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Old 2nd Dec 2018, 07:51
  #176 (permalink)  
mik3bravo
 
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: UK
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Yes, but I'm specifically highlighting here the London - Dublin service. As a frequent flyer, I'm in and out of Dublin weekly for the past 6 months for business reasons. I've used a variety of different airlines, ranging from Aer Lingus, BA, Ryanair and even Flybe. With the exception of Flybe, I have never had any major delays or flight cancellation on the route. The services on this route generally run like clock work from all of these carriers, except for Flybe.

My point being, the need for added comfort and peace of mind that Are Lingus will put you up in a hotel if they cancel a flight is such a rare need on such a smoothly running route, I fail to see how accumulating significant airfare cost differences can be jusyified. The risk / reward ratio is just not justifying the price of the Aer Lingus fares on the London to Dublin services.

If my flight was unfortunately cancelled and it necessitated my need for hotel accommodation then I'd much rather take control off that expense for myself and be free to arrange my own overnight accommodation and taxi / chauffeur service myself and expense back to my company.

We can't justify spending significant flight costs on an annual basis on this London to Dublin route when the chance of a (rare) cancellation occurring is used as a business rationale argument to support buying Aer Lingus tickets versus others. (Flybe, by the way, have been consistently poor service providers on this route, that's been our direct experiences from several staff we've had to send to Dublin on weekly business over the past 6 months - needless to say we dumped Flybe as a direct result). We spend thousands of pounds on business travel London to Dublin each month but can no longer justify the cost differentiators of airfares, our 2019 plan spending means we've imposed rules on what my employees can book and what airlines). It's simply business, and I can't continue to support excessively high airfares on a 1 hour short hop London to Dublin service when there's such an availability of other services and time slots that work when you are running a business and need staff located on time for meetings. Harsh reality and our honest position.
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