Both the outbound flight and the return flight were by the same aircraft - DC-10 series 10 G-DPSP. It was alright - legroom wasn't bad for a charter airline, but still 379 people crammed on board and a little stuffy.

As with all the old widebodies, they only have about 4 large TV screens and it wasn't very clear - there was no entertainment at all on the outbound flight, and no explanation why.

The pilot, on landing, evidently couldn't be bothered to flare - he sounded very laid back and when we touched down he didn't bother to flare, the aircraft's descent rate never shallowed and we hit the runway with a huge thump, which brought impromptu shouts from the majority of the passengers on board. Good job McDonnell Douglas, they built a tough aircraft.

The inbound flight was more disappointing though - after everyone had boarded, they made an announcement that anyone with spanish cigarette lighters in their cases would have to remove them before departure. The luggage was in containers rather than just packed individually so they had to unload the lot, and left everyone sitting in the aircraft while they did it. The doors were left open, meaning no air conditioning, and Spain is still warm at 10pm. Everyone kept calm but the atmosphere was a bit tense, and I have experienced more polite crew.

Still, I don't think it was that bad and I think the discomfort owed more to the ageing plane more than the airline itself. This summer we are flying to Cancun (10 hours) on an A330, so I have high expectations. I don't see any reason to warn people off Airtours, but they do seem to suffer delays more than most.