All day today in Catalonia, Vueling has taken a pasting in the media. Lunchtime tv news programmes were full of horror stories of massive delays and/ or cancellations at BCN "all relating to Vueling."
This evening the main local evening news programme stuck the boot in big time. They alleged that 1 000+ movements were scheduled at BCN today with Vueling responsible for about 600. And they showed long queues of disgruntled passengers and interviewed many of them expressing their anger. The programme quoted as fact that Vueling has recently sacked about 60 pilots, that it does not have a fleet of a size adequate for its schedule and that it has "refused an offer from Iberia to lend a hand."
The lack of support personnel and or media presence from Vueling was highlighted (though one senior executive David García Blancas was interviewed; making wholly generic and non-specific excuses for these massive delays) as was the allegedly false attribution of problems earlier this week to French ATC with the question "but why did it just affect Vueling?"
TU action by Swissair ground handling as well as a possible work to rule by Vueling personnel were also alluded to.
They reported that there are similar problems for Vueling all around Spain today, mentioning, from memory, Bilbao, Alicante, Malaga Madrid and Mallorca if not more. Paris too. The use of leased aircraft without markings to cover gaps was highlighted.
The appropriate Catalan minister appeared on screen to urge locals to "fill in the complaints form" which certainly was even funnier than Boris's speech yesterday morning.
The same programme is now reporting as it ends that 80 "pilots and crew" were dismissed but then rowed back by saying "though maybe they have just left for jobs with better conditions elsewhere." The refusal of help from Iberia claim was repeated.
It seems from this that its not just my easyJet shareholding that was misconceived.
Last edited by BigFrank; 1st Jul 2016 at 20:41.