Archive for the ‘Airlines’ Category

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Czech Airlines Fly Off With Cash

Monday, August 30th, 2010

Czech Airlines are giving up their flights between Prague and Heathrow at the end of October, supposedly because they are not profitable. Maybe, but at one time, the airline regarded its Heathrow route as the jewel in its crown. We imagine the real reason is that the airline needs cash and can sell its prime slots for a large sum.

Each year, some well-established names are leaving Heathrow because they can generate more profit by selling the slots than by flying the route. Of course, that is market economics at its most basic but, every time it happens, it leaves Heathrow just a little poorer.

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El Al’s Club of One

Monday, August 23rd, 2010

Last week, we suggested that Air India had applied for membership of Cloud Cuckoo Land, following their ludicrously high claim for damages from Boeing for late delivery of aircraft. It could be that they have competition.

El Al say that they have been unable to agree terms to join any of the three existing airline alliances. It is possible that the substantial costs of entering one of the alliances was the major stumbling block or it might be down to politics but it does look as if El Al has left it too late to join an alliance anyway. It does not have a large domestic or regional network that would make it an attractive proposition to other carriers – all of whom do very nicely indeed taking traffic from Israel and feeding it into their own networks.

Now El Al have announced they have a cunning scheme – they are going to form their own alliance. There is just a slight question mark over this. Who will join it? Almost every conceivable airline is already in an alliance. El Al are undeterred. They say they have already spoken to two or three East European airlines (presumably none of the major ones since they are already alliance members) and envisage up to twenty or thirty members. They even have a provisional name – “East West Alliance”.

Somehow, I doubt that the other alliances are quaking in their boots.

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If all safety vids were as good as this one…

Friday, August 20th, 2010

… we might be bothered to watch them rather more diligently. This is another great movie from Air New Zealand -- enjoy!

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Kiss failure – a surprise?

Thursday, August 19th, 2010

The headline on last night’s BBC News was intriguing.

“The BBC has learnt that concerns emerged about collapsed travel firm Kiss Flights almost two years ago.”

The story went on to say that the head of Co-op Travel had suggested to the CAA that they were planning to sell flights too cheaply and the business plan was flawed. The CAA – who effectively insure such companies through the ATOL scheme – did not share the Co-op’s concerns and allowed the company to trade.

Any reader of Inside Traveller would hardly be surprised about the demise of Kiss because we warned two years ago that it was a “company to avoid”. We knew nothing of the Co-op’s concerns but we were aware of quite a lot of misgivings by people in the travel trade and we also felt that the company needed to be much clearer about certain issues if it wanted to have any credibility.

Now, you might wonder why little Inside Traveller can see things that other companies cannot.

The answer is simply that the many small tour operators who bought tickets from Kiss did not want to ask too many questions.

Nearly all the UK’s charter aircraft capacity is tied up by the big operators who have their own in-house airlines. This makes life very difficult for the small operators who have to scratch around to find blocks of seats for their packages. XL had previously been a major supplier to such companies but when they went bust, operators were left high and dry. The arrival of Kiss on the scene – at almost exactly the time XL went out of business – was an answer to their prayers so they chose to look the other way when anyone suggested the company might not be quite as strong as it should be.

When companies go bankrupt, there are many people who wisely shake their heads and say they always thought the company might run into problems. It is easy to be wise in hindsight but, in the case of Kiss Flights, there were plenty of people who all along have said the company either was not strong enough to survive, or if it was, had to do more to show its strength.

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Do not fly KLM

Monday, August 16th, 2010

Inside Traveller readers are used to our regular list of airlines to avoid where we highlight airlines that are having financial problems or have other issues which suggest they should not be used. We have never before put an airline on this list for reasons of bad attitude to customers but, in the case of KLM, we are happy to make an exception.

The EU is threatening KLM with legal action because it is currently only agreeing to pay the expenses of passengers who were delayed by the volcanic ash issue earlier this year for the first 24 hours of the delay. Many passengers were delayed for several days and KLM  refuses to pay.

We do have some sympathy with airlines on this point. The EU legislation on delays and cancelled flights is badly-drafted and imposes much stricter penalties on airlines than on any other form of public transport. We feel that airlines should protest and try to get back some of the compensation for this unique event from their governments. However, such a protest should be done at a much higher level, with all airlines involved. For one rather insignificant carrier to go its own way is stupid and puts its customers at a serious disadvantage. Nor can we understand why KLM is paying for the first 24 hours of the delay – they appear to be accepting the theory but then quibbling about the amount which makes their case look very shaky.

This shows KLM in a very poor light. They appear tight-fisted and arrogant. If all other European airlines can pay (even Ryanair has paid) why not the silly Dutch? Are they above the law?

Unfortunately, the volcanic ash issue will be forgotten in due course but we would urge you not to forget the attitude KLM has shown in this case. The only way we would ever be persuaded to book a ticket with them is if most of their Board resigned and they made a public apology. Their cheap, grubby behaviour deserves wide-spread publicity and we very much hope it rebounds on them.

Meanwhile, just remember, there are plenty of other, fairly honest, airlines so you can leave KLM well alone.

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Air India Applies to enter Cloud-Cuckoo Land

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010

It is hard to imagine a major airline with more problems than Air India. It has been grossly badly-managed by the government for decades and has lost money consistently. It is now as good as bankrupt, some of its senior staff face corruption allegations, it struggles to pay its staff on time, it has a bad reputation for service and serious safety issues. In short, a huge financial headache for the government.

So what is the solution? Easy – just sue Boeing for $1 billion.

Air India ordered 27 Boeing 787′s and delivery has been delayed due to the set-backs to Boeing’s development programme for the new aircraft. Compensation will no doubt be paid to airlines affected by the delays – but $1 billion is simply crazy.

This nonsense has not just been dreamt up by someone at Air India but is actually supported by the Indian government. In turn, the US government is using pressure to persuade the Indians to be more realistic.

Air India is already something of a laughing-stock so this affair probably cannot make matters worse. However, the Indian government is anxious to show the world that they are now a major economic force, not a poor developing country that needs aid at every turn. This case shows that the government has a very long way to go before it can be taken seriously.

Meanwhile, as we have long reminded readers of Inside Traveller, Air India is an airline to avoid.

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Posted in Airline Safety, Airlines | No Comments »

Trouble in Mexico

Monday, August 2nd, 2010

The US FAA has just downgraded Mexico from being a Category One nation to Category Two. This means that no Mexican airline can start new services to the US, though existing ones are allowed, and codeshares have to be seriously curtailed. The FAA takes this action when it believes the supervisory authority of the country is not doing its job properly. It is not a comment on the standards of any one airline. Other countries in Category Two at the moment are Israel, the Philippines and Croatia. The list is not as strict as one might imagine because , a couple of years ago – somehow – Thailand managed to convince FAA inspectors they were doing a good job.

The two main airlines of Mexico, AeroMexico and Mexicana, are both alliance members and have a wide range of codeshares with their US partners – these will probably disappear causing serious financial damage to the two airlines.

It seems the FAA’s concerns are principally about the serious shortage of qualified inspectors in Mexico and the lack of supervision of some of the country’s small, new airlines. The Mexican government played a dangerous game of bluff with the FAA, constantly promising they were on the verge of hiring new inspectors and then failing to do so.

Even worse, two aircraft of Mexicana were seized in Canada last week due to a “misunderstanding”. Lessors had thought the airline was on the verge of bankruptcy but it appears they were wrong – the airline is merely considering its options, one of which could be bankruptcy. So that’s all right then…

Recession, swine flu, drug wars and now a mess with its airlines. The Mexican tourist industry must wonder if their government is aware of the huge importance of tourism to the country.

Update:

Since this was written (on Monday evening), things have moved quickly with Mexicana. As noted in the Comments below, they have now cancelled their London service from September, along with a host of other routes. The airline is said to be very close to declaring bankruptcy.

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Posted in Airline Safety, Airlines | 1 Comment »

BA’s latest iPhone app released

Monday, August 2nd, 2010

British Airways has unveiled a new version of its iPhone application that allows you to save time by checking in using your smartphone. You can download the app by registering online free of charge to become a BA Executive Club iPhone user. This check-in feature is currently available only on domestic services, but short-haul European routes will be covered by the end of  August. Long-haul may take longer to organise however, because of legal issues in overseas jurisdictions.

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A message to PR Companies from Ryanair

Wednesday, July 28th, 2010

Ryanair recently failed to renew its contract with its long-standing PR company and is currently touting around the market for a new company. Not surprisingly, the low fees offered (around £5,000 a month is the rumour) are thought to be putting many companies off.

I wonder if they really need a company at all because they seem to be doing quite well by themselves.  Their “friendship”with The Sunday Times Business Section is certainly blooming. Last Sunday’s edition carried one article about the on-going delays and cancellations with easyJet and then a full page hagiography, sorry, interview, with Michael O’Leary. It is reminiscent of Virgin Atlantic in its prime when every Sunday featured slavishly reproduced “news” from the bearded one.

For once, we will not criticise newspapers doing the bidding of PR companies and their clients because the more publicity there is for easyJet’s problems, the more likely they are to be sorted out and the easier it will be for passengers to claim compensation when appropriate.

In Britain, easyJet are still refusing to accept that they are seriously at fault. The statement, “We apologise to our passengers for the recent drop in our punctuality, which was impacted by  number of factors, including air traffic control strikes in France, Spain and Greece” does not even attempt to explain why they have been affected more severely than other airlines.

The situation in Germany is rather clearer thanks to the sterling work of some newspapers and television stations who have run some seriously damaging stories on the airline. EasyJet have been forced to make a sudden announcement that they are hiring more pilots and cabin crew for their Berlin base to resolve the problem. This is surely a tacit admission that understaffing is to blame for the delays in Germany and that they cannot avoid claims under the EU Delayed and Cancelled flights provisions.

So, can we just tactfully suggest to the person who is looking after Ryanair’s PR at the moment that they follow the same tactics they have used with The Sunday Times and get a few similar articles into The Sun and The Daily Mail? You will be doing us all a favour – and showing that do-it-yourself PR can be just as successful as hiring expensive companies.

Update:

It is good to see that easyJet is finally being forced to come clean about its crewing problems. In their results statement yesterday they said that their operating costs would be increased and the stockmarket has marked down their shares. This is good news for travellers. The market tends to react very slowly to events (the crew shortage has been known about for months) but they are unlikley to buy the airline’s shares until they are convinced that they have the problem solved. Add to that some serious pressure from Stelios, who is not at all happy about his “easy” brand being misused, and it should only be a matter of time before easyJet is running properly again. However we would not rush to travel with them over the next few months since new crew cannot be trained overnight.

Clearly, those responsible for planning the crewing and schedules of the airline need to be replaced before one can have full confidence in the company again.

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When others are late, easyJet is later

Friday, July 23rd, 2010

Yesterday was a good day for European airlines without major delays at most airports so even easyJet managed to run without too many delays. However, there seemed to be a problem at Madrid in the evening and this illustrates all too clearly easyJet’s woes – it is also a good example of what you should do when considering whether to claim compensation under EU regulations.

Flights between Madrid and London were delayed in the evening but look at the difference:

Ryanair’s flight to Gatwick was one hour 15 minutes late

Two British Airways flights to Heathrow were delayed by about an hour

Iberia’s flight to Heathrow was around forty minutes late

and

easyJet’s flight to Gatwick was three-and-half hours late

Whilst there could be a special reason for the easyJet flight being delayed by so much more than other flights last night, it does seem just another example of easyJet being significantly worse than the competition. It is likely that any passenger approaching them for compensation under EU regulations would be given the brush off under the “circumstances beyond our control” clause. That would be fair enough but why was easyJet so much later than all the other airlines?

EU regulations require the airline to provide refreshments for delays of two hours or more and compensation of €250 for delays of three hours or more.

There will be many instances this summer when easyJet has delays of this magnitude which can only be blamed partially on “circumstances beyond their control”.

In these cases, we recommend you look at the departure and arrival times of other airlines and either take the matter to an agency such as www.euclaim.co.uk who hold vast amounts of data on aircraft movements and will pursue the airline on your behalf if they feel they are partially to blame, or you could take legal action yourself.

Note

To the relief of many of our readers, we will lay off easyJet for a while now. The point has been made. However, it is only through bad publicity and paying claims that the airline will be made to improve. We really need the tabloids to take up the cudgels so we just hope The Daily Mail is up to the task!

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