greedy thomas cook

[Supacabby]

TC have consistently been the cheapest carrier from Gatwick to & from Dalaman for me so I class them as budget Keith. On that basis they suit my needs, getting from A2B in a safe manner, I really don't care whether they serve Efes or Champagne!

Just as a side note, I flew to/from Jamaica with First Choice/Thomson, going out was ok as a day flight, coming back last night (overnight) was a total shambles for lots of reasons & not just poorly trained staff but broken seat back which was notified prior to take off & informed just to sit forward (try that at 250mph when taking off & facing the sky), no call bell, no audio/video, no reading light, diabolical food & there was more...

[june]

I can totally believe it supacabby......there is always worse isn't there...

[Scunner]

I agree on several points Mark and to be absolutely honest, the through the night flight I was on in the back row I paid around £32 all in for, so I suppose I can't complain too much, especially for a flight into Glasgow. Actually my real point isn't about TC, it's about me - I simply don't want to arrive in town at 5am having been travelling for the best part of a day - and be knackered for the first three days, and I don't want to be up literally all night getting home, getting picked up at 10pm to check in at midnight for a flight that lands at 4am local time, letting me get to my car at around 5am - some 19 hours from when I last slept.

Jet2 and Easyjet are generally comparable with TC across all prices and dates but their flight times are generally way better.

As you had a side note so will I - I used to travel to Abu Dhabi and Dubai for work, and didn't book flights or hotels, the company did all that and sent me the details. Invariably BA (who surely can't even believe themselves that they are, or ever were "the World's Favourite Airline"!) but on one occasion BA was not possible so I had to go Emirates. One of the greatest flights of my life - modern plane, great food, a squillion channels to watch, choose one of around 8 cameras mounted on the plane to watch take off/landing/what's below you - everything. Actually I have never seen anything like it since, and that was 2001. On the way back - the oldest plane I've ever been on, no tv at all, dodgy grub and glad just to land - so you can't ever pigeon hole an airline - they'll all surprise you in the end  

[cheers]

Best flights I've ever been on was Air New Zealand
Have done many TC flights but not this year.  Like Keith and others I'm fed up with their SH1T flight times and found if you hit the airlines at the right time TC work out dearest!
So far I've got EasyJet for May and Monarch for July.  
Both worked out chesper than TC

[julesbob0303]

Thomas Cook really ARE a greedy airline!  

I have been trying to book a one way flight back from Dalaman for my 17 year old daughter in August, as she needs to fly home before us.  (Thanks to Pookie and Ron for all their help and advice with this.)  I went onto the live chat with Thomas Cook, and was told that as she was under 18, she wouldn't be allowed to travel alone.  However, Pookie's daughter did this last year, twice I believe, after Toni went into a TC shop and booked face to face.  

I tried ringing them and was again told the same - she can't travel alone as she is under 18.  I then emailed our local TC shop (about 20 miles away) and explained my predicament, and said that if they could book a flight for me, I would drive out and book it direct with them that day.

To be fair, they were very helpful and rang me back almost immediately - and said she couldn't travel unless she was with someone over the age of 18.  Determined not to be outdone by them, whilst we were away last weekend on a leisure break in Bournemouth, we walked for ever to find the local TC shop to see if we could sort out the flipping flight!!!  

Well, face to face, they were really helpful - not!!  This was a travel shop with about six assistants sat behind computers just waiting to book flights!  (Do people do this any more?  I thought we all shopped around online!   )  We were the only ones in there, and had the undivided attention of two lovely young ladies!  Guess what?  They wouldn't let us book a one way flight because it was out of another country, and not the UK!!!  They said they could look further into it if we booked a return flight for her!  I explained that we already had a flight booked out to Turkey and just needed to fly her home, but they didn't want to know.  

I have now given up with them.  On our return from Bournemouth, I went onto Thomsons flights online to book the flight I had been looking at for the last 2 months - this goes into our local airport (Bristol); on the right date; a nice daytime flight as I didn't want her arriving at the airport at some goddam awful time of the night (or, even worse, stuck in Dalaman on her own at 2am!) and guess what [?]  The expensive flight (which is why I hadn't booked it earlier   ) was suddenly over £100 cheaper than previously advertised!  I am thrilled - now all booked and at a lower price than anything TC could have offered us (had they so wished!)  

I don't think I'll ever try and book with TC again.  

[stoop]

FTC terms and conditions:


Children Travelling Without A Parent Or Guardian
Flythomascook.com do not accept bookings made for a passenger under the age of 18 years, unless they are travelling with an adult over the age of 18 years.

How does that make them greedy? Surely they are turning business away to other flight companies by refusing to fly under 18's on their own?

The OP was wrong because they do not insist all passengers book hold luggage. As I proved earlier!

[julesbob0303]

I meant that they were greedy as they appeared to be prepared to flout the rules if we booked a RETURN flight, but weren't interested in selling us a one way ticket! Not that they were greedy as they wouldn't let her fly!!!  

They were obviously able to "amend" their T&C's if Pookie's daughter was allowed to fly alone twice last year, whilst only 17.

Kanga also posted to say that 17 year olds can fly unattended with TC as long as they have a letter of consent, and that the booking is made through a shop, and not online.

Blueclad (Ron) who has worked as a travel agent also emailed me with some phone numbers stating the same - it's ok for her to travel with our permission if booked through a shop.  

They are losing business as lots of 17 year olds travel alone, and other airlines class adults as 16+.  It's only Thomas Cook who wont allow it (well, they obviously will sometimes, depending on who you speak to!   )

[stoop]

.. but if the shop cannot book a one way flight from another country then I can understand that. I know you can do it on line with some companies (FTC for example) but you pay in euros.

[fernando torres]

I am correct in my first post, there was definately no way I could have only booked one suitcase, I even tried other operators Flightline and Airflights.co.uk and spoke to them who also advised me that I had to pay for two suitcases, it was not on the bundle package that they offer

[stoop]

I see where the problem is with this post. What I think the OP means is that if you want to add baggage AFTER you have booked and paid for your flight then you have to add it for ALL passengers! However you do not need to do this when you book and pay on line - as long as you add it at the time of booking. This is from their website:

Baggage Allowance
No hold baggage is included for flight only bookings. Passengers are able to pre-book 20kgs of baggage via www.flythomascook.com at an extra cost. This can be done during the booking journey or after the booking has been confirmed.

 If you wish to add baggage to your booking once it has been confirmed you can do this via the website or via the Customer Help Desk. This has to be done outside of 4 days before your first departing flight. Please note that any baggage allowance must be added for all passengers and all flights shown on your booking.

I agree this seems a very unfair system for those who want to add an odd bag after they have booked and paid. Not sure how it compares to other flight operators.