Air Europa

Air Europa Nightmare

30 people from my flight on AIR EUROPA lost their bags. We traveled JFK to Madrid. I have been calling the company's claims number for 7 days. Five days ago they told me they found the bag, but they have not returned it to me. I am on vacation waiting in the hotel for my clothes. Since then they pick up the phone and hang up without saying hello. What kind of company is this? The personnel at the airport in Madrid tells me this happens with AirEuropa all the tima.

I used Air Europa last week to fly from London Gatwick to Santo Domingo via Madrid. Gatwick to Madrid is Flight No. AEA 1014 and from Madrid to Santo Domingo is AEA 0089. The layover in Madrid Barajas Airport is 1.5 hours.

The first flight leg was one hour late in departing, but considering the terrible weather in London, it was acceptable. The flight was typical intra-Europe style. No free bees. If I remember correctly, a can of Coke will cost you 3 Euros. The flight crew did accept Pounds Sterling, but preferred Euros. You cannot use your phone to listen to music etc. even if you enable the ?flight mode? feature.

The flight landed at Barajas Airport?s Terminal 1. Passengers exited the plane and boarded a shuttle bus to take us to the other end of Terminal 1. All of this was eating into my layover time that was already cut in half due to the late departure out of Gatwick.

When you get off of the shuttle bus, you enter the terminal and head right for Concourse B. There was an Air Europa Representative there to make sure passengers with connecting flights did not pass through Spain?s Immigration processing. Before entering Concourse B, there is a security check point, metal detector, bag x-ray etc. This ate into more of my time. When I arrived at my departure gate for Santo Domingo, the flight was already boarding. I boarded the plane and waited.

This flight?s departure was also delayed by about 1 hour, but I was not surprised; most flights I have taken into DR have been delayed, because of people not sitting down, not turning their phones off, reclining their seats, innocently activating the flight attendant light, etc.

The plane was new and beautiful Airbus A300. The interactive in-flight entertainment system was limited but okay. Earphones to use the entertainment system cost 5 or 6 Euros. The guy that was sitting next to be had a broken entertainment system, so he wasn?t very happy. A complementary meal and snack towards the end of the flight were provided. The meal was below average. Water and the meal beverage were free. If you wanted soft drink afterwards, you need to pay. The cabin temperature was very comfortable for me. I usually fly this route with Iberia, and the cabin is always uncomfortably warm. Most of the flight crew didn?t speak English, so if you do not speak any Spanish and are a ?special needs? type passenger, you may not have a good flight experience.

We arrived late into Santo Domingo, but that?s okay. Air Europa did not lose my luggage.

Anyone flying into Santo Domingo on a large plane knows that getting your bag from the luggage carousel is like navigating around in a 4 ring circus. The carousels are too short. People also grab those metal trolleys and park them 3 or 4 deep around the entire perimeter of the carousel, so you need to climb over them to get your luggage. Maybe a good idea is to not make those trolleys available until after you collect your luggage.

Overall, it was a pleasant flight experience with Air Europa, but the layover time in Madrid is a little too short.