My Holiday to Florida - Flying with Thomas Cook

On September 3rd, 2015 I took a solo trip from the United Kingdom to Orlando, Florida. I had limited funds so I had to find the cheapest direct flight I could find, as I was staying on Disney property this meant my budget was extra tight.

For £535 (every other direct airline charged around £800-£1100, very expensive indeed!) I managed to grab a flight direct from Manchester Intl Airport, United Kingdom to Orlando Intl Airport, FL. To me, this fit in budget but I'd heard mixed reviews about the airline, which was slightly concerning for me due to the long duration of the flight (approximately 9 hours each way), however this was all I could afford, and I'd stupidly already purchased everything else before even thinking about the flights, so I decided to bite the bullet and go for it.

Although this trip was taken over two years ago now, nothing has really changed, so this is my complete review of the Thomas Cook company itself and the flight I took on September 3rd, 2015.

Prior to Booking

I was familiar with this company and knew it was a travel orientated company, but I had also heard of the likes of Virgin Atlantic, British Airways and Thomson (now TUI). In all honesty it was Virgin Atlantic that I had my heart set on, due to the great reviews and extras that are included with the price, when speaking to others on an Orlando group on Facebook, the majority of users had recommended Virgin Atlantic over any airline, but they had warned me of the expense, unfortunately I was too naïve, and decided to ignore this. I guess this is what you do when you have your heart set on something you want to buy or do, but I was soon to learn that this was just way too expensive to even entertain the thought of.

I used my inheritance to book this holiday, as it was in a savings account the limit I could withdraw per day was £750, the amount which is sent to me also came in cheques, so waiting a week for the cheque to clear was extremely frustrating, but I thought to myself "relax, this will all be worth it soon, plus not everyone gets this chance", I was sad to be going alone as I'd broken up with an ex at the time, but I was still so excited to depart and get the trip started. Anyway, I'd taken the £750 out for the flight, but this was the last of my money as I'd spent the rest of it on hotels, attraction tickets, spending money and money for emergencies.

Once cleared, I eagerly went onto the Virgin Atlantic website ready to purchase my flight tickets, however I was disappointed to find that a direct return ticket for one person came to just over £1000, after I had come to terms with this I tried other airlines such as British Airways and Thomson (TUI) but British Airways was still massively out of budget, and Thomson do not fly to Orlando Intl Airport, they fly to Sanford Airport. Before taking this trip, I would have rather flown with Thomson than Thomas Cook just because I was more familiar with the brand, however I would not have been able to take the free transfers (Disney's Magical Express) from Sanford Airport, and then paying for transfers would not have been worth it.

Then, I realised I hadn't checked Thomas Cook's Website, fortunately for me they had a sale on, the flights were direct at sensible times and flew from Manchester Airport to Orlando Intl Airport. It was like a dream come true, for £535 I still had £215 to spend on whatever I wanted and so I anxiously purchased them just to make sure I had them and it was all confirmed.

It was then that my bubble was burst. I had seen so many mixed reviews, mainly negative. I was now very anxious and dreading the flight, just in case it was an unpleasant journey. I think that the reality of just how long a 9 hour flight is kicked in, I don't think I would have been as worried if this was short haul flight. It was too late to do anything at this point, plus I'd already known that if I cancelled this flight there was no way I could afford another flight, then if I cancelled altogether, I would have only had 10% of my total holiday cost refunded. This decision made me grit my teeth and bear it.

Extras Included

There weren't many extras included with the Thomas Cook flight, perhaps this is why it was substantially cheaper. You were given a meal, 'afternoon tea' and a basic TV/Movie package (upgrade available for £6 each way) along with 23kgs of baggage allowance (1 hold bag allowed per person). I suppose this is all you need really, Virgin Atlantic did include drinks though, so if you wanted to get merry during your flight for no cost at all, Virgin Atlantic is your way to go.

Seat selection is only included for free if you book your seat in a premium cabin, but I'll get onto that in a second.

Cabins

There are two main cabins, economy and premium economy. At first I was wondering where the First/Business class was, but it turns out the don't do business or first, unlike their competitors Virgin Atlantic and British Airways, however their main competitor Thomson (TUI) did not have First/Business class either.

Economy cabin includes the basics (meal, television etc.) however Premium Economy includes these extras...

• Free drinks (including alcoholic drinks apart from champagne)
• An extra 10kgs of hand luggage (rather than 6kgs in economy)
• 32kgs worth of hold luggage (rather than 23kgs)
• Free seat reservations (as mentioned previously)
• Free television/film upgrade (which will cost you £6 each way in economy) and a pair of complimentary headphones.
• A priority check-in counter

Check-In

Checking in was much easier than I had anticipated. In all honesty I would have been nervous checking into any flight, this was not only my first solo trip, but I hadn't been on holiday since I was 13 years old, an age where you don't have to check in yourself, an age where you don't really pay attention to what's going on or what you have to do, my eyes were glued to my phone the whole time.

Check in was simple, if you are planning a Florida Holiday and do want to fly with Thomas Cook, then it's terminal T1 and on the ground floor. I was expecting it to be a mission to find the check in desk, but it was incredibly simple. I stood in a singular queue with many others who were going to different destinations, however it was the same check-in queue, which I thought was pretty hand. The staff were friendly and courteous which was a nice surprise, especially as I was in a rush. I had no problems with my bags, in fact my bag was almost the first one to come into the airport outbound, and took about 10 minutes to get my bag inbound, but I am so glad they didn't get lost on the way.

In-Flight

The seats were quite comfortable, they are made with a leather esque material, their leg space is generous, however if you can choose a seat and pay extra if you wanted some more leg space, which I would recommend, especially if you have long legs. The only problem I had with the seats was that there wasn't much room to sit in without brushing arms and legs with the person sat next you, this can be quite a pain if you're trying to reach down for your bag or manouver to a comfier position, as it often disturbs the person sitting next to you.

I was seated at the front of economy cabin, this means that my TV was under my seat (unlike your standard TV on the back of the seat situation) this was confusing to find at first, but I managed. This was a bit of a nightmare especially when eating, as you have no room at all, you have the television resting above your legs whilst the table rests above your lap, that combined with the confined space you have between space can be quite anxiety-inducing due to my claustrophobia.

The TV and film choice is shockingly bad if you don't purchase the extras for £6. Yes, it is only £6 but if you're a family of four who purchases this upgrade either way it's going to cost you almost £50, which is a bit of a bummer considering every other airline offers a wide range of movies and television shows for free. However, their music choice is quite good I must say. Without the upgrade, you are looking at poor variety and little to choose from, if I remember rightly you have a choice of around 3-4 movies and 3-4 television shows, compared to around 12 of each with the upgrade.

Food

The food was very good.

The meals in premium and economy are both designed by world famous chef James Martin. Thomas Cook caters to children and passengers who have special dietary requirements such as gluten free and kosher. You are given two options if you choose a standard adults meal, to my knowledge this is still the same as it was when I flew out.

I chose a roast chicken meal against a roast beef meal as I prefer chicken. I wasn't expecting much for plane food, but this was actually incredibly delicious and I would have had a second helping if I was allowed.

With your meal, you also get some crackers and cheese as well as a dessert and small chocolate piece. Overall dinner was a solid 9/10 for me.

You are also given some sandwiches and crisps around an hour before you begin to land, these were OK but they felt too hard and cold too tasted nice, I avoided eating them.

Customer Service

As I had said previously, the customer service at check-in was brilliant, on the plane itself it was OK. Some of the airline staff were rude, some were nice and courteous. I did find that the hosts/hostesses were nicer and more willing to help on the way home.

Overall Review

The process from booking the holiday to check in to flying home had all been easy going and was not problematic in the slightest. I did not need their assistance whilst I was on holiday otherwise I would have been able to comment on their customer service whilst abroad too, however I think commenting on this would be more appropriate when booking the actual holiday with Thomas Cook, rather than just the flights.

Customer service was OK, could have been better but at the same time it wasn't abysmal either. The food was the best food I've ever eaten on a plane, I was very surprised with this, but I was a bit disappointed with the lack of entertainment. If I was to use Thomas Cook again I would definitely try to pay extra to sit in premium class however if you're just looking for a no thrills, cheap flight this is the one for you.

If you would like to book with Thomas Cook for your holiday OR flight, there are links at the bottom of the page to do so!