Originally Posted by
Big Tudor
Maybe because this thread is about TUI Airways. EZY, BA, et al have the ultimate get-out clause in that they can cancel and rebook passengers onto other flights, or reimburse. The nature of TUI's business means this is not an option hence the need to run with the delay unless alternative equipment/crew can be sourced, often at great expense. .
Although a "subcharter" for a single specific flight may indeed appear a great expense, if only because they sometimes have to position to and fro halfway across Europe, and if nobody else is available they know they have you by the short-and-curlies, it can still be your cheapest approach compared to having spare aircraft and crew capacity throught the season, which only rarely gets used. Any decent operations accountant knows the relative numbers and the most efficient way to go.
I'm not directly involved in any way, but I do understand that Jet2 have handled things particularly well through the Lockdown to now with crew and serviceable fleet retention, BA have been appalling with it, and TUI UK lays somewhere in the middle.