13 January 2010

Charter airline check-in goes online

Passengers using a new Thomas Cook Airlines online check-in service face fees if they want to select their seats.

The ‘Seats Together/Your Seat Your Choice’ starts at £12 per person return.

A priority seat selection up to 98 days before travel starts at £6 per passenger, per flight.

Extra leg room seats are available starting at £23.50.

The carrier claims to be the first charter airline in the UK to launch an internet check-in service.

Holidymakers are being given the option in addition traditional airport check-in.

Online check-in is currently available for flights from Gatwick, Stansted, Leeds/Bradford, Bristol, Belfast and Newcastle.

The service is due to be extended to the other UK airports in the near future, the company said.

Passengers log on to www.thomascookairlines.co.uk/yourflight.asp to select their seats, check-in and print boarding passes up to seven days before the flight departs.

On the day of their flight, they take their luggage to a designated bag drop before heading to passport control.

The airline’s customer services director Joanna Wild said: "We’re always looking at ways that we can give our holidaymakers more control over their booking and this innovation gives people the freedom to chose where they sit as well as making the airport experience a quick and easy one.

"We’re really proud that we’re the first to offer this to charter passengers and look forward to rolling it out to our full flying programme soon."

by Phil Davies

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Your Comments (3)

Family Seating on Aircraft

Small Families Holidays are the UK's biggest operator of holidays for Single Parent Families so constantly come across this problem of airlines splitting children away from their parent. I have taken it up with both IATA and our own CAA yet both are unwilling to make it mandatory that children must be seated with their parent. All IATA says is that they strongly advise airlines to ensure children sit with their parent. I think it is totally irresponsible of an airline to split a child and parent and in case of problems they are creating serious problems both for themselves and the unknowing passenger seated next to what is an unaccompanied child. We also get problems where the parent has a different surname to their child as even though we make it quite clear they are the same family the names are put into the seating system alphabetically. Having said all this we as a company do work with some great airlines who through the experience of working with us do go out of their way to help us. It really doesn't matter to any airline where people sit so these seating charges are just another example of the airline Rip-Off culture.

By Allen Miller, Thursday, January 14, 2010
FAMILIES SUFFER YET AGAIN

I'm frankly quite amazed that Thomas Cook are PROUD to offer this service. Yet again, the poor family has to suffer. &#pound;48 for a family of 4 on top of the already horrendous taxes they have to pay. Yes, they could not do it but does a mother want to be separated from four year old. Shame on these airlines trying to masquerade it as a service to be proud of...

By Kay Carter, Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Another ransom for families

On the face of it, this sounds great - but for families trying to holiday on a budget, this is holding them to ransom - either pay the fee to sit together (remembering most families will be travelling with small kids), or turn up at the airport on the day, and roll the dice...!

By Gary Dunleavy, Wednesday, January 13, 2010