Flying with XL

[Tim Brown]

Hi, we are flying to Tobago in November for our first two weeks on the island and indeed the caribbean. I am a keen birdwatcher and must admit to being pretty darn excited.

We are flying with XL and are delighted to find that our luggage allowance will be increased from 20 to 30kg in November. That'll be great considering my camera and equipment will be onboard.

Just a general query as to what the plane's are like. I've heard the seats are all leather but little on the in-flight entertainment. Have flown to USA twice with Virgin and they have the little screens on the backs of the seats in their economy class. Do XL have anything like that?

If anyone's flown recently with this airline i'd love to know what to expect once onboard.

Cheers

Tim

[Steve Wooler]

Hi Tim

Welcome aboard - particularly to a fellow Suffolkian???

Where did you hear that the luggage allowance would be increased 30Kg in November. The latest info that I have received (and included on our Tobago/Getting_To_Tobago/Air_Services/UK article) is that with effect from 1st November the XL economy allowance is DECREASING from 40Kg to 20Kg per person.

Having said that, 2 x 20Kg is more than enough for most people - particularly in a laid back destination like Tobago where you don't need formal dress clothing.

I'm afraid that XL are sadly lacking on the entertainment side. They have a large screen at the front of each cabin. However, for a small charge (£5 I think) you can hire a personal DVD/entertainment player. These are very good and very much better than the main screens, with a choice of movies/games/music/entertainment rather than the standard programme.

I still reckon that XL offer the best value for money and have recently booked flights with them for our next trip out there.

[Tim Brown]

Hi, thanks for the info. The baggage info came from the XL website, but I have now emailed them to confirm. Will post when info comes back.

Tim

[Carol Townsend]

Hello Tim,
We flew with XL in August, when the charge for the portable entertainment system was £10. The sound wasn't working on the main system on our return flight, so we were lent a portable for free!
We had no real problems with XL, and would consider them again.
Cheers
Carol

[Nick Bristow]

Hi Tim,
I'm flying out in November with XL and had a letter from them some weeks ago informing me that the baggage allowance had changed to 30kgs.
This will be the third time with XL and up to now I have always had good flights and sevice from them. The stopover at Grenada on the outbound flight is a bit of a pain but I always think that once I'm in the air again it's only 20 minutes to paradise.

[Tim Brown]

Just had it confirmed. 30kg of luggage. Thanks for the replies. Getting more excited by the day!

[David Watkins]

Suffolkian???I thought they were called Swedes!

[Barry]

Hi Tim,

I am also travelling out in November and did receive something from XL reference baggage allowance but have misplaced it. The quote below is from the "Baggage" section of the Customer Info area of their website today. Not sure if I'm missing something. There is also something about the maximum for one bag being 32kg provided the total does not exceed 20kg per person in another paragraph. A bit confused now



"If you are travelling in the economy class to any of the Caribbean islands the luggage allowance is 20 kilos and in the XLONE business class the luggage allowance is 40 kilos"

[Steve Wooler]

Hi Folks

Can I please clarify things with regard to the baggage allowance on XL flights, given that I have now managed to get confirmation from the airline.

As many travellers will know, the current checked baggage allowance on XL flights to Tobago is 2 items weighing up to 40Kgs. This applies to both classes (Economy + XL One).

The airline had announced that the Economy allowance would be reduced to 20Kg per person from 1st November 2007. However, they had a re-think and have now agreed that the allowance will be 30Kg per person.

The XL One allowance remains at 40Kg.

[Caroline Young]

We flew with XL in September with dive gear and were informed at check in we were over the weight allowance of 20 kgs! Production of our c cards allowed us another 10kg which was more than enough. It seems check in people do not always know what is allowed and what is not. We were both quite uncomfortable in the seats and felt that having to pay for water to drink is not really acceptable. The entertainment systems to rent cost £10 and unless you are at the back of the aircraft the chances of getting one are low as they do not carry very many. The sound to our seats was not working. We are thinking of coming back to Tobago but not with XL!!

[Linda P]

Hi Caroline
I am suprised to hear you paid for water on your flight, whenever I have flown with XL they have distributed free cups of water throughout the flight and whenever requested.
Does anyone else know about this?
Linda

[Caroline Young]

Hi Linda
Yes XL does give you cups of water I drink a lot of water (but not as much as the cabin crew) on long haul flights and buy lots at the airport but on the flight back to london I was unable to do this and after my n'th visit to the galley I was informed if I wanted a lot of water that I could purchase it from the in flight shop! We have flown with XL many times sometimes it is good for a budget airline and sometimes bad, sadly the bad seems to be happening more frequently. When we have used them before it was because there was no other option ie they were the only carrier flying to Marsa Alam in Egypt. In future when going to Tobago we will probably use a different airline.

Caroline.

[Brian Taylor]

I guess it is always about the crew...have a good one and all will be fine... not only an XL problem. already experienced air hostesses (condor, german airline) that snapped at some old ladies who wanted more water: "don't you think you got enough now?!" always hope it is the exception to meet with those ones...
others are so nice to ask if i is a problem if they just leave the big bottle and you pour yourslef if you like to drink a lot (which you are advised to do and should!).
hope you have more luck with the next flight....

steph

[Andy D]

Just noticed on the XL website that flights to Tobago change to Sundays only (Outbound and Return)from the middle of July 2008...so no more Thursday or Saturday service?

[Brian Taylor]

some airlines go down to once a week in the so called low season... and back to the normal schedule in november or december...

[Gary]

[quote="Caroline Young"] We were both quite uncomfortable in the seats [quote]

We travelled with XL earlier this year and had no complaint's other than the uncomfortable seats that you mentioned above, enough legroom just Bl**dy uncomfortable !

That said it's more than worth it for two week's in paradise Already booked for 2008 too

[Simon Partridge]

Just noticed on the XL website that flights to Tobago change to Sundays only (Outbound and Return)from the middle of July 2008...so no more Thursday or Saturday service?

This is my first attempt on the forum. We have been going to Tobago now for a couple of years and liked the flexibility of carriers and days of the week. It now appears that Xl will only be flying Sundays and Virgin only Thursdays. Has anyone got more info, it seems to us that options and number of flights is being greatly reduced. Or are there other carriers taking on the slots?

[Steve Wooler]

Hi Simon

Welcome aboard!

The Sunday-only flight only applies during the Summer low season (20 July - 19 October 2008). XL haven't determined the 2008/09 High Season schedule yet, but it is assumed that it will probably be the same as this year's winter schedule - i.e. two flights per week (Thursday and Saturday) via Grenada.

For full information, see our Air Services page - available via the Tobago/Getting To Tobago/Air Travel menu at the top of every page.

[David Watkins]

There was an Excel flight to Tobago via Grenada at 0915 yesterday(29/11).Hop that helps
David fromsunny Tobago

[HelenaVM]

We rent a villa on Tobago and have just been contacted by someone who had a booking with us for August. XL have moved their Sunday flight for the low season to Thursday's now! So, it appears that the weekly flight will be Thursday for Aug/Sept/Oct and not Sunday as previously thought.

I think it's really bad form to write to a customer and shift their flights! Our booker wasn't impressed - so much so he is looking at alternatives via Bridgetown with BMI!