In many of our trip reviews, we focus on the outbound flight. Often, these flights depart from the airline’s home airport. These usually have better facilities than the holiday airport and in our experience. The flights are less chaotic than the return journey.
During our recent trip to Madeira, we spent over 2 hours standing at the check-in desks at Madeira airport. Three flights were returning to the UK at the same time. With the sheer number of passengers and the added paperwork, the procedure was incredibly slow.
So, for this flight review. We look at the return flight with Jet2 from Gran Canaria to Bristol. Will it be better than our Madeira experience?
Arrival & Check-In
So after our Madeira experience a few months ago we arrived at Gran Canaria Las Palmas airport with a little trepidation. What hell awaited us! But to our surprise, the place was pleasantly calm. Although the check-in wasn’t yet open, there was only one UK bound Jet2 flight and at least 5 allocated desks.
The only issue was a drunk German man who had randomly taken up residence on one of the Jet2 luggage belts. Luckily, the police soon arrived to quietly escort him to the back of their van.
Due to the current hassle of flying (as well as the rules which seem to change every couple of days), the airport was quieter than usual. However, there were still plenty of staff working at check-in and at the security lanes. Overall, the airport did seem relatively well organised.
Boarding
When flying back to the UK remember to allow time for your passport to be checked and stamped again at immigration. In Madeira, this entailed another 45 minutes of waiting for the painfully slow, miserable officers to stamp your passport. Fortunately, Gran Canaria airport had quite a few automated passport machines and the officers then quickly stamped the passport. That combined with the single outbound UK flight meant there was no queue.
Standard Seat Legroom
The plane was about half full so we had a row to ourselves. We sat in Row 3 which is the standard seating type and the legroom was fine for a 4-hour flight. The seats themselves are quite thin but surprisingly, they are still quite comfortable. This is a budget airline so don’t expect any USB sockets or in-flight entertainment.
In-Flight Meal
The first time we flew with Jet2 we ate from the standard in-flight menu. We tried the toasted sandwiches which weren’t toasted and a bit soggy, not good. So this time, we pre-ordered the hot meal (£10) which you can book on the Jet2 website. The meal, Chicken Piri Piri, came with a drink, dessert, cheese and crackers and although looking a bit sad it was actually quite tasty.
The Flight And Arrival
The flight on the Jet2 Boeing 737-800 was on time and uneventful, which is what we want! One of the aspects we like about flying with Jet2 is the schedule. Many of the flights are at reasonable times of the day, not too early or too late. Who remember taking those late-night return flights from Greece or Spain when you were a teenager (it was just like the fall of Saigon).
We landed on time at a very wet and cold Bristol airport. Unfortunately, Jet2 don’t usually get a jet bridge to the terminal, we had to take the transfer bus and brave the weather. The bags were already waiting and we were soon on our way home.
So would we recommend flying with Jet2? From our experience, yes we would.
