This was my first time flying Monarch and it will most certainly be the last.

After a six hour delay we eventually reached our destination (Varadero-Cuba)

Cabin temperature was freezing - many people shivering - requests for an extra blanket met with a curt "one per seat" response. After the fourth time of complaining the cabin temperature was finally turned up.

The seating was extremely cramped. Attempts to put the seating arrangements of a 747 into an Airbus. Entertainment looked OK - but only if you were in a seat from which you could see a screen or had a pair of headphones that worked (apparently they carry no spare stocks of these either).

On the return journey we arrived to our seats to see them covered in rubbish - no attempt having been made to put out any blankets, pillows etc. On request these were eventually provided but only after showing the bag of rubbish I had collected from our seats - and insisting that absolutely no attempt had been made to prepare this part of the cabin. The stocks for this had to be found from the Premium Cabin.

All in all I think that a good catch phrase to describe this company would be "EASY JET LONG-HAUL".

You might be able to tolerate this kind of appalling service on a flight to Belfast for an hour, but not on a 10.5 hour flight to Cuba.

Oh and a message to the tour operators that use this airline. If you ever offer me a package again where Monarch is responsible for flights... the answer is No... I don't care how good the rest of the package may be.

As for the rest of the holiday booked with First Choice - FANTASTIC! 1ST CLASS... why let yourself down by association with this bucket airline.