Why do EJ still make themseves look like 'Airline' on TV

[Surrey Towers]

I have just heard from some friends that EJ kept well over 100 pax sitting in an aircraft at LGW yesterday for 7 hours. That is an inordinately long time. That many people for two toilets was miserable, and when they requested food they were told there wasn't any. Angst developed after several refusals to take them back to the terminal were made - it was refused point blank and no-one seems to know exactly how many times.

Eventually however, they were taken back and told to go to two allocated desks for refunds. After standing in one queue, they were moved to another and when they reached the desk they were told that they do not do refunds and that they would have to write in.

I reckon that some rules were broken, including food vouchers, or is that not done anymore? They will be seeking compensation, as well as the refunds.

Shame that the 'Airline' image is alive and well and that fob-off's are alive too! It cannot have been beyond ops to have known exactly what the wx state and airport operations were and to have acted accordingly. Detaining over a 100 pax on board for 7 hours is not on. Ops will have been realising at a certain point that the crew would be out of hours as it was scheduled to Ibiza - and just left the pax sit it out 'just in case.' Not good enough! Not all professional either.

No attempt was made at keeping the pax aware, I am told.

EJ's slip is showing just lately.

[Dan Winterland]

It's a "low Cost" airline and with "low cost" you shouldn't expect much. However, "low cost'' far from low cost - if you don't get one of the few advertised low price tickets offered on each flight, the tickets can be just as expensive as any full fare service - sometimes more. It's just you end up with a shoddy service and an airline that's laughing all the way to the bank. the problem is that the ''low cost'' model has been around a few years now and there are a whole section of the travelling public who know no different.

"Low cost" airlines could be more accurately described as "low expectation'' airlines. You get what you pay for.

[Out Of Trim]

Not only Low Cost Airlines that couldn't depart. Although Gatwick's runway was declared open; there was only one taxyway route cleared to get to the runway. And as you may be aware, there are airport roads that pass behind many of the Aircraft Stands.

These had been opened by snow ploughs to enable aircraft to be serviced. However, the ploughs built up a huge wall of snow banks behind the aircraft. So even if they were ready to depart, they could not until this wall of snow was cleared.

The priority for clearing for each departure seems to have been politically motivated as some airlines seemed to get preferential treatment by Gatwick Airport Limited. Virgin seemed to get a good service with even help from the Airport Fire Service personnel helping to dig them out.

The US Airways flight however, suffered the same problem as the OP. Despite many calls for hours about being ready to go, they too waited for hours until their crew also went out of hours and the flight had to be cancelled. :=