Transavia - A Dutch Low-cost Airline
Transavia is a low-cost airline coming from the Netherlands. This airline may not be familiar to many travellers but actually the airline is already more than 50 years old. Transavia has 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.
Transavia Boeing 737 plane at Amsterdam Airport.
Earlier, Transavia was branding itself as transavia.com. Before our Transavia flight to Helsinki, it was still possible to see this old livery of Transavia airline.
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 its own 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 not huge differences between Transavia and KLM when it comes to the service quality.
Our flight departed in the evening from Schiphol Airport. Schiphol is the main airport of Amsterdam and also one of the busiest airport in Europe. Our flight was operated with a really new Boeing 737-800, which means the plane is in really great condition. It had also the new livery of Transavia.
The plane arrived to 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 being 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. Crew were working professionally 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 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 weighting maximum 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 to the airplane'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 weight 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 really strict with their baggage policy.
Strict luggage policies are not uncommon among low-cost airlines. However, many low-cost airline 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.
Our Rating
Our Transavia review includes ratings from 1 star to 5 stars.
Customer Service and Professional Skills
According to our experiences, cabin crew were working really professionally 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 pilots of this Transavia flight gave informative speaks and the plane was operated smoothly from our point of origin to our destination.
Cabin of the Plane
The cabin was really clean, new and it had a nice green colour theme. Because Transavia is a low-cost airline there was not much legroom.
The cabin of Transavia B737 planeThe cabin of Transavia B737-800 had a relaxing green coloured cabin. It was really clean and visually appealing.
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 really 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 KLM flight is much more expensive.
Transavia B737-800 in Helsinki in the evening
It was a pleasure to arrive to our home base in Helsinki. The spring had come and Nordic evenings are sometimes really beautiful.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Is Transavia a low-cost airline?
Q: Can I take a personal item into the cabin in addition to my normal hand luggage?
Q: Does Transavia weight hand luggage?
Q: Is KLM much better than Transavia?
Q: Is Transavia a good choice?
Why Do We Recommend Transavia?
The answer is simple: We got 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 point A and B, we recommend you to consider flying with Transavia whenever they are offering the route.
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