NCL-ACE-NCL Thomas Cook TCX468

Thomas Cook Flight Report
Newcastle – Arrecife – Newcastle
Boeing 757-200s G-JMCE and G-FCLB
September 2004

There is nothing like an early morning holiday flight to kick-start the senses and get the excitement going. Naturally, I was as eager as anyone on here to be heading off to Lanzarote earlier this month on my first Thomas Cook flight. I’d flown with JMC Airlines in 2002 to Cancun and found them excellent, so was eager to see what, if any, improvements had been made as a result of the re-brand.

We arrived at Newcastle at 4am, 3 hours before the 7am flight, to ensure a nice window seat was secured. Check-in was long and tedious and we waited almost an hour in the queue. Afterwards however, I had my first chance to see Newcastle’s new departure lounge. What a transition! Just 3 months ago, I had been there amongst the turmoil of re-development, boarded windows, passengers squeezed into dirty, cramped areas, few in the way of shops and to top it all it was filthy. In September though, the place was like a breath of fresh air; several brand new shops, a vastly increased passenger seating area and of course, much better views of the apron and runways. This clearly made for a much improved airport experience. Well Done Newcastle!

Our flight TCX468K started boarding in good time and I noted we would be flying on G-JMCE, the newest of Thomas Cook’s 757-200s, having only being manufactured 4 years ago in 2000. The aircraft was clean and tidy both on the inside and out and sported the typical blue cloth interior. TV Screens were LCD drop down versions positioned every few seats down both side of the aircraft. The Captain came over the speaker at just after 6.50 and announced we’d be pushing back very shortly and that we were expecting to land about half an hour early in the Canaries; a welcome piece of news if ever there were any. He also used an interesting turn of phrase which I hadn’t heard before; “please listen to the cabin crew on their safety briefing as if everything turns to worms, we all want to get our safely”.

Anyway, we were on our way early. I’ve had some horrendous flights of late; last November I had a five hour delay coming back from New York followed by the worst turbulence I have experienced; lasting over 2 hours – I genuinely thought we were going to break up! My next flight in March had an aborted take off with Eastern Airways in the Isle of Man. Then, my holiday flights to Cyprus with Helios in June were both struck with delays, one of them 3 hours. After three disappointing trips, to be on our way early in clear weather, was great news; a plain sailing eventless flight was all I was asking for.

Well; after a reasonable meal, good service, an in-flight film of Shrek 2 purchased on standard priced headphones, that’s exactly what I got. A lovely smooth flight to the Canaries ensued and we were on the ground a little under half an hour early. Finally, I had had a good flight and I was full of praise for Thomas Cook!

And thus the return leg….

The first thing I noticed after check-in was a half hour delay. OK, not the worst thing in the world, and an extra half an hour could be gained watching the runway at Arrecife.

As an aside, it was at this point, I switched on my mobile to check for any messages from home/work only to find out my dad was very poorly and was severely ill in Intensive Care. I wasn’t supposed to get the message until I landed, but the delay meant I got it at the wrong side of my flight. Any enjoyment of my flight home and my remaining time at Arrecife was now out of the window.

Anyway, we boarded our flight home at around 1.15pm; approximately 50 minutes after we were due to fly, so the delay was now going to be more than the scheduled half an hour. The aircraft awaiting us was G-FCLB, a 757-200 delivered new to Flying Colours in 1998. This too sported the blue cloth interior with similar TV screen layout. Again, the aircraft was immaculate.

At this point Lanzarote Air Traffic failed and we would now have to wait on the tarmac for another 40 minutes; our new scheduled departure time was 2pm, a little over an hour and a half late. I was desperate to get home.

The flight itself wasn’t too bad. We had the usual bumps here and there, certainly more-so than the outbound trip, but nothing out of the ordinary. The crew appeared a trifle false, as if they really couldn’t be bothered but it was in their job description that they “had to smile” but I had no real complaints. After watching ‘The Day After Tomorrow’ and enjoying a rather pleasant Beef Stew and Dumplings, we were ready to start our rather windy descent into Newcastle.

We made the usual descent over the Tyne, heading out to the North Sea, banking to the left before lining up for finals. It was raining heavily and you could tell that it was blustery showery activity rather than more organised rain. Strangely though, the approach was very smooth. Seconds before touchdown however, the engines roared, the nose lifted and we were pinned to our seats as we made an unscheduled climb back into the skies. This was my first aborted landing. Excitement didn’t come into it; I was nervous and people were very jittery. No-one knew the reason; could it be a runway infringement, bad weather, something wrong with the aircraft (Heaven Forbid). It was all guess work at this time and the thought of having to make an emergency landing crossed my mind. A long three minutes later, we were given an explanation; quite simply the tail winds were too strong and the pilot was going to spin around and approach on the other runway. The nerves diminished. The approach this time though as we went into the wind was very bumpy; the wings really tossed from side to side as we tried to remain stable in near gale force winds. With one last jolt, we touched safely on the second attempt.

My aim of having a straight forward trip had failed yet again, but flying now was my least priority as I just needed to get to the hospital.

Thomas Cook though have left a favourable impression; they rank in the top 3 for me in U.K. charter airlines (along with FCA and BY) and I certainly wouldn’t hesitate to fly with them again.

And thankfully, my dad too is on the mend….(slowly).