will not penalise them for their personal circumstances. This system treats everyone equal.

It definately doesn't go via LGW this year

Phew,thats a relief.Thanks

Papa

Thanks for the reply - it should still be on booking date - whilst I know you only used it as an example not many honeymoons are booked at the very last minute but plenty of people just book a last minute bargain.The date you booked has got to be the fairest way after taking account of those who have specifically paid for seating together , reserved seats etc - they come first even if they book the week before the flight.No extras booked = last in, last choice.

When you said " it was decided it was fairest " - I assume you meant booking reference numbers - I can't see how that is fair is the numbers are random - it's like playing lucky dip !!

I think this is one thing were not going to agree on, I will say as I think its comming across i do, I am not siding with Thomson Airways just because I work for them but I do genuinely see the merits in this system now its been explained to me. I've fell foul of different systems and been split up.

Some people don't have a choice when they book their holidays and sometimes leave is allocated only weeks before it is taken, in the past as cabin crew I had 3 weeks notice of my main two week break had seating been chosen in the way you suggest I would of been split up from the rest of my family, through no fault of my own. I'm now able to choose my leave thankfully but there are other people still in the same boat, not just cabin crew, office workers etc and many other situations that mean holidays cannot be booked in advance.

Yes it is pot luck, but it is still the fairest, in that it does not discriminate against any specific group of customers(late bookings/early bookings/high/low spenders).

After all, I could book a "Just" holiday which is very very cheap 16 months in advance and you a Thomson Platinum 2 months in advance to the same resort, obviously different hotel, same plane. How would you feel after spending £3k and me £99each and getting seats together and you 30 rows away from your other half/family?

To answer your last question" not happy " but if it is known that it is last in last choice then when you have spent £3k on your Platinum holiday you can take the risk or spend the extra on reserved seats - those paying £99 with Just can do the same if they wish.

I certainly don't wish to argue with you and I am extremely grateful for everyone's answers and opinions but I can't now see how it is pot luck if the booking numbers for Thomson are different to Just and are different to First Choice (and are different to Flight only perhaps). If all the Thomson holidays or Cruise numbers are in a high numbered batch and Tui distribute a set of low numbers to Just then it is not even pot luck - it's pre selected by whoever allocates the booking reference numbers to the product on sale. That is not fair either ! I know we don't agree but date order and the option to reserve seats has to be fair. You would not turn up at Glastonbury as the music is all about to start and expect to be taken to the front row would you ?

HuddersfieldTourist,

I Think Both Yourself And BY-TOM-AMM-FCA Have Good, Valid Points. However Both Have Their Problems. The System Works How It Works, And Most Of The Time Works Very Well.

As This Is Getting Slightly Now, In Regards To Seating Options. We Have A Seating Together Thread Which Would Be A Good Place To Carry On Any Further Discussions.

Gower

Noted -sorry !

Hello all

This is a briiliant forum and very informative. Now the flattery is out of the way I'm hoping you can help me out

We are flying to Marsa Alam 18th Feb 2010 from Manchester (Flight TOM302 and return TOM 303). As yet the option to pre-book seats is not available on the website and I have read reviews suggesting its not worth the money in any event.

The issue is that we are a "tall" couple. I am 5' 10" and the BF is 6' 4" (he says he is 6' 5" but I've checked ) To add insult to injury the BF is a VERY nervous flyer and cannot get settled at the best of times - this is exacerbated when his knees are grazing his chin........

Normally on flights the check in staff take pity on us and try to allocate us bulkhead seating or emergency exit seating - on a flight back from NYC with BA we were even smuggled into Club Class once the lights went down by a kindly flight attendant which helped enormously. He even managed to sleep for half-hour or so!

I'd like to know if there are any "good" seats on the type of aircraft Thomson will use - I think its an Airbus but I'm getting conflicting information on web searches and my head is hurting :-)

Any help would be most appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Mossbird

mossbird,

Welcome onboard
Whether to pre-book or select your seat is personal preference really. If you want to sit in a particular part of the aircraft or want peace of mind that your seats are pre-booked, then it might be worth it to you. If you aren't fussed where you sit, then it's probably not. Your flights, MAN-RMF-MAN (TOM302/3) are operted by a Boeing 757-200 (winglets). You'll find further aircraft information on our What Aircraft? guide. All the seats are pretty much standard, as I mention before it's personal preference really. One seat doesn't give any advantage over the other. Given your long legs, it might be worth enquiring about extra legroom seating, more details on Thomsons website.

Darren

For those interested, the first of the former First Choice Airways Boeing 757-200's (G-OOBA) has now been painted in the Tui blue Thomson livery. Photo here.

Darren

Great photo.

Wonder how much it costs to re-paint a 757.All this cost stuff just fascinates me.Can never figure out just how airlines make any money.

Papa.

hi again - please do not rush to answer this but when will it be known what type of aircraft will be used for these flights on 28th April 2010 to Paphos. TOM3366 from EMA, TOM2314 TOM2336 from Manchester TOM 3306 from DSA and TOM 7320 from BHX. My parents are wanting to book but if one plane may be bigger than the others or have more seat room then they will go from that airport. Or do Thomsonfly ususally use the same size aircraft for this route from all these airports ? If yes what is it likely to be please ? This is a flight for a Thomson cruise and they would be returning on 7th May. However when you go on Thomsonfly to get the codes the option to book the return flight as a flight only does not exist on the 7th but you can book the out flight on the 28th for all the airports !! So the return flight must be reserved for cruise only passengers - as the cruise is 9 nights that will probably be why. Thanks

HuddersfieldTourist,

We Can Tell You Now What Aircraft Will Be Operating The Flights:

• TOM2314 (MAN) - Boeing 737-800
• TOM2336 (MAN) - Boeing 757-200
• TOM3306 (DSA) - Boeing 737-800
• TOM7320 (BHX) - Boeing 757-200
• TOM7318 (EMA) - Boeing 737-800

Information On All The Aircraft Can Be Found On Our What Aircraft? Thread (Linked In My Signature)

They Both Have The Same Seat Pitch Of 28" So It Makes No Difference Really.

The Reason The Flight Does Not Show As Returning On The 7th Is Because The Cruise Does Not Return From Paphos, It Returns From Corfu, And As Such You Can Find Them On A Search From Corfu.

The Itinerary For The Cruise Can Be Found Here

Gower

Thanks for the reply - my parents forgot to tell me that it ends in Corfu so that will be why I can't find a Paphos flight !

I'll tell them the seats are similar so they can choose the most appropriate flight times and location - super service - thanks again !