Originally Posted by
Vokes55
TUI do have standby aircraft. Officially, a 757 and a 787-9. They just don't have one at every base, and with the Max issues and the wet lease operations' reliability a mixed bag, they're far more active than the company would want.
Jet2 don't have 9 (plus additional group aircraft) aircraft grounded at short notice for reasons outside of their control. Having spare aircraft lying around and aircraft doing one rotation per day is sustainable whilst they are cheap and/or owned. Once the 757s and -300s have disappeared, and the majority of the fleet is made up of factory fresh or relatively new NGs, this model becomes unsustainable. Note that they don't have a full time standby aircraft at STN, as this base is made up completely of new deliveries - also notice how the majority of their "great flight times" out of STN are now 6am departures and 2-3am arrivals like the rest of the industry. New aircraft cost money and need to be flying to be profitable.
But actually I have nothing against Jet2. Merely stating that their punctuality is assisted by the fact they have many standby aircraft dotted around, which is unsustainable long term.
Yes it is. Whether a passenger flies with easyJet, BA, TUI or Bongo Bongo Airlines, their intention is to get from one place to another. easyJet and BA cancel flights and leave you with the option to rebook on the next available flight or get a full refund. If the next available flight is in a week, that's your holiday ruined, and there's a good chance you wont recoup all of your consequential losses either. TUI don't cancel the flight, and whilst sometimes their customer service in such scenarios may fall short, I'd far rather lose one day of my holiday than all of it.
Evidently you do, because the punctuality statistics that you quoted don't include cancellations. I could start Air Vokes, put 20 flights on sale, cancel 19 and operate one on time and, voila, 100% punctuality.
I don’t think this is an argument that anyone can win against you!
However, Jet2 do still take second hand aircrafts into their fleet, they’ve got plans to do this now. That is a fact. Therefore, for you to say their model isn’t sustainable I can say confidently you are wrong. You have an opinion that you’re right but I strongly disagree. Jet2 are strongly outgrowing their competitors within the leisure market and they’ve got strong accounts. That to me shows a growing and sustainable airline. It is ever changing market but I would be quite confident, like I’m sure they are too, that their model will continue to work.
You also need to have a look at the facts when a flight is cancelled. You mention losses you cannot recoup from cancelled flights. I think you need to have a look at the EU directive and the fact customers can recoup accommodation and other associated costs. It’s irrelevant whether the flight is delayed or cancelled. The chances are if you’re on a cancelled flight, especially with BA/Easyjet, you’d get to your destination in the same amount of time as a TUI delayed flight this summer - 24 and 48 hour delays have been common. Obviously there are unique circumstances where things can be different.
I’m not going to get involved in a long winded debate, it’s fine to have an opinion, but I disagree with you.
Can I ask, out of curiosity, do you work for TUI?