Monarch Airlines » Economy (short haul)

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Monarch operates both scheduled and charter flights and service will vary depending on which type you travel on.

Scheduled Flights:

Monarch positions its Scheduled brand as something midway between British Airways and Easyjet and although the free newspapers, hot towels, food and drinks have now been axed, this is still largely true. However, the standard seat pitch - even on long-haul aircraft - is a snug 28-29 inches, on a par with Easyjet but two inches smaller than BA.

There are a number of add-on options that will make the journey more pleasant, provided you are prepared to pay for them.

Seats on Monarch Scheduled flights can be reserved in advance for £6 (GBP) / €9 (EUR) per seat, per sector. In addition, there are 48 extra legroom Premium seats available on most aircraft offering 34 inches of legroom.  These can be purchased from £15 per seat, per sector.  The purple headrest covers indicate extra legroom seating, whilst the yellow headrest covers indicate standard economy seating. Vantage Club gold members can enjoy free allocated seating, including extra legroom.

Selection of standard and extra legroom seats for scheduled flights can be made online at the time of booking or at a later date. They can also be bought by phone (08700 40 50 40) or at the Monarch sales desk at the airport, subject to availability.

On flights of more than four hours, there is in-flight entertainment, but headphones must be purchased at £2.50.

Charter Flights: 

Generally speaking, service on charter flights will vary according to what your tour operator has agreed to pay for. Charter aircraft will offer the same 28-29-inch pitch in the main cabin as Monarch Scheduled services, even on long-haul aircraft.

As with Monarch Scheduled, seats can be pre-booked, but this must be done by phone (0871 225 3555) at least four working days prior to travel and calls cost at least 10p a minute. Seat reservations are £12 per passenger for a return short-haul trip and £18 for long-haul.

Bookings for Extra Legroom and Group seating are only taken within 90 days prior to departure date. Specific seat numbers are advised at check-in. Note that seats booked together may be separated by an aisle.

Monarch charges for hold bags. On a short-haul route such as to Gibraltar, the fee is currently £9.99 per flight with bags weighing up to £20kg and up to £90 for a 32kg bag.

Depending on the route, passengers pay for food on board, or, at a discount, pay at the time of purchasing their ticket. Prices vary, but as an example from the website, a hot meal choice would be chicken or vegetarian entree, bread roll and butter, cheese and crackers and filter coffee or tea (£6.50 each way).

If your flight departs before 11am (local time) the meal will be a hot breakfast which includes entrée, orange juice, bread roll and butter and a mini muffin.