We started boarding of the aircraft at 11.30 am for a 12.15pm flight - which meant standing on a bus at Birmingham waiting to be taken out to the aircraft for 15 minutes - there was no air-bridge.

Aircraft was a Boeing 757 in the new livery, and also with the - apparently - new interior. Whilst the aircraft was old, it was very clean.

Was expecting to see the crew in their new uniform, but this isn't introduced until May 2004. Instead, they continue to wear what looks like a reject from a circus act.

The flight took off 15 minutes late.

"Service" such as it was was very slow. Meals now need to be paid for, ans instead of seating everybody together that has prebooked a meal (As MyTravel do) the crew wandered up and down the aircraft distributing the meal trays - they seemed confused and didn't seem to know what they were doing.

The food has improved though, and was actually quite good.

Headsets now have to be paid for, but we did get to see a relatively new film (Pirates of the Caribbean.)

I am personally saddened by the way the UK charter industry constantly seems to be stripping away service. A holiday flight used to be something that you looked forward to, but now it's something to be endured.

Britannia seem to have become a strange and uncomfortable hybrid between a "Low Cost Carrier" and a Charter Airline, and succeeding at neither -their service is not fast enough for a Low Cost Carrier or complete enough for a good charter.

MyTravel Lite and MyTravel beat them in both areas.