I recently flew Monarch Airlines to and from Cancun for my summer holiday and thought I would share my thought on the airline with the forum. We booked the holiday to Cancun via Thomas Cook expecting to fly Thomas Cook Airlines, however when were told that the flight was in fact operated by Monarch. At first I thought it would make a nice change from the usual charter operator flights however as I started to read reviews I began not to look forward to the flights.

Outbound: Manchester to Cancun – MON379.

            The first thing I happen to notice about Monarch is the flight numbers for this flight were backwards with the return flight being MON378 and the outbound being 379. I know this is irrelevant but this is the first time I have experienced this if anyone knows why please message me!

            Arriving at Manchester check in was quick and easy at dedicated check-in desks located right at the end of the check-in area away from all the other Monarch desks. There were 5 desks open, 1 for premium and 4 for economy. We checked in within 5 minutes and processed on through to departures. We had booked into the new Terminal 1 Escape lounge (review coming soon) so we wanted to get straight into there and relax. I’m not one to shop in airports so I just grabbed a few bottles of (overpriced) water and headed into the lounge.

            Boarding of the flight was called at 8:15am ready for the 9:00am departure so we proceeded down to the gate located at the other end of the terminal from the lounge so it was a good 10 minute slow walk through the airports hustle and bustle. Upon arriving at the gate we were one of the last to board, everyone seemed very egger for the flight and wanted to get to Cancun however I had no rush, I really wanted to spent the least time on the aircraft as possible.

            We were travelling as a group of 10 and I know its hard to seat people together but Monarch could of at least seated the families together however we were spread around a number of different rows. Luckily myself and our family of 4 were located together as I had requested seats together via Thomas Cook and the other families had not.

            The seating on the aircraft is 3-3-3 throughout economy with the exception of the last section of the cabin, which is 2-3-2 where the tail section narrows. I don’t really like this type of seating at all, I much prefer 2-4-2 as it means families aren’t spilt up. Being a family of 4 it meant one of us had to sit with the strangers and as usual that was I. We had seats C,D,E,F on the outbound leg so we were together as request just not how I would of liked.

            Once seated, the lack of legroom became apparent however was better than say the standards of a Thomas Cook 757 flight. The flight departed on time after a number of announcements and a very ignorant captain whom didn’t even bother to make an announcement instead this was done by the crew informing us of our flight altitude of 37000ft. The safety video is shown on overhead monitors and if you are seated in seats A,B or H,K you will struggle to see a monitor which is another let down of this aircraft.

            The crew then sprayed the aircraft with insecticides, the first time I have witnessed anything like this before we headed for departure. Take off was on time and smooth and we proceeded onto our flight path. The onboard monitors were lowered once again to display a map showing our location and all the other usual information. 

            The crew came around the cabin around 20 minutes after take of with headsets for the movies. I choose not to purchase a pair as I would not be watching the in flight entertainment. After flying with Thomson to Cancun previous 2 years it was a slight dissapoipment not to have the usual seat back IFE facilities something I feel should be mandatory on all long haul flights however I have to take into account Monarch don’t specialise in long haul and there aircraft is not in a specific long haul configuration.

            The in flight movie was started and I proceeded to get some sleep. After around 2 hours of flying I was woken for our breakfast. Having eaten in the lounge I was not very hungry but thought I could manage a aeroplane breakfast however we were given a muffin and a piece of melon for breakfast despite being told by Thomas cook we would receive a cooked breakfast. I handed this back to the cabin crew and again went back to sleep for the most of the flight waking up when they served another meal around 6 hours into the flight.

            They announced this meal would be chicken, prefect the only meat I can eat. However, upon opening the meal I discovered it was infact beef.  I asked a crewmember why they said it was chicken and served beef and they couldn’t provide an answer to my question other than they had no other choice on board. I ate the extras such as the cheese and crackers and bread role before dropping back off to sleep for the rest of the flight.

            The usual visa forums were handed out nearing the end of the flight and I woke up to complete them and prepare for landing. The IFE had returned to a map showing us just passing over Florida so I decided to go purchase a bottle of water as I had missed the final service and needed something to drink during the long queues.  In Cancun. I went to the back of the aircraft which they said would be an “open bar” service and was turned down to buy a bottle of water despite a hour remaining of the flight. Luckily, another member of the party had a spare bottle from Manchester, which they were kind enough to give to me for the airport.  

            We arrived in Cancun 20 minutes early, perfect! An extra 20 minutes to beat the large queues. I literally ran of the aircraft a welcome break from being squashed on like cattle. Monarch Airlines really need to consider giving the A330’s an upgrade after all these years its time they decided to either provide a reasonable long haul service or leave the long haul market and focus on there short haul operations. The aircraft would be excellent for a 5-6 hour flight but after that amount of time passengers on the aircraft became restless as I could identify from the number of times I was awoken by people walking past, Im not moaning at this point though as what else do you expect on an aircraft. The leg room could do with making that few inches more just so you can relax in your seat and the configuration could be reduced just to make the isles that bit wider. It did feel as if we had been “crammed” on the aircraft so they could make the most revenue from sending the aircraft all that way.

            The IFE is ok, if you are seated in a good position and they provide a number of films and tv shows to keep you entertained it would just be nice to have the seat back IFE to keep people more entertained.

            The crew I have to say were disappointing, rude and unhelpful. The Captain was ignorant and the only words he muttered throughout the flight were “half way” I was told to which the crew did apologise for so I must recognise them for this.

            The flight was worth it however to finally reach paradise and no sooner than stepping of the flight the experience was worth it to experience the sheer beauty of Cancun.

            I tried not to think of the return leg hoping for some reason Monarch would improve!

 Return leg to follow shortly as are pictures.