Phuket Thailand - Martinair november- januari 275€ !

numanoid65 · #1 03-11-2006, 20:04

Direct flights Brussels - Phuket with Martinair.
Most weeks from November till mid Januari
125€ One way / 275€ with retour (economy)
So almost for free!
Neckermann

Nanook · #2 03-11-2006, 20:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by numanoid65

Direct flights Brussels - Phuket with Martinair.
Most weeks from November till mid Januari
125€ One way / 275€ with retour (economy)
So almost for free!
Neckermann

Martinair is one of the worst airlines I ever flew with. It is a typical example of a mass tourism charter airline. I had to use them about 10 times as they are included in many package deals of Dutch tour operators. I used them both on intercontinetal flights (Cuba, Miami, Seattle) as for flights in Europe.

The flight crew is old, ugly and don't know what they are doing, except for polishing their nails. No feeling for normal treatment of their customers.

You sit like in a cattle truck as their seat pitch is just 28 or 29 inch.

The food is usually no good

Although the price is very low, I will not use them. Not even when I can travel with them for free. Guess most of the BM's have been flying with Asian airlines at least once. If you then go with a Martinair flight, you rather commit seppuku.

So my advise is... let them fly with empty planes and you spend a bit more and take a decent airline!

Big_M · #3 03-11-2006, 23:13

I flew with Martinair last week and all that Nanook writes is true.

1. No service
2. No leg space ( only in starclass ok, but extra 490€)
3. Food, it can pass
4. Drinks if you beg long enough you get a small glass of soda
5. No direct flight even when they say it’s a direct flight
(to Phuket you stop at Colombo +/- 2hours in transit )
(to Brussel you stop at Mali +/- 1.5hour in the airplane)
No thanks

Grtz

banger_chris · #4 03-11-2006, 23:19

Hi Gens!

I can be wrong but i think Martinair is owned by the German Operator Condor Airways. (correct me if im wrong... can also be KLM) I remember flying Martinair back in 2003 - Mexico Cancun to Amsterdam. Service was not that bad what i can remember. (Well not better than Condors or KLM service)

Price is great btw.

dawsey · #5 03-11-2006, 23:24

Unless its one of the well known airlines offering a bargain, you usually get what you pay for. Always look for the flight itinery and see what stop overs are involved and for how long. That cheap bargain could end up a nightmare.

Its been mentioned before,but look at independant comments about every airline here

World Airline Star Ranking

IRISH JONNY · #6 03-11-2006, 23:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by dawsey

Unless its one of the well known airlines offering a bargain, you usually get what you pay for. Always look for the flight itinery and see what stop overs are involved and for how long. That cheap bargain could end up a nightmare.

Its been mentioned before,but look at independant comments about every airline here

World Airline Star Ranking

GOOD LINK DAWSEY

IJ

steven eleven · #7 04-11-2006, 00:02

Hello,

I booked a flight two days ago via internet, and then it was 640 euro to HKT and back.

Normally I always fly Eva Air form A'dam or Gulf Air from Paris.

The good thing is that now i do not need to take Thalys Train and spent +/- 75 Euro to Paris and back extra. I only live +/- 50 minutes from Brussels. if I have to drive to A'dam it takes me 2h30min.

Anyway the most important thing is that I will arrive in LOS on 22 january 2006.

dawsey · #8 04-11-2006, 00:24

Martinair gets a 3* rating here,so the comments from our BMs differ from other passengers

MARTINAIR Product quality Star Ranking and MARTINAIR service quality Star Ranking

Big_M · #9 04-11-2006, 00:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by banger_chris

Hi Gens!

I can be wrong but i think Martinair is owned by the German Operator Condor Airways. (correct me if im wrong... can also be KLM) I remember flying Martinair back in 2003 - Mexico Cancun to Amsterdam. Service was not that bad what i can remember. (Well not better than Condors or KLM service)

Price is great btw.

There is a big difference in my eyes between Martinair Amsterdam and Belgium (they have been chartered by Thomas Cook and they are selling seats to neckermann, pegaese, best-tours, etc…) so maximum capacity at minimum service

I have been flying with Martinair from Amsterdam to Punta Cana and there airplanes are better and the service is not bad.

But there service can be compared to Thai or Singapore airlines ( super service )

numanoid65 · #10 04-11-2006, 00:52

Seems like not everyone is enthousiastic about my post.
I flew with them last year to, and true the service wasnt fantastic, and true they make a stopover in Colombo. But where can you find a relieable airline for that price. A real bargain for the budget travellers.
In this case matinair flies for thomas cook.

dawsey · #11 04-11-2006, 00:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by numanoid65

Seems like not everyone is enthousiastic about my post.
I flew with them last year to, and true the service wasnt fantastic, and true they make a stopover in Colombo. But where can you find a relieable airline for that price. A real bargain for the budget travellers.
In this case matinair flies for thomas cook.

Not so much a lack of enthusiasm,just a few notes of caution numanoid65

Better to be forewarned about an airline and maybe have the chance to change before booking. Thats the good thing about this forum, you will get an opinion on an airline,and you can then act on it how you choose.

dizbuster · #12 04-11-2006, 01:51

Apparently the seat pitch is 30 inches The Airline Leg Room Guide

No good for big lumps like me

MrDK · #13 04-11-2006, 06:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big_M

5. No direct flight even when they say it’s a direct flight
(to Phuket you stop at Colombo +/- 2hours in transit )
(to Brussel you stop at Mali +/- 1.5hour in the airplane)
No thanks
Grtz

I am not defending MartinAir. Don't know them and don't want to know them. However, in the airline industry the definition of "Direct Flight" is a flight with one or more intermediate stops but no change of aircraft. A flight that does not have any stops is "Non-stop Flight"

erik1 · #14 04-11-2006, 08:00

So let me see? 275 euro +450 euro for star class? that is 700 euro or 425 pounds in seats that give far more space then economy and reasonable food

seems to quite a deal to me? or is the 450 euro a single supplement? in that case is would be more like 750 pounds and that is still reasonable for the space

But then I have to go to brussels first haha

numanoid65 · #15 04-11-2006, 16:59

Yes,
economy 275€
confort class about 375€
business class about 775€ (not much seats left)

Nanook · #16 04-11-2006, 19:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by numanoid65

Seems like not everyone is enthousiastic about my post.
I flew with them last year to, and true the service wasnt fantastic, and true they make a stopover in Colombo. But where can you find a relieable airline for that price. A real bargain for the budget travellers.
In this case matinair flies for thomas cook.

Well, it is how you look at it. As said, I used them frequently in the past and am not very enthusiatic as you could read. My last time was early 2005 to Cuba. Also a direct flight (with a stop in Puerto Plata). Mr.DK's remark is right, if you want to flight straight through, then book a non-stop one.

Of course it is a cheap bargain. I neither cannot look in your wallet, nor do I want to tell you what to do. If you want to use it then go ahead, but I just felt I needed to share my experiences with them.

Success,
Nanook

erik1 · #17 04-11-2006, 19:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by numanoid65

Yes,
economy 275€
confort class about 375€
business class about 775€ (not much seats left)

the businessclass seats are a bargain if you can get them. it is the cheapest price rather normal for economy and it is more comfortable, though in the past it were just bigger seats, not businessclass as we would see it on the normal airlines. But it is economy 1,5 times wider and further apart for the price of cattle class of emirates and etihad who are known to be the cheaper ones.

dizbuster · #18 04-11-2006, 20:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by erik1

the businessclass seats are a bargain if you can get them. it is the cheapest price rather normal for economy and it is more comfortable, though in the past it were just bigger seats, not businessclass as we would see it on the normal airlines. But it is economy 1,5 times wider and further apart for the price of cattle class of emirates and etihad who are known to be the cheaper ones.

According to the link on my previous post, it shows a seat pitch for "Economy" 30 inches, "Premium" 34 inches and "Business" 39 inches. I would advise some caution when booking to determine exactly what which class is which. Ideally Economy = Economy and Comfort Class = Premium. Take care to ensure that Business Class is actually Business and not the Premium Class.

If it is their Premium economy, then it would offer little value against the premier airlines as most of them offer seats with 33"/34" at a similar price. However if it is MartinAir's Business Class, then it could be a bargain. EVA Air offers an Elite Class (38 inches) and tickets can usually be bought for around £750 which works out a fair bit more than MartinAir's price of 775 Euros.

naughty boy · #19 09-11-2006, 22:16

You will have to consider this:

1. The price is good
2. The company seems to be reliable
3. You can upgrade at a reasonable price
4. For people living in Belgium it is fine. With a more expensive flight, they will have to fly to Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Paris. Have another plane to Bangkok, then another one to Phuket. Here you just got a stopover.