Review: Transavia Offers Quality with Less Money
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Transavia is a low-cost airline coming from Holland. In April we flew among other first customers on their new route from Amsterdam to Helsinki. We didn't have any expectations but we were really happy with the quality of the flight with them. Read our review to know more.
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Transavia - A Dutch Low-cost Airline
Transavia is a low-cost airline coming from the Netherlands. The airline may not be familiar to many travellers but actually, the airline is already more than 50 years old. Transavia has a small short-haul fleet and it flies mainly inside Europe.
Nowadays, Transavia is owned by Air France-KLM. Its main hub is located in Amsterdam Airport and Transavia is concentrating especially on holiday routes departing from the Netherlands.
Our Flight from Amsterdam to Helsinki
We flew from Amsterdam to Helsinki by Transavia. The route was newly opened and so it is the first time that Transavia has had its route to Helsinki. Transavia's parent company, KLM, flies between Helsinki and Amsterdam too, but Transavia offers much cheaper tickets. Even though Transavia is a low-cost airline, there are no huge differences between Transavia and KLM when it comes to service quality.
Our flight departed in the evening from Schiphol Airport. Schiphol is the main airport of Amsterdam and also one of the busiest airports in Europe. Our flight was operated with a new Boeing 737-800, which means the plane is in really great condition. It had also the new livery of Transavia.
The plane arrived at Helsinki Airport almost on time. The departure from Amsterdam got delayed about 30 minutes due to traffic restrictions, a common incident for flights leaving from Schipol Airport one of the busiest airports in Europe.
Perfect Quality in the Low-cost Class
The quality was perfect in the low-cost class. The plane was really clean, brand new and it had a relaxing green colour theme. The crew were working professionals and there wasn't any kind of over-marketing about in-flight services in contrast to other low-cost airlines like Ryanair is doing. To be honest, we felt that we were flying by a traditional airline even though Transavia profiles itself as a low-cost airline.
The ticket was cheap and it included only the flight. However, by checking in online, we were able to choose standard seats freely. Better seats were to be sold.
Transavia Luggage Policy
Hand Luggage
Be careful with your carry-on when flying with Transavia. The limits are quite ordinary: 1 item weighing a maximum of 10kg is allowed with max. dimensions of 55 x 40 x 25. However, if the hand luggage is larger than 45 x 40 x 25 cm, it may end up as the aeroplane's cargo because overhead bins get easily full. That is quite common will all airlines.
Transavia is checking the weight of your hand luggage at Schiphol Airport. Be sure it does not weigh more than 10 kilograms. If the luggage is too big and the plane is full, they will be asking you to check in your hand luggage free of charge. Transavia seems to be strict with its luggage policy.
Strict luggage policies are not uncommon among low-cost airlines. However, many low-cost airlines allow one piece of hand luggage and also one small personal item. Transavia does not offer free personal item but they didn't seem to have any strict control at the gate like Ryanair and Wizzair have, whereas their staffs check every single passenger meticulously before boarding.
Rating
Our Transavia review includes ratings from 1 star to 5 stars.
Customer Service and Professional Skills
According to our experiences, the cabin crew were working professionals and they were also friendly. On-board service started soon after the take-off and it was handled well and fast. It is difficult to evaluate pilots' professionalism but the pilots of this Transavia flight gave informative speeches and the plane was operated smoothly from our point of origin to our destination.
Cabin of the Plane
The cabin was clean and new and it had a nice green colour theme. Because Transavia is a low-cost airline there was not much legroom.
Ticket Price
Our tickets were extremely cheap. Ticket prices vary a lot so it is impossible to say what is the average rate. At least the lowest fare class seems to be low.
On-board Catering Services
Transavia does not offer any free snacks or drinks during the flight. You may buy light meals and drinks from their small selection. Low-cost airlines' catering selection is very similar and Transavia does not make any exceptions. They have the same kind of products available as all other low-cost airlines have, not any better or worse.
Price to Quality Ratio
The quality in the low-cost class is high and the ticket price is quite low. Hence, the Price to Quality ratio becomes high.
Overall Rating
If you are looking for a decent and cheap low-cost airline, Transavia may be your choice. There is not any reason to pay more by flying with KLM because KLM as a traditional airline does not offer anything more. However, the ticket price of the KLM flight is much more expensive.
Common Questions
- Is Transavia a low-cost airline?
- Yes. You have to pay extras for seats, hold luggage, snacks and other similar services.
- Can I take a personal item into the cabin in addition to my normal hand luggage?
- No, it is not allowed by Transavia.
- Does Transavia weigh hand luggage?
- At least our hand luggage was weighed.
- Is KLM much better than Transavia?
- Even though KLM owns Transavia, we feel that there are not many quality differences between these two companies.
- Is Transavia a good choice?
- According to our experience, Transavia is a much better choice than many other low-cost airlines.
Why Do We Recommend Transavia?
The answer is simple: We got a good quality flight experience with a cheap price tag. Everyone understands that low-cost airlines do not offer business-class quality, but no one should expect it. If you are just looking for a basic connection from points A and B, we recommend you consider flying with Transavia whenever they are offering the route.
Have you flown with Transavia Airlines? Please comment below.
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Comments (4)
Hi Joanne, thanks for taking time sharing your detailed story regarding you and your family's travel experience with Transavia Airline. We are sad hearing this very unfortunate incident your family has encountered with said airline. We recommend you to give a written feedback to Transavia Airline as this would be the best way to air your concern and hopefully they take responsibility of the matter by conducting thorough investigation. More IMPORTANTLY, We wish them to implement measures to serve best all their passengers taking note of special needs like your husband had.
I tend to disagree. Here is my review.
Our family flew with Transavia on the 19th of August. Myself, My husband and our 3 children all under 8. My husband had booked a wheelchair assist because he had surgery on his ankle just a few weeks ago. Upon check in for our flight we were directed to go upstairs to meet the wheelchair. We tried to find it and could not. We asked another member of staff at the airport who directed us to the other side of the terminal. We could not find it. We asked another member of staff and they directed us back downstairs. At this point we decided to give up and just go through security as we were just being sent all over the airport with 3 children increasing the strain on my husband. We were under the assumption that someone at the gate may be able to help. At security we again stated that we were supposed to have a wheelchair assist. In the security line the agents took my husbands crutches to scan and did not return them to him causing him to fall before he finally got to the area to pick them up despite asking the attendants for them. When we got to the gate we saw our flight was delayed so we attempted to get staff attention to get someone to bring the wheelchair as there were no chairs available for him to sit. Staff did nothing to help for at least 30 minutes at which point they then directed him to a place he could sit. I asked the gate staff again about the wheelchair assist. They shrugged and shook their heads and continued with what they were doing. When our flight finally began the boarding process I AGAIN asked them about wheel chair assist or at least priority boarding. The woman shook her head and told my husband to stay seated. As the other passengers started boarding so he tried to get up so he could get to his seat without waiting in the line. The same woman told him to sit down. Once every other passenger was waiting to board we were then told to go wait in line. He was then forced to stand for an extended period of time at the end of the line to board. As we got toward the door of the plane the woman who had been at the desk standing near the door. I asked her how I could prevent this from happening again and she was very rude in her body language and did not answer my question and instead began turning red in the face and stormed away. When we finally got on the flight I got the attention of a flight attendant. She was incredibly helpful and informed us that yes, it was on the flight manifest that he was supposed to have an assist but that the gate staff said we never told them. But we did tell them. We asked all over the airport. At check in, at information desks, at security, at the gate multiple times. It took days for my husband to recover from what happened. I do not fault the staff on the plane as they were absolutely lovely and did all that they could to resolve the problems and made sure there was a wheel chair waiting in Sevilla. But the damage was already done by the gate staff and all the staff we had come into contact with prior to that. My husband was put through incredible amounts of pain because of the way our family was treated. I have been all over the world and this is absolutely the worst experience I have ever had with an airline. Treating a passenger who needs assistance in this manner is completely unacceptable. I have been dealing with their customer service since then and it's been absolutely infuriating. Getting a hold of them was a feat unto itself! And finally making contact with "Gloria" didn't exactly help either. She has been completely unhelpful and came off as down right insulting on more than one occasion. I'm now looking up advocates for disabled rights as this could have happened to my Mum or Grandma who are both permanently disabled and I do not believe the airline is doing anything to stop this from happening again. So no. I will not recommend this airline until I see some actual evidence that they care about what happened and plan to fix it.
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