Review of Monarch Airlines flight London Rome in Economy

Airline Monarch Airlines
Flight ZB3566
Class Economy
Seat 14A
Aircraft Airbus A320
Flight time 02:35
Take-off 27 May 16, 16:30
Arrival at 27 May 16, 20:05
ZB 6 reviews
ChrisB
By GOLD 639
Published on 4th January 2022

rome rome roma


Hello everyone and welcome to this archives from a previous visit to the eternal city.
I paid this trip £99 for the one way ticket with Monarch, and if it wasn't so cheap, it was cheaper than anyother airlines for this time of the year. 

Monarch was a true landmark in the British travel world, having flown many Britons abroad since the 1950s and it was a true shock when it collapsed, a bit like what we felt for Thomas Cook. 



Routing

  • Monarch Airlines LTN - FCO You are here
  • Easyjet FCO - LGW Not available

I do not have enougth pictures of the way back with EZY I am afraid, and I guess it is not as interesting as defunct airline..
 
Checking in on Monarch Website was quite fast and efficient.


photo boardingoasasasa

If the trains tickets to Luton are fairly cheap compares to those for Stansted or the Gatwick Express, the journey is really longer and not that pleasant.

You first arrive at a very small station called Luton Parkway.
The station is not designed for hundreds of passengers - here is the unique shop.


photo parkway

What is worse is that you need to queue for a good 20 min before finally boarding a bus shuttle that will take you to the bus bays of the National Express services at Luton Airport. 

The journey is about 10 min more so you AT LEAST need to plan a good 30 min of contingency time that you wouldn't plan with any other London airport. 


Once arriving at Luton airport, you are facing a massive dock hall that might as well be a truck garage. In this garage are usually long queues for security.

You can notice how heavily decorated the hall is. 


photo departing-hall

The airport features this very very densed food court, where just a very shops are, and a lot of lenghty and empty corridors leading to the gates.

Pret a manger, Bella Italia,  WHSmith are present and amongst the premium offerings.


photo bella-italia-84197

Time for boarding. The particularity of Luton is that once at the gates, you need to go down just like as if you were leaving a shoping centre to walk back on the pavement… And the plane is there in front of you!


I was told off for taking pcitures I apologise for the blurry pic.


photo boardinggg

onboard the a320


The famous yellow cabin crew outfit.


Aircraft: Airbus A320-214
Registration: G-MRJK
Engines: 2x CFM56
Age: XX Years
Layout: Y174 (in comparison Easyjet fits 186 seats)


photo crrew

Let's go and taxi! 


photo taxi

We were followed by another Monarch bird.


photo taxi2

And take off!


photo tkoffphoto tkoff2photo cruise

Flying over the channel


photo cruise2

and passed the Alps..


photo cruise3

And the approach after a boring 2 hours onboard…


photo landi

The famous magazine review… Nice to see that the airline was already offering some digital press review.


photo 20211229_152241

Bye bye A300s!


photo 20211229_152321

The network was clearly targeting sunny destinations, but somewhat very poor comparing to the EZY one.


photo 20211229_152420

And finally… how do you know this is Loz cost airline magazine???


photo 20211229_152434

Spoilers and full reverse on 16L runway.


photo landi2

at rome - leonardo da vinci - fiumicino airport


We were taxiing towards our gate… Not sure why but at this time most of the low-cost airlines were parked at the E satellite, where some Long haul planes were also operating.


photo gatephoto gate2

After a quick hop on the transit train service, we arrived at the T3, but you need to go upstairs, at the departure levels, to get to the train station. 

In case you wonder why the airport is named after Leonardo Da Vinci! 


photo 5649015_nzpg0uuxsiwyqjm-magfzf3t2e69p2i7ynfkobmpetm

Finally a few pictures from this trip..
Of course the main Forum, and on the background the Palatine hill, where the Empereur palace was (yes the word Palace is coming from this hill!) 


photo 12045565_407134049487043_2891497428944200178_o

If you walk towards Campo de Fiori you can see a few houses that were casually built on some Roman constructions… This blew my mind!


photo 12047131_407152026151912_6140071775771643455_n

The AirBnB where I was staying..


photo 12080063_407133782820403_610589987887200828_ophoto 13315321_480683682132079_7029096398738328979_n

And finally a bit of french territory with the Academie de France at the Medecis villa.


photo 13327653_481022248764889_3477723887645717375_n
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Verdict

Monarch Airlines

6.1/10
Cabin6.5
Cabin crew7.5
Entertainment/wifi6.0
Buy-on-board menu4.5

London - LTN

5.0/10
Efficiency8.0
Access3.5
Services4.0
Cleanliness4.5

Rome - FCO

7.4/10
Efficiency7.0
Access7.0
Services9.0
Cleanliness6.5

Conclusion

LTN: I don't think I have been there since. Really not an airport worth flying from.

Monarch Airlines: It felt a bit like Easyjet, somewhere along these standards.
The magazine was thicker than other LCC competitors, the pitch slightly more generous but the BoB wasn't that cheap.

FCO: could be cleaner but a lot a services. The train station has a lot of services to Termini and Trastevere.

Related

4 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 591125 by
    KévinDC TEAM SILVER 6730 Comments
    Oh wow, Monarch, that's fun to see. R.I.P.
    27GBP for a full-sized 75cl bottle of Heidseck isn't bad at all. I'd go for that to forget the sadness around me on a Holiday carriers LOL

    Thanks for sharing!
    • Comment 591159 by
      ChrisB GOLD AUTHOR 3426 Comments
      Thanks Kevin for stopping by!

      Yes my only regret is not to have taken any more pictures but still better than nothing :-)
      Yes funny enough the price for that bottle for a BOB was ok, the rest was a bit more expensive
  • Comment 591209 by
    Esteban GOLD 19945 Comments
    Thanks Chris for sharing this Monarch flight from the past :)

    The last airline that operated the beautiful A300-600R.

    The Loz Cost, Love that :)

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