Jet2/Tui/ThomasCook/Easyjet holidays etc - pros and cons?

[Legoless]

They all do the hotel and dates we want, but vary a bit in price and also have different flight times and airports. Putting that aside, what are the pluses and minuses of each - we did a jet2 holiday previously and did really appreciate how easy the transfers were and how smoothly everything went but other than that we didn't need to reps or anything.

I’m in a muddle with Thomas Cook atm, booked a package holiday- they used Ryan air for flights, Ryan air have changed flight times meaning I lose a day of the holiday I orginally booked (am flight instead of late evening) I now have to deal directly with Ryanair for my refund and need to organise new flights or find a way to cancel. Wouldn’t use again, always found Jet2 really good

Thomas cook are not what they used to be. Basically now Chinese and don’t have any reps anywhere - you might as well be using onthebeach or similar. Probably a bit cheaper for this reason though

easyjet are no frills but usually ok. I’ve had cancelled flights with Easyjet in the past and they are not great in that scenario.

had positive experiences with jet 2 recently and also tui but it was years ago. A friend will never use tui again after they cancelled their holiday in 2022 a few hours before departure and couldn’t offer any alternative.

We travel jet2 and TUI quite regularly. Not sure about Thomas Cook haven't used them for over 20 years. Easy jet seems popular but my experience to date has been no frills and not as good as jet2 or TUI. The seats seem to be smaller on the plane too.
Particularly like the day before checkin option for early flights with jet2 and TUI and we also once had hotel check in with jet2 for an afternoon flight home, which meant we got rid of the cases at the hotel and went straight through to the security once at the airport.

We have used Jet2 many many times and never had a problem. Went with Tui this year and I was disappointed that the backage allowance is only 15kg per person

Weirdly BA was cheaper for the same hotel this year and the flight times etc were really good

We use tui because LGW is more convenient for us. Never had any issues.

We had 20kg with tui in August

I expect it depends where you're going. We only had 15kg and they were very quick to charge for excess baggage.

Another vote for Jet2 - we went with them a few years back and all went smoothly and seemed well-organised. I noticed they also came top of the pile in the latest survey by Which? Magazine. I was very tempted to book with them this year but we left it a bit late and it's all too expensive (school hols), so we're doing DIY this time.

I think its really expensive. Especially Tui. The advantage is if you just want one stop shop for flights accommodation and transfers then it's easy. I've mainly booked it all separately. Handy to have package insurance though.

Jet2 holiday to an island in the med, lovely hotel, transfers included and all inclusive, ok flight times £1,258 each, same hotel same week, same all inclusive BA ( no transfers but taxi from airport 12Euros) £756 each and great flight times. BA sale is on now.

I e always found easyJet the cheapest for package holiday and ever had any problems with them. Transfers always gone smooth.

@emmeline7725 did you fly with tui?

Oh I haven’t looked at BA @Getonwitit i will do that thank you

I have never had a bad holiday with Jet2 or Tui. Our last trip with Tui went wrong on the way back and Tui handled it brilliantly. The flight was unavoidably delayed and the pilot had run out of flying hours. The pilot came into the boarding gate area and stood on a chair to tell us what was going to happen.They bussed us all to hotels and flew us home the next day.

From a PR point of view they couldnt have handled it better.

I like Jet2. They fly from local airports and the transfers and luggage are included. I also like the "safety net" of knowing that our holiday is ATOL protected. We don't need our hand holding while on holiday, but it is nice to know that we can get hold of a rep should we need one.

Just came back from a tui holiday in mallorca

could not fault it. Easy flights, transfers, great accommodation, reps at the hotel each day to tell you about experiences on offer (and deal with any issues).

it felt five star luxury when it was only a four star hotel

We had jet2 flights this year, never used them before, we found them excellent, all staff efficient and friendly. Right from arriving at airport, clearly labelled check in desks, staff welcomed us.

We had a bit of a different experience with Ryanair last year - very delayed late flight. No communication, staff member didn’t even greet us as we entered the plane. He was on his phone scrolling which was unprofessional. The plane was filthy as it was a rushed turnaround, several staff a bit snappy. No food or drink at all on way home not even water after being stranded in a desolate place in the airport with no food or water apart from broken vending machines.

I've had problems with Jet2 & Tui. "Customer services" were both quite rude. l've not used TC for many years.

EJ & BA holidays have both been fine. No reps, but 24/7 'phone lines available if needed.

I’m on a Jet2 holiday at the moment. I’ve always had a good experience with them and one extra thing they offer (not sure if the others do) is twilight check in. You can go and check in your hold luggage the night before then just go straight to security at the airport in the morning. Really helpful if you’ve got an early flight as it saves some time on the day. This was at Manchester airport, I think they do the same at some other airports too.

Jet2 have the express transfers as standard now too, so you won't have more than 3 stops on the transfer to your hotel. A huge selling point for us. Never had a bad experience with Jet2, always went smoothly.

We did tui this year (albeit one of their luxury, adults only hotels) and both commented how easy it was.
Baggage included with flights, transfer car waiting when we got there, the place (turkey) was absolutely impeccable. Obviously their reputation is important to the company so they do tend to live up to their promises. We didn't use the reps at all. But we've been on self planned trips which have become a bit fraught where we've struggled to get medical assistance, struggled to find the right train from the airport to the hotel, etc. it's so nice not to have to worry about that.
Be aware if you book on the tui website; they offer other flight operators to increase the variety of times available so won't all include baggage.

Booked through Thomas cook this summer. Had no problems at all. Flew with tui and transfers were fine too.

I'd also point out that I priced up our all inclusive (but v nice; not shit food) tui break compared to self organised and it was actually loads cheaper

If I don't book everything separately, I use Jet 2. From my local airport, their flight times seem to be better.

We had an awful experience with tui this year with regards my ASD son, to the point where they've given me a £7000 voucher to use on another holiday with them. After this I doubt I'll use them again.