Dear Enthusiasts,
Thank you very much to those of you that have e-mailed in to show your interest in a potential A300 Farewell Flight. So many of you have responded in fact that I am unable to take the time to respond to each of you individually, so I do apologise if you haven’t received a personal response. There has been significant interest shown, and so plans will now progress in confirming dates, timings, pricing and content of the event, with the intention of being in a position to take bookings before Christmas.
I would like to thank those of you that have provided suggestions or feedback on the content of the trip. Suggestions have been varied and very original, and if we possibly can, we will try to accommodate as many of your suggestions as possible. Lots of you have requested a trip originating in Manchester; a valid request given the association that the aircraft has with MAN. Many others have requested a departure from Gatwick as well. Our final A300 will be based at Gatwick up until it’s departure in the Spring, and so positioning the aircraft to Manchester to operate an Enthusiast trip, would require that you, the Enthusiasts, cover the cost of such an operation. As a widebody aircraft, I am conscious of the fact, that encouraging Enthusiasts to sit in middle seats, might be difficult, as I believe that the vast majority of you will want window seats. Therefore for that reason, pricing will be based on only selling the aircraft to a maximum of around two thirds full, and running additional flights if the demand is there. We will evaluate the possibility of operating a very basic flight option at Gatwick, and also the feasibility of selling seats on the positioning flight to Birmingham, but for the time being, our focus is on Birmingham, where our A300 fleet will be undergoing their final maintenance checks with Monarch Aircraft Engineering Ltd, in their fantastic new hangar facility, prior to their departure from the fleet.
There have been a number of questions from you as well regarding this potential event, and I will do my best to answer those below;
1) Why Birmingham? For the reasons above – operating the flight from Birmingham provides the cheapest flight option to you, the Enthusiast. Having reviewed the costs of trips to other UK or European airports, the decision has been taken that it will be impossible to cover the costs of the operation, and therefore, it wouldn’t happen.
2) Will you be providing “light” options which would include a hangar tour only, or the opportunity to spot the aircraft at Birmingham from a safe vantage point? Sadly, no. The additional complexity of running different packages and events on a single day with only a small support staff is not feasible, and so the event will focus on those passengers travelling on the aircraft.
3) What are the age requirements? Monarch cannot accept any passengers under the age of 16 without an accompanying adult. On previous trips, we have had children as young as 3 in attendance. Rather than discourage this, we welcome Enthusiasts of all ages to come along and enjoy our events. Parents should really think carefully though about the fact that these are often long days, with potentially, lots of walking, and occasionally some waiting around. We minimise this as much as possible, but it cannot be guaranteed.
4) Will Monarch be producing A300-themed merchandise to mark the departure? Quite honestly, it hadn’t been considered, but we can put some thought in to it, and see whether or not we can produce something for those A300 fans out there!
No bookings have yet been made for any flight, as it is still a work in progress. Your interest has been noted, and you have been added to a mailing list so that further details will be sent to you when they are confirmed.
I would recommend that you continue to advise any friends that are interested in attending to send an e-mail to
[email protected] so that they can also be added to the mailing list.
Kind Regards
Toby
Monarch Airlines
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