I accept things go wrong, but they must have asked us 4 times if we were flying TCX while we were in Q. Why not pull us to one side and tell us the truth ?
They knew the problem all the time we queued.
Was chaos at brs and people evil on the bus.
To be fair, they put us in hotel for a few hours,but told us to check in by 10.30.
Why ? When they knew flight not going till 2.55

You have suffered a terrible experience and I feel for you. It's not the way that you would wish to start your holiday.

To put a little balance on the subject though, I have to say that TC treated us very well when we had a delay on our flight to Mexico a couple of years ago. The staff were open and up front with us from the moment we checked in at LGW, right through to in flight announcements from the flight deck on our rescheduled flight following a coach journey to BHX.

Perhaps things have gone down hill for TC Customer Service since then. If that is the case they should remember that, despite all the tour operator failures, we still have a choice of where to spend our pennies.

I hope that you can put the poor start behind you and get on with enjoying your time in the sun.

TCX @ BRS
 

Problems continue today:

TCX7816/7 BRS-BJV-BRS

Currently delayed 5 Hours.

I'm quite surprised they didn't just delay it longer and sub/lease another aircraft in rather than lease a smaller aircraft and transfer the rest of pax by road - even though it would have probably increased the delay. Ofc TCX will know the reasons why but still is clearly the logical and most economical thing to do.

Never good to hear a bad experience like this but seems to be getting more and more common, I think a bit more honesty and transparency is needed!

Hope you've arrived.

Jonny.

G-JMCD B752 Just arrived into BRS to operate BJV Rotation.

Heard a rumour they'd run out of pilots, hence the sub charter.

Regards

Orion Man

Finally left at 03.10 on 757.
Captain apologised and said an earlier flight had an emergency medical diversion .. another lie ..???
Surely the flight would have continued to brs, and just been late ?

Anyway, it,a around 30 C and beer is cold and I,m sitting on the balcony with a lovely view the rest can wait till we get home

Nstee, glad you made it and are now enjoying some sun, albeit a little later than expected. Perhaps the Gatwick based 757 was running a little late and that's what the Captain referred to? Anyway, hope you enjoy your holiday!

On another note, G-POWH of Titan currently heading in the general direction of BFS as TCX800P. Anyone any info why? If Orion Man's sources are correct, maybe a temporary wet lease of a 757 to free up some BFS Airbus crew to operate out of BRS?

Medical emergency - another lie? Actually, it was the truth. A diversion into GVA, sadly because of a fatality on board. Feel better now?

Puts things into perspective , No one likes delays but these charter airliners are maxed out almost at this time in the summer and any incident causes notible delays ! Just enjoy your holiday :ok:

Nstee, another lie....... I can confirm that the medical emergency was just that, as I was one of the pilots flying that particular aircraft that night.
Divert GVA whilst en-route to LGW
enjoy you're 30' on the sun...Maybe next time wait for the facts before making snide comments.

Come on guys and girls, let's not start attacking Nstee - how was he or she to know what the truth was having spent hours at the airport with little to no information. It is very sad but these things happen - people die on aircraft and all Bristol airport staff had to say was that there had been an issue.

It doesn't explain why the Small Planet aircraft was used though. The Bristol to Zante is operated by a Bristol aircraft so actually I would question whether the diversion on a flight GVA to LGW was the ultimate cause of the horrendous delay.

The main issue is that most airlines tend to be very scarce on info and the truth when things go wrong. So many pax now make quite an instant decision that they are being misled/lied to/led up the garden path. Airlines have only themselves to blame even when the reason is outside their control.

TB

First and foremost, condolences to those who have lost a loved one.

Also don't forget the GLA based 757 operated to BJV the following day. Clearly having some issues as the schedule is ramped up for summer. See milehighboy's post below which may explain why the medical emergency has been mentioned.

BRS has been operating with brand new A321's for a few weeks now. I wouldn't expect fresh from the factory machines to have tech issues this early in their lives. Happy to be corrected but again there may be something in what Orion Man mentioned earlier. I'm sure it'll all be ironed out soon, these issues can happen at this time of year when charter airlines push to the limit crews and airframes to utilise every available hour in the air as destinations begin the seasonal swap.

Just be thankful to the people at the cold face like Turbine1 who do their best to deliver us on time and safely to our destination. Never forget they have lives and homes to get back to at the end of their shifts, delays frustrate crew as much as they do passengers!

No-one said it was a ride in the park for crew but the big difference is crew haven't forked out hundreds of pounds for the flights, and indeed they will get flight pay and disruption pay. So whilst it's an inconvenience it's also more pounds in their pockets.

I think we are digressing from the original point that ground crew should be empowered to give more valuable information during disruption.

This is outrageous Claude1, please retract your cynical, insulting and untrue comments:

I would like to confirm as crew myself we get flight pay which is about £35 a flight so £70 return sector we do NOT get distribution payments if your delayed we are and we do not get paid for delays

Beardy - quite frankly I think it is insulting that you can compare the inconvenience, frustration and financial penalties that passengers face with crew who are doing their job. I acknowledge that it is frustrating for them too but I stand by my comment - passengers pay hundreds of pounds for flights and holidays and unless they have a good argument for European legislation (something that airlines will often argue is not payable) charter airlines simply do not cut mustard when it comes to looking after passengers during delays.

I am not retracting anything. A number of airlines will pay disruption pay to their crew as part of their legal contract. If Thomas cook don't well I cannot comment. But it's like any job - I am paid to be flexible in my line if work and I don't have the same legislated working hours which if I go over I am immediately grounded.

Comparing disruption for crew and that for passengers is in my opinion like comparing apples and oranges. Simple as that

EGAC IS BETTER
What a nice post, thank you.

People rarely appreciate that delays are often as bad or worse for crew as they are for pax. I appreciate that we are not the paying customer and it is not our holiday being degraded. But, I'd far rather avoid the extra £4/hr duty pay that I'd pick up on a delayed flight.

I have always found that telling the pax the absolute truth makes them calm and reasonable. Unfortunately, the recent Euro laws regarding delay compensation has encouraged airlines to be very economical with the truth, so as to avoid the enormous cost liability of a delay. The above posts demonstrate that. One or two of them are nearly correct!

However, it has to be said, if airlines had been better at dealing with customers and delays in the first place, the Euro laws probably would not have been needed.

Cloud1
I did not compare passenger and crew frustration, you did. Then you say there is no comparison (apples and oranges.)

Crew too become deeply frustrated when things go wrong, which is not as rare as they would like it to be. As stated elsewhere Thomas Cook do not pay their crew disruption pay, there is no benefit, financial or otherwise, in delays, as you imply, which is what I considered to be outrageous. Crew are there principally for your safety, service is an added benefit; crew duty hours are there to ensure that they will be sufficiently alert to cope with any emergency at the end of their shift and were not decided by the crew nor the company, there is a limited amount of discretion to extend crew duty hour limits. The crew most of all want people to enjoy their holidays, but at times they are hampered by events and the law.

I would ask you to compare how charter airlines looked after their customers during the problems with volcanic ash with how scheduled airlines coped. The charters accommodated holidaymakers in resort for over 2 weeks at no cost to the passenger.

I am sorry that your holiday was disrupted, really I am. Please do not blame the crew, they do not want delays, it is not their fault; moreover they do not have the same opportunities to vent their frustrations as you do, nor do they have the same recourse to the law nor travel insurance.

I see the point in terms of paying for a service that didn't work out as expected. Nsthee has been on the wrong end of a bad experience and should be compensated for the same.

I am not defending TCX here, I am not employed by them or anyone in the industry. I am an interested observer who always dreamt of a forward facing office at the front of a composite tube, high in the sky and trying to be objectively reasonable.

When I mentioned crew I wasn't entirely clear that I meant flight deck, cabin and ground. In this case it seems communication was poor but lets not forget that a replacement aircraft was found and did deliver most pax without a massive delay. Crew also have a right to be upset when they have to deal with grumpy pax when they too have had their plans thrown in the air.

In terms of empowering ground staff, in principle I agree. From a business perspective I can also see why that wouldn't be wise due to compensation requirements for delays which can be deemed within the control of the airline. In life customers demand cheaper holidays and share holders demand greater profit margins, the reality of trying to achieve both means that use customers sometimes get left high and dry. The result is that a few unfortunate souls are left picking up the pieces and generally get no thanks.

Deepknight ... I,ll ignore

Turbine 1.. the announcement led me to believe the brs flight was diverted, not the lgw flight. I am sorry if there was a death, and it does put things in perspective.

But please remember we had been messed about big time most of the day. I still don,t think we have found out the real reason for the brs delay.
If you read my other posts you will see my main complaint is the way things were handled in brs, and I still think we were lied to several times. It must have cost a lot of money to put this right, but the main thing tcx could have done a lot better wouldn,t have cost a penny.
Just a bit of honesty in brs.

Having worked on the front line for quite a few years as rep and then as duty manager, one of the biggest things that can make or break a situation is communication.
My phone was often like the BT exchange during these types of events and quite often if ops where trying to swap things about, what was told 10mins ago had now changed.
Its a tricky one sometimes but no matter how bad the situation is, as a rep or duty manager, you have to take it. If it's handled correctly from the start with honest information then you can have the plane eating out of your hand, mess it up and they can be your worst enemy.
If you're there, no matter what time of day and no matter how long for and people can see you are trying to help, give information, be supportive, empathetic but also firm and to try an explain the situation, this is what makes the difference.
Had many delays in the past with one pig of a summer once, 3 hotac's one after the other but always, we were there and communication is key. To send 300 ibiza pax into a hotel with a 24hr delay is no easy task but didn't hear a peep out of them. Again, it's all down to the individual / team and doing what you can.

nsthee,
from my (wide) experience of airport delays, the chances are that you were not lied to. Customer Service Agents are rarely told enough or at all when a delay happens that is more complex than a late inbound flight. In some ways that makes sense as the reasons, sometimes, are outlandishly complex. I remember only to clearly standing in front of 300 irate pax in Cyprus to explain why a technical problem in Calgary, 36 hrs before, had caused them a 10hr delay. Frankly, the sequence of events, that included multiple a/c swops and FTL issues, largely went over their heads, but it was a comprehensive explanation and they were satisfied that they weren't being lied to.
You are possibly looking towards the EU compo to make up for your inconvenience, TCX, no doubt, were thinking that at the time of the delay. 6 figure delay claims (for a whole a/c) are the last thing likely to make any Euro airline want to be free with the facts. Hence, your CSA at BRS, probably knew little, and (i have seen this) under the intimidating circumstance of a planeful of irate pax, probably made a confused mishmash of the facts to keep the peace!
I am sorry you had a delay, its never a nice start/finish to a holiday, my advice would be to go directly to the CEO of TC Group.

Disruption pay ?!!! I wish !:D:D

Anybody know where FCLD is going to, sat outside air livery hangar at Man.

tcx 757's and a321's
 

Does anyone know if any 752/300 are leaving this winter and if so and wfu dates if possible?

also are thair any more a321's due for the uk fleet apart from the 2on order for 2015?

also are thair any additions to the long haul fleet 2015 ie new a/c or any new long haul a/c on.order?

Alasdair I think your query might be better in Spotters Corner, but AFAIK there are no plans to add to the TCX long haul fleet anytime soon. Remember they can use capacity from VKG and CFG if available.

According to ATDB, four A321s due between Nov 2014 and Feb 2015 will not be taken up. They also have G-JMCD/E leaving the fleet in spring 2015.

Things change though.

How patronising....

not patronising at all, too many of these sorts of threads that are best dealt with on spotter/holiday forums. Most of which will not find answers in here anyway- ie which specific aircraft will be operating a specific route in 2015...

TCX7294/5 BRS-NBE-BRS Delayed over 8 Hours.

Must be the weekend again!

I would have thought with all the New A/C things would have improved for MT!

Does anyone know whats going on?!

Thanks CC, and Waldo, can't see how? I answered the poster's question to the best of my knowledge.

BRS-NBE-BRS
 

Ops by HV PH-HZG B738.

Lack of pilots again I'm hearing.

Thanks for the assistance i have a big interestv intcx fleet wise
And you are very helpfull
Finally do you know if gla will become a321bound as a base

Thomas Cook Leased Aircraft
 

Today Thomas Cook has several aircraft on lease (some previously reported)

EC-LRA Vueling A320
9H-MTF Multiflight 737-300
PH-HZG Transavia 737-800W
I-NEOS Neos 737-800W
OY-GRN Air Greenland A330-200

Does anyone know when G-DAJC will be back? Been out of service for over a month now since the end of April.

This is the airline, airports and routes forum, the fella asked some questions about the airline...it would just have been more professional to just answer and move on...

Seemed to be more TCX aircraft than usual at East Midlands Airport today from around 13:00 or 14:00. There were at least 3, maybe 4 on the ground at once.


The 05:40 departure to Enfidha finally took off at 15:10. the Larnaca and Lanzarote flights this afternoon both left pretty much on time. I'm guessing there was a bit of aircraft repositioning going on so not sure which two aircraft are based at EMA now?

Tcdz was arround today with niko unsure of the other but niko now back in man aftet positioning from ema

NI punter incorrectly charged APD for Belfast - Orlando flights with Thomas Cook. Quite a whack of money given that there are seven in the family.

BBC News - Air Passenger Duty: NI passenger charged non-existent tax

As far as I recall they only fly that service once per year ( in July? ).