This flight came about as part of my family's Summer holiday in Portugal. I personally wanted to try out the Monarch Scheduled service having already used several UK-based LCCs and Charter carriers in recent years (easyJet, Jet2, Thomsonfly, Thomas Cook, First Choice) as well as hearing good things about them from Trip Reports posted on here, as well as other places on the Internet. The price for three people was very competitive too with other carriers and this swung the decision to book in ZB's favour. With the flights booked and the accommodation sorted I was looking forward to it.
As usual I've split the report into two parts for each leg of the journey. Enjoy!
OUTBOUND
Manchester - Faro
Monday 9th July 2007
G-OZBH Airbus A321-231
We arrived at Manchester's Terminal 1 at around 4.45am in the morning. We did this so as to give us extra time due to the recent terror alerts/activities within the UK, and this was present at MAN with Police having cordoned off all pick-up and drop-off points across all three terminals and routing some drivers into the car parks. The check-in process was smooth and was over within 10 minutes of joining the queue. We had booked our flights online, and paid the extra to pre-allocate our own seats. I pre-allocated myself seat 8A and I got it, so I have Monarch to thank for that! [y]
We made the decision to go straight through security after checking in, because past experiences of flying out of MAN T1 at this time of the day, combined with increased security, meant that long queues would be inevitable. Again security was done and over with within 10 minutes of joining the queue, and proceeded to have breakfast in the very busy food court. MAN have recently started redeveloping T1 and already the strain of the building work was showing with the lack of seats in the departure lounge and people often sitting in the cafes without buying anything, which can be annoying to people who have bought food/drink and have nowhere to sit. T1 is busy anyway in the Summer season at this time in the morning but building work can put a huge strain on capacity at busy periods, but fortunately it will not be like this forever.
We were called to Gate 11 at around 6.45am and being the first time since I had boarded a plane from this pier in 6 years!!! (The last flight from this pier was a JMC flight to Tenerife South in 2001). At around 7am we was invited to board and I was in the last group to board the flight.
The seats on G-OZBH were of a navy blue style with the white/yellow tartan-style lines as pattern. Not entirely sure as to whether this is newly fitted or not but it was in good condition and clean. I settled down in seat 8A where a complimentary copy of The Independent was waiting (the other complimentary newspaper available was The Daily Telegraph). Cabin crew came round offering free headsets for the IFE before pushing back on time, and duly taxied over to Runway 23L for take-off.
For those unaware MAN has recently changed their runway designations in accordance with changing magnetic fields. Therefore Runways 24L and 24R are now 23L and 23R respectively, and 06L and 06R became 05L and 05R respectively.
Shortly after take-off the cabin crew came round with the drinks service and giving out menus for meals which were available to purchase on-board. Having already had breakfast in MAN I bought a cup of tea and settled down to listen to my iPod and to read some newspapers/magazines. The meals were duly served out to passengers who bought them and towards the end of the meal service, free hot towels were offered to all passenger. I took one to help freshen myself up.
Part way through the flight the Captain came onto the PA system to advise us that we were cruising at 33,000ft before proceeding to 37,000ft and travelling at approximately 550mph.
Towards the end of the flight the cabin crew came round with the Duty Free service, where I bought a model of an A321 to add to my collection. What I was impressed by is that, unlike on some other airlines I've flown with, ZB offer models of all examples that make up their fleet.
We begun our descent into Faro and flew over a few of the many golf courses in the Algarve before an early landing on Faro's Runway 10. We taxied to a remote stand and the cabin crew thanked us for flying with Monarch Airlines, before disembarking and being bussed to the terminal. There was a 10 minute queue for passport control before another 5 minute wait for the first round of suitcases to come out.
Once this was done we collected our rental car from Avis to drive to Lagos, where we was staying for the week.
RETURN
Faro - Manchester
Monday 16th July 2007
G-OZBE Airbus A321-231
After enjoying nearly a week of glorious weather with not a cloud in the sky (exception being the day before this flight) it was time to head home. We arrived at the Avis drop-off point just outside Faro Airport at 9.45am before being bussed to the terminal building. Here we then joined the long queue at check-in for our flight back home (the queue was shared with the London Luton flight scheduled to depart 10 minutes before our flight) which funnily enough took 10 minutes to clear up. At this point we found out that we would be delayed until 12.20pm with no reason being given out by the check-in agent. We proceeded through security and sat down in a cafe for a coffee before doing some shopping. At around 11.45am we was called to gate D12 and boarding commenced shortly afterwards.
We were then bussed to the aircraft for the flight, G-OZBE, and I settled down into my pre-allocated seat of 12A. Thanks again to Monarch for this! [y]
The Captain came on to explain the situation regarding our delay. The Luton flight arrived late into Faro due to an issue at Luton and Monarch decided to use the aircraft ex-Manchester (which was on-time) to use on the Luton flight, and that Manchester would get the aircraft which came ex-Luton, hence G-OZBE. For those who are interested the aircraft used on the Luton flight that day was G-MARA.
Pushback was at 12.30pm and we took off from Runway 28 shortly afterwards. Cabin crew once again came round offering free headsets for IFE and handed out menus. This time I decided to buy a meal and I settled for Main Meal Option 2, which consisted of: -
STARTER: Orange juice
MAIN COURSE: Cheese tortellini
DESSERT: A plate of freshly cut fruit
DRINKS: Choice of tea or coffee (I had 2 cups of coffee)
The drinks service was carried out first before meals was served. The cost of the meal came to 6, which is about the same as rival carriers that offer meals. I have to say the meal tasted lovely and would have no hesitation in having it again (providing Monarch offer it again). There was another main meal option available (priced 6), as well as a range of hand-made sandwiches and a 'light' option available at 3 each. Before the meals were cleared away, hot towels were offered again which I took up and was the perfect refresher after a meal during a flight.
After the meal service, game cards were sold for 1 each, with the money going towards several official charities of Monarch. I bought one and was lucky enough to win 5 which I could either redeem in cash or use towards a purchase from the Duty Free trolley. Since I didn't want to buy anything else I redeemed my winnings in cash.
The cruising altitude on this flight was 36,000ft with a speed of under 600mph aided by a slight tailwind. This played a part in making up 20 minutes caused by the delay at Faro.
We soon began our descent into Manchester and after flying over Wigan twice whilst being held by Manchester ATC we descended and landed into Manchester's 23R. We exited the runway to pass the Aviation Viewing Park (final resting place of Concorde G-BOAC) before arriving at Gate 26. We disembarked with the crew thanking us for flying with Monarch. Passport control was swift before waiting about 15 minutes for our suitcases before returning to our car and heading home.
OVERVIEW
This was the first time I have every flown with Monarch and have to say I was very impressed with them. The service was great and the crew were friendly on both flights. I also thought that, in this instance, they offered excellent value for money over the very similar fares being offered by Jet2 and easyJet from Manchester and Liverpool respectively on these dates, and the fare included nice touches such as free headsets for IFE, hot towels, allocated seating, on-line check-in (which I didn't use on this occasion) complimentary newspapers and the option to buy meals on board.
I personally think Monarch are on to a winner with the Monarch Scheduled service and its a shame that other LCCs haven't picked up on much, even though it will usually mean paying extra (although I accept that on this occasion the price difference between other carriers was only by a few pounds).
Because of this all I can say to Monarch Scheduled is to keep it up and for other LCCs to make not, and I will try to fly Monarch Scheduled where possible in the future providing they can keep their fares competitive and the standard of service is maintained/exceeded, and thanks to them for a great flight! [^]
Thanks for taking the time to read my Trip Report, please feel free to post any questions/comments you have and I will try to answer them as best as possible.
Cheers!
