Monarch, long haul
Discussion
I'm just about to sign up for a cracking 10 day ski clinic in Banff.
Only downside is the flight to Calgary is going to be with Monarch.
Will it be as grim as I expect it to be ?
I can put up with Virgin or BA at best (but often upgrade to premium eco or business when I can as I still find it's something to be endured rather than enjoyed in economy).
Whole point of this seasons trip was supposed to be cheaper than normal so trying to avoid the upgrade option.
PS If you are looking at ski hols, it's a good year to move away from Europe, I'm regularly seeing 10 days across the pond coming up cheaper than 7 days europe for the same level of accom.
Only downside is the flight to Calgary is going to be with Monarch.
Will it be as grim as I expect it to be ?
I can put up with Virgin or BA at best (but often upgrade to premium eco or business when I can as I still find it's something to be endured rather than enjoyed in economy).
Whole point of this seasons trip was supposed to be cheaper than normal so trying to avoid the upgrade option.
PS If you are looking at ski hols, it's a good year to move away from Europe, I'm regularly seeing 10 days across the pond coming up cheaper than 7 days europe for the same level of accom.
Pay for the seat upgrade. Do it now. This gives you the emergency exit seat. That will make it more bearable. I flew them to Kefalonia as they were the only choice for direct and they were standard cheap airline. The food they gave you for free was really, really bad. You had to pay for anything else. No entertainment (don't know about longhaul though).
Seriously though, pay the emergency exit seat upgrade and book it now to avoid disappointment.
Seriously though, pay the emergency exit seat upgrade and book it now to avoid disappointment.
Done Manc/Monarch/Calgary about 4 times. We went Air Canada to Vancouver this year - not facing that flight again was one of the considerations
It is grim. The skeletal seats are packed as tight as possible. Hope you're not 6ft plus or you will suffer.
On the bright side Banff is great and you'll love the skiing - you'll remember that long after the DVT gets better
It is grim. The skeletal seats are packed as tight as possible. Hope you're not 6ft plus or you will suffer.
On the bright side Banff is great and you'll love the skiing - you'll remember that long after the DVT gets better
Cara Van Man said:
I flew to the Maldives on Monarch.
I'm 6 ft tall and was like a caged, rabid animal after about an hour. I made sure we had an upgrade for the return flight.
I've been to the Maldives twice, both times business class with Emirates. Every time I leave, I see the monarch que, and I grimace. You have just confirmed why!I'm 6 ft tall and was like a caged, rabid animal after about an hour. I made sure we had an upgrade for the return flight.
DeadMeat_UK said:
I'm just about to sign up for a cracking 10 day ski clinic in Banff.
Only downside is the flight to Calgary is going to be with Monarch.
Will it be as grim as I expect it to be ?
I can put up with Virgin or BA at best (but often upgrade to premium eco or business when I can as I still find it's something to be endured rather than enjoyed in economy).
Whole point of this seasons trip was supposed to be cheaper than normal so trying to avoid the upgrade option.
PS If you are looking at ski hols, it's a good year to move away from Europe, I'm regularly seeing 10 days across the pond coming up cheaper than 7 days europe for the same level of accom.
Did this last year! Where are you staying in Banff? Wifey and I stayed at the Sunshine Inn which might not have been as plush as some of the hotels in the village it had one major advantage. When we were there the weather was cold, and I mean cooooold. For all the time we were there the temperature was only above -25C on one day, the rest of the time it was around -30C. The problem is that below -25C the gondola from the village up to the base can't open so people staying in the village couldn't go skiing. As the Sunshine Inn is at the top of the gondola this isn't a problem and they open some of the lifts anyway. For most of our time there the maximum number of people skiing on the hill was about 10! It was great, entire runs to yourself. On the coach for the return journey to Calgary all the other people on the coach had been moaning about how they hadn't managed to go skiing at all. We really didn't have the heart to tell them that we'd had the best week and a bit's skiing for years!Only downside is the flight to Calgary is going to be with Monarch.
Will it be as grim as I expect it to be ?
I can put up with Virgin or BA at best (but often upgrade to premium eco or business when I can as I still find it's something to be endured rather than enjoyed in economy).
Whole point of this seasons trip was supposed to be cheaper than normal so trying to avoid the upgrade option.
PS If you are looking at ski hols, it's a good year to move away from Europe, I'm regularly seeing 10 days across the pond coming up cheaper than 7 days europe for the same level of accom.
The only problem we had was that the outbound flight decided that it needed to stop at Gander airport to refuel which turned a 10 hour direct flight into a 14 hour epic. Not pleasant!
I would wholeheartedly agree with the previous poster that the upgrade to Premium or whatever it was called was well worth the extra cash. It wasn't much IIRC. Also the in-flight entertainment it a crock of s
t, take something to keep you occupied.Enjoy!
Cara Van Man said:
I flew to the Maldives on Monarch.
I'm 6 ft tall and was like a caged, rabid animal after about an hour. I made sure we had an upgrade for the return flight.
Ditto (Monarch to Maldives, BTW).I'm 6 ft tall and was like a caged, rabid animal after about an hour. I made sure we had an upgrade for the return flight.
The "food" was gruesome, the "space" non-existent, and during the 10 hour night flight the cabin crew rattled up and down the aisle incessantly: "duty free? duty free? duty free? drinks? tea? coffee?".
Oh, and they f
ked us over on our booked flight to Preveza also on our recent trip to Lefkas. Irritating. But meant we ended up arriving in Vasiliki in a rather agreeable way on this:
ukwill said:
fly charter at your peril.
I think it depends who you are with.Monarch seat pitch longhaul economy is 29inch
BA and Virgin are 31inch
Emirates 32inch
Thomson,First Choice and Thomas Cook 33inch
I flew a Monarch longhaul once it certainly felt like the smallest seat pitch I've ever been on.
el stovey said:
ukwill said:
fly charter at your peril.
I think it depends who you are with.Monarch seat pitch longhaul economy is 29inch
BA and Virgin are 31inch
Emirates 32inch
Thomson,First Choice and Thomas Cook 33inch
I flew a Monarch longhaul once it certainly felt like the smallest seat pitch I've ever been on.
You can check all the airlines and thier space on www.seatguru.com i think
ukwill said:
DeadMeat_UK said:
Am now very actively looking for an alternative way of getting there !
Thanks for the stories, I shall pity the fools even more that I see in the queue at the airport.
Emirates. I rate them highly. Thanks for the stories, I shall pity the fools even more that I see in the queue at the airport.
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