Monarch Airlines (for those who don't know) is a charter holiday airline formed in 1968. It's fleet comprises of Airbus A320 & A321 with an order for 30 Boeing 737-8MAX to replace its current Airbus A320/A321 fleet. They are going through a restructure to become a low cost airline specifically targeting the holiday destinations, there isn't a lot for them to change though, most of their current operating methods are similar to an L.C.C.
I have flown Monarch previously from Luton to Gibraltar & back on an Airbus A320. This time is from Gatwick to Madeira on an Airbus A321. This is a family holiday, unlike the last flight reports I have done.
I arrived about 10am at London Gatwick and we checked in and went through security pretty quickly.
I spent most of my time waiting spotting from the Gates in the South Terminal. I did about 3 hours worth. Getting an extra hour in as my flight was about an hour behind schedule due to problems at Barcelona (the previous service it was doing to mine).
The plane I was to fly on-board today was Airbus A321 G-OZBU. A former GB Airways & easyJet example.
Our flight pushed back on time and we taxied to the runway and departed in around 15 minutes. The weather was brilliant when we left London Gatwick.
The flight was pretty uneventful. For the meal service, Monarch provided a Chicken with leek sauce meal with carrots and potatoes and in the side box was a bread roll with lurpack butter, crackers & cheese and you could get either a tea or coffee free with the meal. I later paid to have a pepsi cola for later on in the flight, which was about 3 1/2 hours long.
The flight began to descend into Madeira Funchal about 30 minutes from our arrival time. After we passed through a layer of cloud, I could see the island and the airport. With about 1/4 of the runway on concrete stilts over the North Atlantic. It looked like we were going to try landing on an aircraft carrier.
We landed at Madeira Funchal. It was like flying into London City (See my CityJet report) and Gibraltar. Extremely fun and the pilots really added more than normal effort to slow the plane. We taxied around to our stand. Sitting around us were three Boeing 737-800.
Jet2.com Boeing 737-800 from Manchester. Transavia France Boeing 737-800 from Lyon, via Porto. JetairFly Boeing 737-800 from Brussels.
Before I got off the plane, I went and visited the flight deck, having a short chat with the pilots before leaving for my week in Madeira.
We got a bus to our Hotel, the ENOTEL Lido. On the way I got some images of the scenery around the Island.
Thank you for reading and my return flight will be up soon with some images from my spotting trip to the Airport. Bellow is a link to my Youtube video of the review:
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Verdict
Monarch Airlines
7.4/10
Cabin9.5
Cabin crew10.0
Entertainment/wifi1.5
Buy-on-board menu8.5
London - LGW
9.9/10
Efficiency10.0
Access9.5
Services10.0
Cleanliness10.0
Funchal - FNC
10.0/10
Efficiency10.0
Access10.0
Services10.0
Cleanliness10.0
Conclusion
Monarch Airlines were brilliant as they were in February 2014. I didn't mind the hour long delay as it gave me extra spotting time at London Gatwick.
Madeira Funchal was really impressive. The Terminal was spotless, it had a small museum about the airport and there was a free viewing deck to watch planes from. It was divided into two so people land and air side could watch.
Over all a brilliant flight. I would recommend Monarch Airlines to anyone going on holiday.
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Hi Jett ! Thaks for sharing this report. It's a good flight on Monarch. I love the 757. Do the back of the seats are equiped to support an Ipad ? (there's no PTV).
Yes. The seats have a design for someone to fit in an IPAD or Smart Tablet. Yeah they are my best sighting of Hekla Aroura. I think my report is the only (English) report on Monarch Airlines on this site at the moment.
No you got to pay £8 for a meal when booking your flight. You can pay for a meal on any flight. You can buy stuff on-board, but its not much more than a Panini.
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6 reviews
4 Comments
Thaks for sharing this report.
It's a good flight on Monarch.
I love the 757.
Do the back of the seats are equiped to support an Ipad ? (there's no PTV).
See you,
So Monarch does provide a free meal on longer flights?
Landing in Madeira sure is an experience for an avgeek! Like LCY or SXM.
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