Flybe-9
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: EDI, LHR, NQY
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Switch to Amadeus Altea. Seems to have worked for future reservations but the website was out of action far longer than planned (impossible to check-in) and the app is offline altogether. I managed to check in after a few hours of faff. Got a notification about a new PNR for one future booking but not the others. On top of all that I believe VS uses Sabre so could it all be in vain?
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: UK
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Massive single point failure if those platforms suffer major hack, will impact all airlines. If they can hack the smart banking global network, these flight booking systems may be light work for the hackers.
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: East Midlands
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Switch to Amadeus Altea. Seems to have worked for future reservations but the website was out of action far longer than planned (impossible to check-in) and the app is offline altogether. I managed to check in after a few hours of faff. Got a notification about a new PNR for one future booking but not the others. On top of all that I believe VS uses Sabre so could it all be in vain?
I've just tried looking for the days of operation and operating periods for flights out of Norwich so went to 'Timetables' on the 'new' website. Previously you could see the timetables for all destinations on one page with details of their period of operation. Now it seems that you have to specify a 'date of travel' and the timetable for flights for a few days around that flight date will be displayed. I often do not have a specific date in mind and need an overview of what is available and when: the new website seems to make this impossible.
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Belfast
Age: 40
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I’ve been largely unable to access manage booking for days. The app is entirely offline and when I try to use the mobile site, errors from Cloudflare (an online security platform) stating the backend Flybe site is unavailable.
Web services is my job, and this update/switch over/whatever they are calling it, on the face of it is amateur hour. Do they not do any testing before going to production?! 🤦
Web services is my job, and this update/switch over/whatever they are calling it, on the face of it is amateur hour. Do they not do any testing before going to production?! 🤦
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Luxembourg
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I’ve been largely unable to access manage booking for days. The app is entirely offline and when I try to use the mobile site, errors from Cloudflare (an online security platform) stating the backend Flybe site is unavailable.
Web services is my job, and this update/switch over/whatever they are calling it, on the face of it is amateur hour. Do they not do any testing before going to production?! 🤦
Web services is my job, and this update/switch over/whatever they are calling it, on the face of it is amateur hour. Do they not do any testing before going to production?! 🤦
I did that and the respondent said "I shall have it flagged for internal review". In the preamble he explained to me how the new Timetable search worked - which I had already discovered - and apologised for the fact that the new timetable search did not offer the same information as previously. Unsurprisingly I had already discovered that too!
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: On the road
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Having had the "pleasure" of dealing with Amadeus on the systems side I can only say get used to the pace with which they respond to any non-critical (from their perspective) system issues. Their support of what they feel are non-critical functions for them i.e. doesn't earn them any money is disgraceful. Considering Altea gains Flybe absolutely 0 functionality over what they had before, I can see why the previous IT director was shown the door. I can only assume the first bills started coming in and people asked questions as to why there were additional zeros on the end of what they used to pay!
Well, at least the website response times seem to have dramatically improved today - at least for me - and no more errors when trying to access the backend.
Like Expressflight though, I lament the replacement of the previous timetable format.
Like Expressflight though, I lament the replacement of the previous timetable format.
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Leeds, UK & Cork, Ireland
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Having had the "pleasure" of dealing with Amadeus on the systems side I can only say get used to the pace with which they respond to any non-critical (from their perspective) system issues. Their support of what they feel are non-critical functions for them i.e. doesn't earn them any money is disgraceful. Considering Altea gains Flybe absolutely 0 functionality over what they had before, I can see why the previous IT director was shown the door. I can only assume the first bills started coming in and people asked questions as to why there were additional zeros on the end of what they used to pay!
Is such a capable, powerful and expensive system really needed at an independent, low-cost regional airline? And will it be thrown out in short order when the VS brand takes over the BE flying?
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: On the road
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How do Amadeus continue to sell product if it’s that bad? Surely the community is pretty small and word gets around/people move. If the product is expensive and support poor, how do they win tenders? I’m under the impression that Altea is quite flexible and powerful, but that comes at a steep cost. Airlines like LH and BA use it, AF/KL too. Seems to fall over quite a bit at BA though.
Is such a capable, powerful and expensive system really needed at an independent, low-cost regional airline? And will it be thrown out in short order when the VS brand takes over the BE flying?
The real problem is that whenever a likely alternative starts to come onto the market one of the big 3 will buy it. Navitaire was bought by Amadeus and G2 switchworks was bought by Travelport. What carriers really want is the codeshare and interline capability of Altea with the customisation and flexibility of Navitaire. Amadeus have deliberately dragged their feet on this as the pricing is so different. A booking segment on Navitaire was less than $0.50....on Amadeus a codeshare segment can cost anything up to $8. They know that they have the airlines by the short and curlies hence the outcry when the biggest airlines develop workarounds via their own API solutions offering discounts. Agents are also incentivised to sell through the GDS by getting kickbacks that are funded by the airlines against their will!
I've just tried looking for the days of operation and operating periods for flights out of Norwich so went to 'Timetables' on the 'new' website. Previously you could see the timetables for all destinations on one page with details of their period of operation. Now it seems that you have to specify a 'date of travel' and the timetable for flights for a few days around that flight date will be displayed. I often do not have a specific date in mind and need an overview of what is available and when: the new website seems to make this impossible.
It's not hard to write a program to develop a PDF of their timetable which knowledgeable travellers can download, but even where carriers used to have these, they seem to delight in throwing them away.
It's like a restaurant abandoning menus. Instead you have to go through steps of logging in to a screen, then say how hungry you are, when did you last eat, (Would you like a special voucher for 3 weeks on Tuesday - NO), how much money have you got in your wallet, (Would you like a special voucher for 3 weeks on Tuesday - Again NO), and then IT tells YOU what you are going to be given.
And whether you can sit at the same table as the rest of your family will be decided only when you come in through the door. Unless you pay extra now.
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Where the next project takes me
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That's a great post WHBM - sums up beautifully how awful the aviation business has become.
We keep predicted that we will hit the bottom of the barrel but somehow the barrel seems much deeper than anyone thought.
We keep predicted that we will hit the bottom of the barrel but somehow the barrel seems much deeper than anyone thought.
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: UK
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Their real USP is the interline and codeshare functionality. In terms of other systems that are at the same level there's probably only Sabre which comes at a similar cost. Distributing codeshare is a pain in the backside but Amadeus have it cracked.
The real problem is that whenever a likely alternative starts to come onto the market one of the big 3 will buy it. Navitaire was bought by Amadeus and G2 switchworks was bought by Travelport. What carriers really want is the codeshare and interline capability of Altea with the customisation and flexibility of Navitaire. Amadeus have deliberately dragged their feet on this as the pricing is so different. A booking segment on Navitaire was less than $0.50....on Amadeus a codeshare segment can cost anything up to $8. They know that they have the airlines by the short and curlies hence the outcry when the biggest airlines develop workarounds via their own API solutions offering discounts. Agents are also incentivised to sell through the GDS by getting kickbacks that are funded by the airlines against their will!
The real problem is that whenever a likely alternative starts to come onto the market one of the big 3 will buy it. Navitaire was bought by Amadeus and G2 switchworks was bought by Travelport. What carriers really want is the codeshare and interline capability of Altea with the customisation and flexibility of Navitaire. Amadeus have deliberately dragged their feet on this as the pricing is so different. A booking segment on Navitaire was less than $0.50....on Amadeus a codeshare segment can cost anything up to $8. They know that they have the airlines by the short and curlies hence the outcry when the biggest airlines develop workarounds via their own API solutions offering discounts. Agents are also incentivised to sell through the GDS by getting kickbacks that are funded by the airlines against their will!