I am a young Mum and I travel with my two. I have used First Choice and they were really nice and went out of their way to help me.

Looking at the reviewcentre.com it seems that the 'Which' survey is not off the mark where Thomas Cook is concerned. 1.6 stars out of 5 the average out of 246 reviews, with complaints ranging from poor customer service, tiny and cramped planes not appropriate for children and poorly trained and rude staff.

I think this is a case of 'you pay for what you get' with Thomas Cook, although it is disappointing that family's on a strict budget get such a poor service.

I used Thomas Cook once, and after flying with them it nearly put me of flying completely.
The flight was delayed both times, and finally when we were on the plane it was so small it was hard to breathe let alone sit comfortably.
We ordered meals for the flight and specified that we were vegetarians, we received sausage and mash. When we told them that we were veggie we were told they had no spares and that was all. They didn't try to compromise with anything else. We had late night flights so we were starving and they let us starve.
Overall I would never like to fly with Thomas Cook again and I recommend no one ever does.

Thomas Cook is the worst airline I have ever flown with. Had a 3hr delayed flight to Sharm from BHX, no explanations provided. Then finally get on the most cramped aircraft (B757-200), seats extremely narrow. Set in a 3-3 configuration my partner who is only 5ft 4in was in the centre seat with 2 average sized males either side - she could not even read her magazine as she could not hold her arms up to turn the pages. Crew poor, couldn't wait to get the commission based duty free and on board snack/drinks trollies out. I will certainly not use this company again neither will I recommend them to anyone either.

Premium is not a lot better than economy with Thomas Cook. We paid £500 extra for premium seats, but the service we were given does not justify that extra money. The food was poor, I had been under the impression there was a choice in the premium cabin. Whilst we did not expect a luxury service I feel paying £500 extra should give you a far better service than we received. Crew on return flight were just not bothered and spent a lot of the flight behind the curtains. Entertainment systems kept going wrong. Slightly more legroom - thats the only positive thing.

I had a very reasonable trip with Thomas Cook flying LGW-YVR return. Return ticket for £300 which was a very good price for the trip. We were given two hot meals of reasonable quality on both sectors and service was very courteous. The flight out was delayed by 30 minutes and we had to re-route to avoid the ash cloud which made for a longer flight and on the return the flight left on time and we arrived 30 minutes early. All in all, excellent value for money.

My Manchester to Vancouver flight with Thomas Cook was appalling. I am only 5/4, but struggled to get comfortable with the restricted leg room, again on our flights many people were forced to stand, including an entire rugby team, because they could not physically fit in their seats. I was 18 weeks pregnant on my return flight, I had my tray table out and when the person on front reclined it nearly cut me in half! On both journeys the in flight entertainment did not work. The response from the 'Customer Care' team acknowledged TV problems and that the volcanic ash prevented them from sending planes to Abu Dhabi for repair, so if they knew there was a problem, why didn't they tell us.

I agree that it must be difficult for Thomas Cook to provide any level of service to an aircraft full of screaming, crying infants and children, but other airlines seem to manage it, why are Thomas Cook staff so intolerant?

The travelling public and airlines need these critical surveys from the likes 'Which'. Perhaps Thomas Cook might see this and start offerering a better service and value for money.

I was very impressed with a Thomas Cook flight in premium class on A330 LGW-Toronto in. No queue at check in. First aboard as companion in a wheelchair. Nice welcome from crew with a choice of water, oj or sparkling wine. Legroom & seat width seemed fine and seats didn't feel hard. Bottles of water, blankets, pillow, amenity kit, headphones, magazines in place or distributed. Nice hot lunch served after take-off, ice cream served mid-flight. Duty Free service with good prices. Pre-arrival afternoon tea served before landing. Glasgow-based crew worked hard and constantly looking after the passengers, very cheerful and helpful.

These airlines don't get a bad reputation by accident, there are obviously a great number of disgruntled Thomas Cook passengers wanting to get their voice heard through 'Which'.

avoid at all costs

Worst travel company I have ever flown with. Supposed to fly from Glasgow and was put on a filthy, dirty bus to Manchester due to 'technical difficulties'. No one to tell us where to go or what to do. A complete farce from start to finish! And when you try to complain, their answer is 'contact your insurance company'. NEVER AGAIN!!!!

Flew back yesterday 10-10-2010 from preveza to gatwick. i am 6'4" and literally had to wedge myself into seat. Numerous people complained about the lack of seat room but only response was, 'sorry the flight is full'. So called cheap airline Ryanair provides far more comfort. Thomas cook worse flight i have ever experienced and i cant actually believe it met with leagl requirements.

I would never travel with Thmas Cook again, enough said I think!

Booked with Thomas Cook direct last year - holiday was fine, but ordered (and paid for) vegetarian meals both ways for 2 - they didn't show up. After 2 months of getting nowhere with customer service (who didn't recognise their own booking number) - wrote to CEO Ian Derbyshire. His office passed it on to their subcontracter Olympic, who told me the charge was not refundable because it was not for *special meals* but for *meal service* - not actually for meals then. Not best pleased as you can imagine. Take your own butties or book with someone else!

I recently returned from a holiday with Thomas Cook and found the whole experience first class. The hotel service and accommodations was of high standard and our flights were stress free.

It is a complete shame to have to write a bad review, but after using Thomas Cook for my Christmas holiday to Tunisia, it’s now confirmed to me that it’s the worst holiday company ever. Whatever has happened to this once great company? From the state of the flight staff to the 1 star accommodation that we never booked. NEVER EVER AGAIN EVER not even if they have a share in a travel firm, will I ever travel with them again.