- Mr Plane Guy
- Apr 1, 2024
- 9 min read
Updated: Dec 24, 2025
TUI Flight Review on Long Haul
Trip Report on the Dreamliner! TUI Airways Boeing 787-9 London Gatwick to Aruba: Tui Airways Flight Review on long haul
Here is a long haul Tui flight review video Click Here to Subscribe
Flying with TUI in 2025? Check out my up to date guide: Everything You Need to Know About TUI Long Haul in 2026: Meals, Seats & Entertainment
London Gatwick to Aruba LGW- AUA
Flight Number: TOM002
Route: LGW-AUA
Aircraft registration: G- TUIN (delivered Nov 2019)
Aircraft type: 787-900
SOBT (Scheduled off blocks time):10:15
Flight time: 9 hours
TUI Airport Check In
Bag drop was so smooth at London Gatwick, well after some slight suitcase drama! Basically my suitcase broke on the train to the airport, the long handle would not manoeuvre downwards into its position and would only remain upright and sticking out, what do I do?
Not sure what you can pack with TUI or other budget airlines? Check out my Guide to Airline Baggage Allowances, Secret Exposed to Pack Smarter and Save Money.
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Leave it, hopefully the case will arrive in Aruba and will navigate itself through the automatic baggage system of converter belts behind the scenes at Gatwick or surely it would snap it off or knowing my luck get stuck and never be seen again?
So anyway, I panicked and ended up buying a monstrosity of a case from a left luggage outlet and spent my £100 new Ray ban Sunglasses budget for Gatwick duty free on a hideous case!
I quickly re packed my smalls (nothing small about them!) on the tiled floor of the suitcase outlet and proceeded on to the next possible drama of the day.
Did you always wonder why they have suitcase shops at the airport? Well now you Know!
You can keep everything super organised, I love that it is really padded well so it's very comfortable on your back all day long and this comes in so many different colours.
Actually TUI are quite generous with their cabin baggage allowance,
TUI Hand Luggage Allowance
TUI's hand luggage policy is straightforward and designed to ensure a comfortable experience for all passengers:
Free Cabin Bag
Size: Maximum dimensions of 55 x 40 x 20 cm.
Weight: Up to 10kg.
The Cabin Max Anode 40L is perfect for TUI's hand luggage allowance.
Cabin Max Anode 40L Cabin Suitcase is 55 x 40 x 20 cm the exact requirements for TUI.
I've been using the Cabin Max Anode for over a year and it's the perfect fit for Tui carry on luggage item.
It is so light weight, it has 360 spinning wheels so I can push or pull it around the airport and place my small under-seat bag on top of it. It has a well made lock to keep all my items secure. For the price as well it is excellent quality and comes in so many different colours!
Fancy visiting an airport lounge before your TUI Airways flight? Entrance fee's from just £24!
The lovely people from priority Pass have offered me a 30% discount code making it just £48! Be quick this won't last long!!
Priority Pass is the world's largest independent airport VIP lounge access program, with over 1,800+ lounges in over 725 airports across 145 countries! From just £69 for an annual pass.
Security at Gatwick airport was a breeze and before I knew it I was angrily walking past the Ray-Ban concession at Gatwick on my way to Wagamama for overpriced poached egg on avocado toast. I should have booked an airport lounge it would have been a lot cheaper!
It was time to board the TUI 787 Dreamliner, I took my seat on the plane and I noticed around 50 empty seats on board. The last few trickle of passengers boarded and I anxiously awaited to see if the row of three was just going to be for my partner and I and BINGO the cabin crew announced
"boarding complete."
We pushed back around 20-30 minutes late, It flew into Gatwick late from Cancun.
Next time I’d only fly TUI long haul in Premium, purely for the space, quieter cabin and better chance of sleeping. If you’re someone who values legroom and food quality, the upgrade isn’t luxury… it’s survival.
Unfortunately when I booked the holiday there only seemed to be 2-3 premium seats and none together, so economy it was and I paid £21 each for two seats together in a row of 3 by the window.
Do Tui have USB cable ports on their planes?
I was very happy to see a USB cable port on my entertainment system, this meant I didn’t need to worry about my phone battery needing replenishing whilst listening to my audible account.
Plane Tip: Don’t waste those gate-wait minutes Audible for Travel turns every layover into a first-class story time, and right now you can start listening for just 99p. Get the trial here.
Flying from London Gatwick North Terminal?
Check out London Gatwick Airport Lounge Reviews
Flying very early or on an overnight return? An airport lounge is honestly the only way to survive long haul charter travel. Flying from Manchester Airport with TUI?
Check out these Manchester Airport Lounge Reviews
You also get a pair of headphones that fit into the port and the idea is you keep them for your return journey. After take off, drinks were offered by the cabin crew and again I was pleasantly surprised as I had assumed I'd have to pay for these with a holiday charter airline, but I was wrong! Moi wrong!
FREE DRINKS onbard Tui, Cheers!
The Food onboard Tui Airlines
Around 2 hours into the flight dinner was served, It was mushroom provincial pasta and I have to say it wasn’t too bad!
What I did notice as an ex airline employee about the Tui flight review on long haul, so many things had been cut, taken away, cleary in some kind of cost saving objective.
No salt and pepper in the cutlery
No pretzels, snacks served with drinks
No inflight magazine
No starter on the meal tray set up
Crackers and cheeses- no butter
No bread roll
No chick fillet sauce (that ones a joke)
It was just a very basic meal, the minimum, a hot part (what we called a hot bit or entree in airline language), cheese, cracker, plastic fork knife, tiny pudding.
Certainly nothing fancy on TUI! gone are the days of Britannia Royal Service (perhaps your also British and In your 40's and recall this?) Oh the influence of low cost airlines and global economics have resulted in huge consumer shifts since 1990 in the airline industry!
Ugh even the carpets looked really worn! It's sad as this aircraft was delivered in 2019! but looked like a travelodge built in 1997, nothing dreamliner about it!
A few hours later another drinks round was offered, then around 2 hours before landing an egg roll with a chocolate brownie, tea or coffee.
Not the most amazing flight I’ve had, but it got us there safely!
Ok so now for the inbound flight from Aruba to London Gatwick on TUI 787 Dreamliner
Aruba to London Gatwick AUA-LGW
Flight Number: TOM003
Aircraft registration: G- TUIJ (deliveredJun 2016)
Aircraft Name: Pixie Dust
Aircraft typer: 787-900
Flight time: 8 hours 40 MINS
Once again we struck gold and after an anxious wait we had a row of three between us!
On TUI Long Haul flights back to the UK you do get:
Fleece blanket (people are feeding back that they don't have any blankets now!)
Cushion
Bottle of water
Tui Luggage Recommendation:
Cabin Max Anode Luggage Set (40L + 100L)
Ideal for longer trips or family travel and a perfect suitcase combination for a TUI long haul holiday, hold and cabin bag sorted!
TUI Checked Baggage Allowance When flying with TUI Airways as part of a package holiday, your checked luggage allowance varies based on your booking type:
Standard Package Holidays: Includes 20kg of checked luggage per adult or child.
Packages with TUI Airways: Bookings with TUI Airlines include a generous 25kg of checked luggage per adult or child. This applies to long-haul, short-haul, and mid-haul flights with TUI Airlines as part of a TUI holiday.
Infants under 2 years: Receive 10kg of checked luggage.
Wedding Packages: Couples booking wedding packages also receive 25kg of checked luggage each.
Entertainment onboard TUI Long Haul flights
I watched a brilliant movie, the selection was quite decent! They also have the moving map, which is always a winner!
I then had a few hours sleep thanks to the pillow above :)
After a drinks service a crew member dropped off my meal before everyone else. I ordered a vegetarian meal, which was really easy to do with Tui, but what a shame, it actually had meat in it! Not great service!
Around an hour and a half before landing the lights were turned on full bright to be given this pathetic excuse for a breakfast, 4 cubes of melon and an orange juice.
Come on TUI this is dire you can do better, how much is a croissant or a danish? My last impression of TUI was this.....
So unfortunately I didn’t eat anything on the flight, the food was not acceptable at all, I got off the flight feeling hangry and tired.
Now luckily I had thought ahead at Aruba airport and bought myself a slice of Margarita pizza although it set me back close to £15!
A few days later I decided to email TUI about the poor catering, do they not know who I am? I have 250 subscribers to my Youtube channel!!! BIG MISTAKE! HUGE… I am a travel blogger hun, an influencer and they will regret this! HA!!
I got a simple robotic generic response, thanks for your feedback we don’t give a flying f….. and know passengers book holidays based on cost and not wether they get a chunk of melon on the flight home!
to be honest i did put a TikTok out about this which so far 50k plus have viewed so there TUI!!!
Take a look,
Follow me Here on TikTok
The Verdict, Flying Long haul with TUI
I would fly with them again but I would have to fly premium and when you factor in that cost it's probably better value to fly with Emirates or Qatar or a full service airline!
What’s New With TUI in 2026?
Since my original TUI Dreamliner trip report, a few things have changed onboard and in the wider TUI Airways experience and not all for the worse! While some passengers are still grumbling about the no-frills meal trays and occasional blanket shortages (yes, some long-haul flights have stopped offering them altogether, bring your own just in case), TUI has started listening to feedback in a few key areas.
Most noticeably, the in-flight entertainment system has had a quiet upgrade. Reviews from early 2025 flights suggest the touchscreen responsiveness is better, and the film selection is rotating more frequently, with a few newer releases finally making it into the catalogue (no more watching Minions 3 on repeat!).
TUI has also started rolling out digital boarding passes and enhanced airport app integration, meaning you can track your gate, delays, and luggage status more easily something that was long overdue.
While meal quality is still hit or miss, some flights are now offering improved vegetarian and vegan options though it depends heavily on the route and caterer. Reviews on holiday forums suggest that pre-ordering a "special meal" now gets more attention than it did in previous years.
And finally, there’s talk on passenger forums about TUI considering more dynamic upgrade pricing at check-in, meaning last-minute Premium upgrades might soon be cheaper a potential game-changer for those of us who don’t want to pay £400 extra upfront but might be tempted at the airport with a deal.
Plane Summary
Flights on time
OK entertainment
Lots of room (thanks to a few empty seats)
Dreadful food
OK crew
So that was my experience and TUI flight review on long haul.
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Hello, I’m Paul a professional jet-setter and all-around plane travel pro. After 15 years working in and around planes, I became a flight delay expert at a London Airport and mastered plane travel hacks, a PLANE flight expert with BIG travel plans but small carry-on.
Now, I share PLANE travel news, tips, reviews, and deals with honesty, humour, and zero baggage! Thanks for reading Tui Flight Review on Long Haul.
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