Incidences of Barbados with Thomson but without Dreamliner?

[wowzz]

Can you explain what you mean by the 'bubble' on a 767 please?

 

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[Urzzz1871]

Hi, we flew on the 767 out of Gatwick to Barbados in March.

 

Perfectly happy with the seating, especially as, travelling as a couple, the 767 has the benefit of 2-4-2 seating, so no need to share with a stranger, as you would have to in economy on the 787.

 

We were lucky to get economy seats in the front portion of the plane just behind the PE seating, so was relatively quiet, and made for a quick disembarkation upon landing. The PE seats did not seem any different to the economy seats on the 767, and so you appear to be paying for the extra service rather than anything fancy with regards to seating.

[wowzz]

Hi, we flew on the 767 out of Gatwick to Barbados in March.

 

Perfectly happy with the seating, especially as, travelling as a couple, the 767 has the benefit of 2-4-2 seating, so no need to share with a stranger, as you would have to in economy on the 787.

 

We were lucky to get economy seats in the front portion of the plane just behind the PE seating, so was relatively quiet, and made for a quick disembarkation upon landing. The PE seats did not seem any different to the economy seats on the 767, and so you appear to be paying for the extra service rather than anything fancy with regards to seating.

 

You get 3'' more seat pitch, and 2.5'' wider seat, but the economy seat pitch at 33'' is pretty generous to start with. In many ways I believe the 767 is a better aircraft as regards passenger space than the massively over-hyped 787.

[Urzzz1871]

Yes, I agree, we had no legroom issues at all in economy.

 

For me the biggest downside of the 787 is the 3-3-3 formation. However, I have heard very good things about the premium cabin on the 787 from friends who have used it.

[megacruiser]

Hi, we flew on the 767 out of Gatwick to Barbados in March.

 

Perfectly happy with the seating, especially as, travelling as a couple, the 767 has the benefit of 2-4-2 seating, so no need to share with a stranger, as you would have to in economy on the 787.

 

We were lucky to get economy seats in the front portion of the plane just behind the PE seating, so was relatively quiet, and made for a quick disembarkation upon landing. The PE seats did not seem any different to the economy seats on the 767, and so you appear to be paying for the extra service rather than anything fancy with regards to seating.

 

Many thanks. Looks as if there is no way of guaranteeing the Dreamliner then.

I also agree that 3x3x3 economy seating on either a Dreamliner 787 or A330 is quite undesirable. The change of Thomas Cook's A330s from 3x3x3 to 2x4x2 now makes them the clear best economy option, in my view. Nice new seats and video screens. And the James Martin food was an added bonus.

I would only be happy paying extra for Premium Economy on the Dreamliner.

[megacruiser]

You get 3'' more seat pitch, and 2.5'' wider seat, but the economy seat pitch at 33'' is pretty generous to start with. In many ways I believe the 767 is a better aircraft as regards passenger space than the massively over-hyped 787.

 

I would agree as regards the economy section.

 

However if I were flying Economy I would prefer the Thomas Cook A330s. They used to also be 3x3x3 like the Dreamliner but are now 2x4x2. This is the same as standard economy on scheduled airlines' A330s.

 

However on Thomson's 767s, the 2x4x2 is in a narrower plane and not so good for those who like a bit of elbow room.

The old First Choice 767 aircraft operated by Thomson had 2x3x2 layout like scheduled carriers, but I believe these aircraft no longer operate.

[Fatchemist]

Hi, we flew on the 767 out of Gatwick to Barbados in March.

 

Perfectly happy with the seating, especially as, travelling as a couple, the 767 has the benefit of 2-4-2 seating, so no need to share with a stranger, as you would have to in economy on the 787.

 

We were lucky to get economy seats in the front portion of the plane just behind the PE seating, so was relatively quiet, and made for a quick disembarkation upon landing. The PE seats did not seem any different to the economy seats on the 767, and so you appear to be paying for the extra service rather than anything fancy with regards to seating.

 

Just to add to this - we flew Thomsons 767 out to the TA on Britannia in March and sat in the same area. Someone sat near us asked a member of the cabin crew about something on the entertainment system and was given a reply along the lines of "what do you expect from a 16 year old plane?" The response said as much about the cabin crew (who, apart from one, didn't seem overly bothered) as the plane itself, which I found just OK.

Having experienced the Dreamliner last year, I'd say I found it a little better but wouldn't get over fussed if it wasn't available for any future flights.

[megacruiser]

I'd like to hear from folk who have flown Premium Economy on both the Dreamliner and either the Thomson 767 or the Thomas Cook A330. Relative merits of each please?

Sense of spaciousness, in-flight entertainment, food, hospitality, differences in jetlag?

Thanks

[NauticalMiss]

I'd like to hear from folk who have flown Premium Economy on both the Dreamliner and either the Thomson 767 or the Thomas Cook A330. Relative merits of each please?

Sense of spaciousness, in-flight entertainment, food, hospitality, differences in jetlag?

Thanks

 

Unfortunately, each one of your 'categories' will provide only subjective responses, so it may be hard for you to judge. However, here's my thoughts:-

- Much the same on both airlines and across all 3 types of aircraft. Not particularly spacious, but much better than economy.

- Marginally better on TC. There is a large selection on both airlines, but not a wide selection. Plenty of movies/TV for kids/teenagers, and boys/men; close to nothing for the intelligent middle-aged woman. If an airline is going to offer 'The West Wing', why just offer one single episode; give me 10 and I'll be no trouble at all. IMO all in-flight entertainment is poor on charter flights.

- Food is better on TC, but again only marginally.

- Hospitality - well that depends very much on the cabin crew, but I have not had any complaint with either airline. On one occasion there was chaos at the gate in Barbados because Thomson and Thomas Cook were departing within 5 minutes of one another; the TC cabin crew were very swift in bringing PE passengers a soothing G&T whilst the remaining passengers boarded.

- Fortunately I only suffer from jetlag when flying to the Far East. I will say that I didn't notice any benefit at all in flying on the Dreamliner.

 

In short, I can recommend the PE product with both airlines, and there really isn't much between them. As long as the plane is safe and clean, that's all I ask.

 

Enjoy your flight (and cruise) whatever happens.

[megacruiser]

Unfortunately, each one of your 'categories' will provide only subjective responses, so it may be hard for you to judge. However, here's my thoughts:-

- Much the same on both airlines and across all 3 types of aircraft. Not particularly spacious, but much better than economy.

- Marginally better on TC. There is a large selection on both airlines, but not a wide selection. Plenty of movies/TV for kids/teenagers, and boys/men; close to nothing for the intelligent middle-aged woman. If an airline is going to offer 'The West Wing', why just offer one single episode; give me 10 and I'll be no trouble at all. IMO all in-flight entertainment is poor on charter flights.

- Food is better on TC, but again only marginally.

- Hospitality - well that depends very much on the cabin crew, but I have not had any complaint with either airline. On one occasion there was chaos at the gate in Barbados because Thomson and Thomas Cook were departing within 5 minutes of one another; the TC cabin crew were very swift in bringing PE passengers a soothing G&T whilst the remaining passengers boarded.

- Fortunately I only suffer from jetlag when flying to the Far East. I will say that I didn't notice any benefit at all in flying on the Dreamliner.

 

In short, I can recommend the PE product with both airlines, and there really isn't much between them. As long as the plane is safe and clean, that's all I ask.

 

Enjoy your flight (and cruise) whatever happens.

 

Very helpful. Many thanks for the detailed response.

[Boatmans Lady]

We will be flying Premium Club on the Thomson Dreamliner in January 2018. Feedback I've had on the Thomson's board has been positive and there are some good youtubbe videoes around if you google it.

Have flown normal economy on the Dreamliner (Jan 2016) and wasn't impressed. Seats were not comfortable at all but must say that jetlag was definitely less than previous overnight flights from the US.

 

When we booked for December this year, a year ago, we were told that the flight was Thomson's on a Dreamliner, but have since discovered that as we are going from Gatwick, the allocated plane is a 767.

I'm not actually unhappy about this, as in premium the seat is two and a half inches wider than the Dreamliner and those extra inches make for a much better flight.

 

The talk is that P&O won't pay Thomson's price for the Dreamliner but it appears most of Manchester's flights are still on the Dreamliner.