FlyGlobespan - 6

[PPRuNe Pop]

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Enjoy.

The mods.

[groundrat]

long time viewer of pprune here!!just thought i'd join up and join in-this is my first post so i would appreciate some guidance from you before i make a reply to this post in particular:)what kind of thing is taboo??i've read some of the other posts on this "airline" and whilst i agree with some of the stuff thats being said,some of it does sound like a vendetta:ugh:

[Buster the Bear]

Flyglobespan has announced that it will scale back the number of flights it offers between Liverpool John Lennon Airport and New York JFK, less than a month after its launch.

The airline is blaming poor passenger numbers, but says it hopes to restore the daily service.

A Flyglobespan spokesperson said: "Unfortunately, load factors indicate that in the near future we will have to reduce the frequency to four or five times a week. We are currently working out the best way to implement this change to the service.

“At some time in the future, we would like to return to a daily service to New York from Liverpool but our experience would suggest that to make it viable we would have to introduce a secondary stop on the route, similar to our Liverpool John Lennon to JFK flights which fly via Knock in Ireland.”

Passengers on flights that have been cancelled will be offered the chance to fly on an alternative date or a full refund.

The Liverpool to New York service was launched officially at the end of last month by Yoko Ono, John Lennon's widow, and it was hoped that the new link would enhance the city's standing as European Capital of Culture in 2008.

[groundrat]

:yuk:

http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/news/display.var.1478015.0.flyglobespan_sacks_checkin_agents_afte r_complaints.php

[dwlpl]

“At some time in the future, we would like to return to a daily service to New York from Liverpool but our experience would suggest that to make it viable we would have to introduce a secondary stop on the route, similar to our Liverpool John Lennon to JFK flights which fly via Knock in Ireland.”

That quote doesn't make much sense, re introducing a stop on the way to JFK when they already have that stop!

Looks as if the GLA/Boston going the same way as LPL/JFK by dropping down from the current daily to four per week split between non-stop and one-stop via Knock.

[GSM SCOT]

Not every flight goes via NOC from LPL so they are considering intoducing this on every flight.

[dwlpl]

.. so making the journey longer and less attractive, which leads to less passengers, which leads to making it more costly for those wanting to travel.

[chrism20]

Free parking was announced for anyone travelling to New York from LPL, perhaps the load factor has been low and the free parking was a sweetner to lure for nearby MAN.

GSM aren't as well known down south as they are up here in Scotland which may put people off as well. The route isn't being chopped all together so they obviously feel there is some long term future for the route.

[MUFC_fan]

.. so making the journey longer and less attractive, which leads to less passengers, which leads to making it more costly for those wanting to travel.


And MAN reap the rewards! The only two airlines that would make that route work today would be CO and DL with their 752s, unless BA want to restart 752s on transatlantic from the regions!;)

Looks like the YHM willbe the only flight from this winter to the airport from the airline. JFK and TFS were both messed up by the unnessesary stops in NOC and STN, have they not learnt their lessons yet?!

Does anybody know why the LPL-PRG route failed? Seems to be a sert from LPL. Next EZY destination?

[dwlpl]

GSM like to have routes that have a stop for some reason.

As for Prague, how about Ryanair........

[MUFC_fan]

FR have said that they are looking at larger airports for growth, but I would be surprised if it was PRG.

Apparently ATH is next on the cards.

[dwlpl]

Looking at the CAA stats for May I see that from the airport that has 'no room' to take on more based aircraft (see FR thread) Liverpool has already sent passengers on a scheduled route (to Athens) that it does not have.

As for FR and Prague, maybe just maybe ;)

[lplsprog]

MUFC fan
As far as I know Prague flight did not even start. Runway closure in the winter at LPL and slot problems at Prague meant it would have run into trouble if there were any delays. With GSM's performance over the last few months it was a good job it didn't start!

[groundrat]

Yeah,the LPL runway closures were a problem last year for the TFS-STN-LPL flight if it was ever late.I think they had to coach pax from alternated a few times so prob wouldn't be a good idea and maybe has something to do with slot times also:confused:

[ggspn]

Webby, Woohoo early arrivals from Spain!!!!112!!one! Tail winds and decent turnarounds in spain don't make globesham better than they actually are.

[tallaonehotel]

"Webby, Woohoo early arrivals from Spain!!!!112!!one! Tail winds and decent turnarounds in spain don't make globesham better than they actually are".

After the mods stepped in the last time I see that some of us are starting to go down the same road.
As for GSM I hope they can get their problems sorted, I've flown with them a good few times and I can't fault them.

[GSM SCOT]

Whats the big deal about the flight being nearly £500 ?
Don't be so dramatic, go two days later and save £100 or even better why not go with MYT or TCX.

What is it now, flights been running on time so lets get them on the price of there tickets !

[GSM SCOT]

From the 1st of November GSM are going to be operating with two class cabins instead of the three they currently operate.

They business class will continue as it is and the new economy will essentially mirror the premium service offering passengers

25kg baggage allowance
Full meal service with selection online
Complimentry drinks service
Inflight entertainment service
Free seat selection if booked early.

[markbarbera]

STN-YHM route with September dates are part of the Summer 2007 schedule, which has been on sale since March(?). All long-hauls to YHM have loads exceeding 90%, so the fares you are seeing now are the last few seats and are going to be anything but cheap. It's the old adage, you snooze you lose.

Check out the Winter 2007 long-hauls to YHM (currently only Glasgow and Manchester). The fares are coming in around the £200 mark. Just booked myself for YHM-MAN-YHM and it came in at $495 CAN, approx £235.

By the way, yellow flag, guys. There is a risk of this thread heading the same way as its predecessor, judging by the tone of the posts by ggspn and donttellthepax. How about we see more of that world-renowned British civility?

[IB4138]

The problem appears to be that GSM SCOT is a mouthpiece for Flyglobespan and always puts the Company's spin on anything posted.

Why the mods have not picked up on this I don't know, but it has been obvious for some time. Some of the threads and posts started/made, break the "no advertising" rules of this forum.

[stanley37uk]

I would like GSM scot to give us the benefit of his wisdom

Why oh why oh why is the incoming GSM 402 ex BCN to EDI LATE every single day , it has a massive knock on effect on the outward Nice/Rome/Pula flight - GSM must be a joke in these airports !! I do not think Rome or Pula has a single on time sector this year . 401/402 have reasonable turnrounds in BCN .

Is GSM 472 tech in AGP today ?

And why oh why have they shaved 15 mins off the double AGP Saturday rotation , craft struggles already without this .

[touch&go]

stanley37uk

I take you have never operated out on BCN, if you did you would know why there are delays, busy arrivals and up to 30 minutes of taxi time to the holding point.

I do wonder if the people on here have any aviation back ground other than FS, if you look at the Gatwick departure board online you see lots of flights running late, slots this time of the year cause delays and it is hard to catch up over the day, missing Pax and loading errors are other factors, so just post news not silly delay notices on here.

Sadly Prune is not the board it was.

[Exasperated]

T&G

Have to agree, the turnaround for GSM401/402 is 55 mins at BCN which is positively leisurely for a loco carrier but GSM402 nearly always departs late even when arriving on time or drops further behind when late.

GSM401 ex EDI was off stand on time about 70% during May but GSM402 from BCN could only manage on time arrival to EDI of under 20%. This then impacts on the next rotation as, in common with other locos, there is not enough slack in the schedule to make up the time. FYI the 402 normally operates to Nice as GSM451/2 or Rome as GSM811/2 whose on time percentage for May is in the 30s.

Take those three routes out and ontime at EDI is 78% which is reasonable for this type of op. Quite what Flyglobespan can do about this right now remains to be seen.

Ex

[afterdark]

another new 738 on delivery flight by the looks of it G-CEJO I presume

Airline Flyglobespan
Flight Number 1P
Departure City (Airport) Seattle, WA (BFI)
Departure Time 06/27/2007 12:43 PM
Arrival City (Airport) Glasgow, Scotland, Great Britain (EGPF)
Arrival Time 06/28/2007 04:48 AM
Remaining Flight Time 02:15
Aircraft Type Boeing 737-800
Current Altitude 41,000 feet
Current Groundspeed 532 mph
Flight Status In Flight

I wonder what they are going to do with services during the winter to keep all these new aircraft in service ?

[TSR2]

Just to keep things evenly balanced, the following long haul are due in MAN today.

GSM104 Hamilton Due 10.00 Expected 10.00
GSM922 Vancouver Due 10.00 Expected 09.45
CO20 New York 07.40 13.10
US734 Philadelphia 08.35 13.05
DL154 New York 08.55 Canx
DL064 Atlanta 09.40 11.35
CO100 New York 09.55 11.25
BD706 Chicago 08.05 09.15
TS320 Toronto 11.20 22.50

Information from MAN Airport Arrivals/Departures website.

[Localiser Green]

CAA punctuality data released this week for the first quarter of 2007 is starting to paint a sorry picture for GSM - close to being the least punctual scheduled airline in the UK (20th out of 21) according to these stats:

Scheduled Airline Delay League Table - Q1 2007 (http://www.flightontime.info/scheduled/scheduled.html).

The detailed GSM stats show clearly that the problem lies with longhaul, average delays for the first three months of 2007:

GLA-SFB - 77 minutes
MAN-CPT - 140 minutes
MAN-YYZ/YHM - 185 minutes :ooh:

(Source: flyglobespan CAA Route Delay Stats (http://www.flightontime.info/loco/airlines/gsm07.html))

On the plus side the shorthaul program at STN, GLA and EDI was not too bad, some of the routes had very good punctuality in fact (80%+ OTP).

[touch&go]

Who would have thought the mighty Virgin would be 21st on the list, goes to show even the most organised operators are not immune from delays.

[PPRuNeUser0178]

I have jusy used GSM for the first time EDI-PMI-EDI for the family hols.

I have to give praise were it is due, outbound sector on time, return delayed due slot, happens to us all.

Allocated seating, a BIG plus in my opinion as for the first time travelling with young kids which would make our rush for a seat a nightmare ( could always purchase speady boarding though :mad: )

On board service, friendliness and smartness of the cabin staff all very good.

Down side, 737-600, leg room was awful, both toilets at the rear ( we were at the front ) with no baby changing facilities.

Free luggage allowance is a joke, however as I have heard from many people the 20Kgs ( including hand luggage :mad: ) is NOT enforced in EDI but they are hot on it in PMI making you stick every thing including bum bags on the scales and creaming in a small fortune after lulling you in to a false sense of security departing the UK. We were OK as we had 4 seats for 2 adults and 2 toddlers so our allowance was covered, but I was getting very angry as what appeared to be their handling agents supervisor, a british woman, hung around checkin and was, in a condecending manner telling an elderly couple that after all your hand luggage does way something you know and the Captain needs to know all this to decide how much fuel to take :yuk: I was preying she would say this to me so I could tell her all about standard weights!!!!!!!!

Also at the gate in PMI, no priority boarding for elderly or families or by seat row, just a scrum:=.

Overall, I would say a positive experience with some room for inprovement, but GSM please dont treat people as if they are stupid, be a bit more honest about your baggage policy and enforce it in UK so you don't fool people into thinking it will be OK upon return, because in all my years of travelling I have never seen so many people charged for excess baggage, and it was only a 737-600! And tell your people in PMI to tell the truth, you are not using actual weights so her info was utter tosh! I just hate seeing passangers being fed Bulls**t by airport staff and I keep that though closely in mind whenever I am delivering bad news PA's etc at work, nothing rings true like the truth!

Oh last point, found the flight timings very convienent, much better than anything we are offering AT THE MOMENT.

Rgds

EZYDRIVER

[FHA]

Hi EZYDRIVER.
Are you EDI based? Next time at work, ask one of your engineers how much they enjoyed working for Globespan! They'll be happy to enlighten you! :\

[PPRuNeUser0178]

Yes I am EDI based, and I do know all the horror stories that came out of the period when FLS were the engineering support for GSM, but thats old news. I am also aware of all the bad things that have been happening at GSM since Storm took over, as I have a few mates at GSM, but since there are more than enough people on here happy to give GSM a kicking I thought I would leave that to them and just give an account of being a pax with GSM with inside knowledge of what its like in this industry.

GSM I know are far from perfect, but they do have ( sometimes ) a good product and are giving the Scottish market what EZY has failed to do over the years where it had the chance, hopefully this will wake the sleeping orange giant from their tree in LTN and spar some compition for GSM. If that does happen I have no doubt who would win - the pax!

Just trying to give a balance to the debate thats all - after all even the tories gave a standing cheer of praise when Tony Blair left parliament this week !!:D

[warkman]

You too can play the "What day will Globespan get me home?" game

http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/0701/knock.html

[TechProblem]

Ok to clear up a few tings posted, as far as im aware MUFC fan, there will be YHM, CPT and JNB routs through the winter from MAN. Not just YHM.

The first three months of 07 GSM had one 767 to op the CPT the YYZ/YHM and the SFB. Hence bad deleys when that a/c went tech, as GSM dont sub out.

[caaardiff]

According to Jethro's another 763 on the way from Air New Zealand in Nov.
Unless the Air India leases on one of the a/c is extended then are GSM planning even more long haul?
They really do seem to be taking on too much too quickly! :=

[point5]

Here's GSMs rather ambitious plan to get the LPL-NYC service back on track. They might as well not shut the engines down...

01 July New York JFK / Knock 19:00 06:30* next day
02 July Knock / Liverpool 07:10 07:50
02 July Liverpool / Knock 09:30 10:20
02 July Knock / New York JFK 11:00 13:00
02 July New York JFK / Knock 14:30 01:30* next day
03 July Knock / Liverpool 02:10 02:50
03 July Liverpool / New York JFK 04:20 07:20
03 July New York JFK / Liverpool 08:50 20:35
03 July Liverpool / Knock 22:05 22:45
03 July Knock / New York JFK 23:25 00:25*next day
04 July New York JFK / Knock 01:55 12:55
04 July Knock / Liverpool 13:35 14:15
04 July Liverpool / New York JFK 15:30 18:30

Ta

[warkman]

Has the FGS 202 actually gone from JFK yet?
the flight that was delayed, is still showing on flight tracking sites as "data needed"

[aidanf]

Lot of talk in Irish media at the moment about EI-Knock to/from JFK by aforementioned carrier being out of action, stranding passengers on both sides for 3 days now. Reports quote the captain in New York as telling passengers that as "there's a recurring problem with the aircraft, I'm not flying". Fully understandable from the Capt.'s p.o.v., but not good for SLF when there's no back-up a/c in place :*

[point5]

As of 10am this morning, 'JM' is still unserviceable!

[warkman]

OUCH!
Those poor pax, stuck in JFK. I am sure that FGS are supplying them with food and accommodation

[gaelgeoir]

The Irish media are reporting that they've flown into Shannon Airport this morning on a Delta schedule service from JFK.

[warkman]

That's excellent news for the passengers, must have cost FGS.

What are FGS going to do? they don't have a spare aircraft do they to replace this tech a/c??

[dcantwell]

According to RTE 30 pax arrived on the Delta flight this morning after purchasing tickets themselves http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/0702/globespan.html

[gaelgeoir]

My concern is for the future of the Knock service. With so many (DUB/SNN) transatlantic options available within a couple of hours driving of the area served by Knock, I fear that FGS's reputation will drive traffic to the other Irish gateways.

[warkman]

Oh!
according to Irish news ONLY 30 pax came back, the rest are still in JFK!

"Almost 30 passengers arrived at Shannon airport this morning after being stranded in New York this weekend.

Globespan flight 201 from New York to Knock airport has been delayed indefinitely since last Thursday due to an 'engineering problem.'

A handful of the flight's 240 passengers arrived this morning after booking an alternative flight home through Delta Airlines at their own expense.

AdvertisementOne of the group bought tickets for ten others on his credit card as they could not afford the cost themselves.

Passengers described how they were shunted from the airport to hotels and back again since Thursday evening and were given different reasons for repeated delays of the Globespan flight.

Some passengers told RTÉ's Morning Ireland that Ireland West Airport should review its association with Globespan in the light of their experience.

Another Globespan flight due into Knock yesterday morning, GSM 736 from Boston, was cancelled and the return leg of that flight (GSM 735A) has been delayed indefinitely."

[point5]

Surely there's more than 240pax at JFK? If its been cancelled since Thursday then thats 5 days worth of pax (only 2 which go through Knock). There must be knocking on 1000 pax affected if you consider the 10 or so legs.

[sawtooth]

What a mess. 500 now stranded in Ireland and the US according to the local news. The aircraft remains out of service with a "very unusual incident, which necessitated a complicated repair" a statement by Globespan said. Surely they can organise an emergency charter or book them on other flights.

NOC are organising accommodation and food for the passengers stranded there, which is a lot more than Glyglobespan are doing for the pax state side who don't even have an airline representative.

[dwlpl]

The tech aircraft is the reason behind the delays on the Liverpool/JFK route, but whats the reason with the Glasgow/Boston delays?

[GSM SCOT]

The reason for the Boston route delays is the terrorist attach at Glasgow airport on Sat afternoon. The aircraft has just landed in GLA from BCN when the attack happened. The aircraft with passengers onboard was stuck there for many hours before the authorities would let the passengers disembark from the aircraft. The airport was then closed until sunday. This is the reason for the delays GSM now suffer at GLA and EDI. Aircraft and crew out of position and out of flying hours.

[warkman]

GSM Scott,
On another forum, a passenger for the Sunday GLA-SFB flight was told that the flight was cancelled.
Did this happen with the BOS flight as well?

What is happening with the JFK flight?

[GSM SCOT]

Yes most flights from GLA on the sat where cancelled. The SFB was cancelled on sun due to the airport being closed and the 767 stuck in GLA

The JFK aircraft is tech in JFK, it was struck by lightning and has been there ever since as the damage is worse than first though. All JFK flights been cancelled till 4th july with all pax being told to either change ther flight to the next one available or cancel and get a full refund. All this info is on the Flyglobespan website

[hobie]

OUCH!
Those poor pax, stuck in JFK. I am sure that FGS are supplying them with food and accommodation

A few seem to have escaped ..... :confused:


Almost 30 passengers arrived at Shannon airport this morning after being stranded in New York this weekend.
Globespan flight 201 from New York to Knock airport has been delayed indefinitely since last Thursday due to an 'engineering problem.'
A handful of the flight's 240 passengers arrived this morning after booking an alternative flight home through Delta Airlines at their own expense.
One of the group bought tickets for ten others on his credit card as they could not afford the cost themselves.



http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/0702/globespan.html

[dwlpl]

What is happening with the JFK flight?

Basically nothing because they cannot fix the problem as yet.

[GSM SCOT]

Normally gsm would send a 737-800 to operate the JFK route but because of the incident at GLA on sat most of the 800's where stuck there till the airport reopened on the sunday afternoon.

[GW76]

Tell us GSMScot- if other airlines such as MYT as GLA can sub charter aircraft to cover GLA delays- why cant GSM......:ugh:

[GSM SCOT]

That's one for the management at GSM to answer i'm afraid.

[GSM SCOT]

That would put over 1000 employes out of work if that happened

Unlikely to happen though. GSM have a very profitable european operation which is flying with almost every seat full.
The GLA -BOS & SFB is also very busy
The Canadia flights are also flying at near full capacity also.
Biggest problem is on the LPL- JFK route, this will drop to three times a week soon which should help.

Air India also make a lot of money for GSM.

[skyman771]

GSM have a very profitable european operation which is flying with almost every seat full...The GLA -BOS & SFB is also very busy....The Canada flights are also flying at near full capacity also. Hmmmm...... well am I missing something or is the demand in the lease market for 757's with ETOPS at a record high puting pressure on costs & availability?, otherwise what can be inferred is either GSM have a very low profit margin on their seat / mile costs, else the management are very stupid indeed.:confused:

[warkman]

If this article from the Orlando TV station WESH 2 is correct, this is also appauling service from Globespan:

http://www.wesh.com/news/13605346/detail.html

SANFORD, Fla. -- The terrorist attack in Scotland sent travel shockwaves across the globe over the weekend.

Flights were canceled after terrorists attacked an airport in Glasgow, Scotlan, on Saturday, WESH 2 News reported.

Scottish passenger Robert Kennedy was stranded in Florida after his flight home to Glasgow was canceled.


"We tried to speak to some people, but they didn't offer us any help," Kennedy said.

Officials said his airline, Fly Globespan, is not giving him any answers, and agents were not at the airport to even tell him about the flight.

Kennedy said that until he can catch a flight, he has to pay for his own hotel room.

"The way we have been treated is absolutely disgraceful, and to be told they wouldn't cover any costs is absolutely shocking," Kennedy said.

The 128 passengers on the flight were told to come back Monday morning to catch another flight home. Officials said it could take a few days before all the displaced passengers can catch flights.

[IB4138]

Biggest problem is on the LPL- JFK route, this will drop to three times a week soon which should help.


Still advertising a daily service on Radio City today.

[dwlpl]

other airlines such as MYT as GLA can sub charter aircraft to cover GLA delays- why cant GSM......

Bet the ease MYT can sub charter aircraft for Glasgow won't go down well with one of that airlines services currently suffering a 11 hour delay into Liverpool from Reus.

[GW76]

Given the events of the weekend, I am sure even the people at LPL will understand why GLA has been given priority, if indeed they have, to cover flights delayed there.:rolleyes:

[Telstar]

The Irish Times

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Knock requests meeting over stranded flights

Lorna Siggins and Tom Shiel

Ireland West Airport Knock says it has sought an urgent meeting with Flyglobespan airline about difficulties with its transatlantic service, after 500 passengers were stranded at three airports over the past five days.

Arrangements were being made last night to repatriate passengers delayed at JFK airport, New York, since last Thursday, and to fly out 146 US-bound passengers who had been booked to leave Knock on Sunday. However, the majority of the 240 passengers grounded at JFK airport were en route home on other carriers, many travelling at their own expense.

"We're terribly disappointed that passengers had this experience," Ireland West Airport chief executive Liam Scollan said.

The problems began when lightning struck an aircraft landing at JFK last Thursday, and were compounded by the weekend's security alert at Glasgow airport. Knock airport provided hotel accommodation on Sunday night for 146 people who had been booked to fly out to New York earlier in the day, but who have still not got away.

The new transatlantic services between Liverpool, Knock and New York and Glasgow, Knock and Boston had experienced several technical difficulties before the weekend's catalogue of events, Mr Scollan said.

"We met with the airline last week to iron out some operational issues, and once we have this situation resolved we will be meeting again," he said.

The airline had several key issues to sort out, including providing sufficient back-up aircraft, and securing more suitable slot times at JFK New York, Mr Scollan said. "However, it did open up the transatlantic option for us, and we want to work with the company," he said.

Anger, tiredness and frustration were expressed yesterday by some of the passengers stranded at Knock, New York and Boston.

"It's been a pure nightmare," said Paul Walsh, brother of pop impresario Louis, who was delayed at JFK. "We were getting no information. We were virtually living in the airport. It was awful, the worst ever."

Mr Walsh switched with five family members to Delta Airlines and flew home to Shannon when the Flyglobespan Boeing 757 showed no signs of taking off from JFK. Mr Walsh, who has a flooring business in north America, said that about 70 others from Ireland and the Liverpool area had chosen the Delta option despite the cost.

Majella Considine, and her daughter, Amy, from Dunshaughlin, Co Meath, also flew home via Shannon with Delta and said she never was as relieved to be back on Irish soil again. Some young people waiting for the return flight were practically destitute, she said.

On Saturday night everybody was asked to board and the plane taxied out on the runway. "It was the most deflating thing ever when the plane taxied back in again. The pilot said another technical difficulty had occurred and the flight was again cancelled."

Some passengers formed an action group to demand "a basic level of human rights" from ground handlers, according to Ms Considine. One male passenger became ill after the flight home on Saturday night was cancelled, and was taken to hospital.

Chris and Caroline Brannigan were caught in Mayo when Sunday's flight to New York was cancelled. Mr Brannigan was unenthusiastic about using Flyglobespan again.

[tspark]

What routes are they doing for Air India?

[Vapor]

I feel that Flyglobespan have ruined the Transatlantic routes from Knock. Technical problems can happen to anyone and so can disruptions caused by security issues but they have really made no attempt to try and get another aircraft in place since then.
These are brand new routes out of Knock and you need to make a special effort in order to get an established reputation if people are going to leave other carriers and airports to try you out.
There has been so much negetive publicity from this so early into the program i can't really see the routes recovering form it. It seems a bit like Flyglobespan don't want to operate there anymore.

Knock airport will find it hard to find another carrier to operate to NYC and Bos when Flyglobespan pull the plug, and even if they do the public will be very sceptical about flying transatlintic into the airport again.

[webby1919]

Flights will resume tonight to JFK from NOC and usual flight to BOS will go out tomorrow from GLA as per website update. The schedule is getting back on track, but still delays to the YHM flight.

[jaycee46]

The GLA -BOS & SFB is also very busy

If this is the case, how come the s*its have cancelled the Thursday & Friday service GLA - BOS from August to October, citing poor bookings? Really screwed my Boston trip for meetings and hotel bookings, - not even an option to cancel - hiding behind these T & C's!

No wonder their long haul routes are under booked - their marketing / adverts is pants. Correct me here, but did they not do something similar with their Las Vegas route - which nobody knew about.

There is a lot of hope and goodwill in Scotland for GSM to be a success, and short haul, it is pretty good - if they offered F.F. miles, i'd have plenty, but somebody in the long haul dept, needs their butt kicked before they get an even worse reputation. I really don't want to have to start going back through LHR / LGW to get to the States, so come on GSM - get your act together! The press only report on the bad news about airlines, and that is what the public reads - give a dog a bad name etc.

[dwlpl]

http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=270090&page=16
The GSM website timetable section has now caught up with the booking engine and shows that winter plans for the LPL/KFK route have now gone altogether, last flight by both sections is 30th October.

According to media reports GSM have now admitted that there are to be no JFK flights this winter.

Nothing confirmed as yet in the media about the Boston flights even though the dates, as with the JFK flights, available on the GSM website only goes up until the end of October.

[point5]

So thats the same number that they're operating this summer by the looks of things!! :rolleyes:

[groundrat]

from somebody that works at GLA, can i just say that the biggest problem GSM are having isn't technical problems or security issues rather it is the lack of pilots to fly the equipment as i understand that quite a lot of them have resigned!!:uhoh:

A couple of the BA guys who chose the GSM route instead of FLYBE/BACON only lasted about a month!!!

I was personally on the flight deck of a GSM aircraft trying to give a pilot a loadsheet whilst he was busy writing out his resignation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Had to laugh this morning when i walked past a GSM gate and overheard one of the gate agents tell a pax that their delayed flight would leave when"they found a captain to fly it"!!!!!!!!Think it was the GSM111 GLA-AGP.

I don't really believe that having back-up aircraft is going to alleviate this mob's problems which are a bit more deep-rooted than what most people see on a daily basis in the media or on arrival/departure boards no matter what pr people try to feed the public!!!

[Evileyes]

General note: If you can't hold up your end of the debate without a personal attack you will find your posts missing and eventually, your ability to access this site removed as well.

While this applies to all, those with recently deleted posts might give it particular thought before you hit the send key next time.

Cheers,
The Mods

P.S. A few passenger posts were moved to the passenger/SLF forum.

[Telstar]

There has been a huge amount of negative press in Ireland about Globespan, I wonder if they can recover their image again?

Stranded passengers to take legal action

Sean O'Driscoll in New York

A group of passengers who were left stranded in New York by flyglobespan airline are to take legal action against the company, an attorney representing the group has said.

Des O'Carroll, an Irish-born New York attorney who was one of the passengers stranded for days at JFK airport, said that he intends to begin legal proceedings later this week. He said that he had spoken to many passengers who were due to fly from JFK to Knock, Co Mayo last Thursday and said none had any confidence left in the company.

Flyglobespan has said that it is to fly passengers to Ireland tonight, the first such flight in a week. Most of the people on that flight will be passengers who were unable to board last Sunday night.

Many people made their way back to Ireland with other airlines since a Boeing 757 aircraft developed technical problems at JFK on Thursday.

Flyglobespan cancelled yesterday's flights between Knock and JFK to allow engineers continue to work on the grounded aircraft in New York. The company said it was hopeful that all services between Ireland West Airport Knock and JFK would be back to normal by tomorrow.

Mr O'Carroll, who paid for a separate flight home with Delta Airlines, said that he had some matters to attend to in Dublin over the next two days and would then begin the lawsuit on behalf of flyglobespan passengers.

Flyglobespan spokesman Crawford Brankin said that he had not yet heard about the lawsuit, but said he understood passengers' anger.

"Basically, we can well understand people's anger, but we have apologised, put people up in hotels and repatriated them as best we could." On the lawsuit, he said he understood that people "must do as they see fit".

He said that the plane that was grounded last Thursday evening because of technical problems would be flying tonight and that the company had flown four engineers in from the UK to solve the problem.

The airline cancelled yesterday's flights between Knock and JFK to allow engineers continue to work on the grounded aircraft in New York .

The company says it is hopeful that all services between Ireland West Airport and JFK will be back to normal by tomorrow.

A group of 146 passengers due to travel with the airline from Knock to New York on Sunday finally got away with other airlines from Shannon and Dublin on Monday. The plane on which they were scheduled to travel is the one grounded by the engineering difficulty in JFK.

[yakyakyakyak]

as one of the many passengers abandoned at jfk on the 2/3 july,and having spent several hundred pounds getting myself back to the uk!:\
is there anyone out there organizing a joint action or must i go it alone?:confused:

[cyberchic]

I was due to fly out of JFK on Friday 29th July with Flyglobespan.
By Sunday and still no sign of them providing any alternative I bought my own flights back.
They have said they will only give me a refund on the flight that I canceled - no other compensation.
People intending to fly out on Saturday were told that the reason was the terrorism incidents in UK so that they were not even provided with a hotel (they had to wait until 11pm to be given this news) Many slept on the floor of the airport. It was with great effort that people with children were eventually given accommodation.
The treatment and non-communication by FGS was shocking they had no representative on the ground.

[MarkD]

Wasn't the EU passengers charter "supposed" to stop all this :rolleyes:

[ncleflights]

Does this cover flightsoriginating from outside the EU? If it does not then this could be why GSM chose to treat pax so badley as the flight would be originating from JFK.

Has GSM chosen to send the customer care handbook out to India with those 2 767s?

[Albert Hall]

Another fine day at the ranch, I see - YHM-SNN-DUB delayed by 22 hours due to not having any mainwheels in Hamilton to change one which was needed.

I gather Globespan's own 757 is being punted around from November by the leasing company.

[Hen Ddraig]

Denied boarding and cancellation are covered by Article 17 of Regulation [EC]261/2004
The regulation applies to all flights operating from an EU airport and to flights operating to EU airports from outside the EU when operated by an EU airline.
This applies to all flights including charters.
There are however getout clauses for the airlines, known as extraordinary circumstances.
Recital 14 cites five potential examples of extraordinary circumstances, they are

Political instability
Meteorological conditions incompatible with the operation of the flight
security
unexpected flight safety shortcomings
strikes

Most airlines are pretty quick at hiding behind one of these.


Hen Ddraig

Time to spare, go by air

[matkat]

I can tell you that everyone at FGS HQ are trying very hard to sort out the problems mentioned. Firstly FGS did try and charter an aircraft to bring stranded pax back from JFK but at this time of year there is just nothing available but try they did. Secondly I can tell you the problem JM encountered is not one that I have seen or even heard about in over 30 years in aircraft maintenance and indeed it is something that the aircraft design should not have allowed to happen that the aircraft is flying even now is a testament to Swissport(in JFK) and the 2 FGS Engineers (FM & DF well done guys) a lot of logistic support and the dogged attitude of the forementioned. I have heard and read all the guff about this incident but really all it boiled down to was a snag that could never have been foreseen and which Boeing or RR themselves could not fathom or indeed offer any solution to.

[gsmpilot]

Matkat:

That is rubbish. Yes the technical problem may have been unusual, but that does not excuse why there were no GSM reps on the ground, either in JFK, or NOC, or LPL or anywhere else for that matter. It does not excuse why the stranded passengers were not put in HOTAC and looked after. It does not excuse why people cannot get through on the telephone lines to make a complaint or claim compensation. It does not excuse why people have their flight schedules changed/cancelled/intermediate stops introduced, chosen seats ignored, etc

They are reaping what they sow, and this is just one manifestation of the chronic underinvestment in infrastructure, and they way they view their passengers.

Also, you say they tried to charter an aircraft.....I simply do not believe you. They have never, ever, ever, sub chartered an aircraft before, and they will never do so in the future. The owner of the company absolutely, categorically will not do it....and they have had many multiple day delays before.

Quite simply, they are a disaster. I know, I work for them.

[warkman]

Its my understanding that when Monarchs A330 went tech at Sanford, they brought the pax back via XL airways. Why couldn't FGS do this? or another alternative, was every seat on alternative airlines filled from JFK? Not one single seat on any airline available?????

[A4]

I imagine the CAA are starting to take a very close look at this outfit. With such a dismal OTP record (and other rumours) how long will they retain the AOC? I feel sorry for all the no doubt good people who try their best at GSM only to get royally screwed by those much further up the chain.

A4

[matkat]

GSMPi;ot I can only talk about the technical side I have no idea of either these problems or the answers to them, i simply tried to word the engineering side nothing else.

[jaycee46]

Been trying to get through by permanantly engaged phone, to FGS since Tuesday to cancel my rescheduled, by them, flight to Boston - guess they've taken the phone off the hook - one way to avoid their pi**ed off soon to be ex customers!

I notice GSM SCOT has gone a bit quiet lately!

[skyman771]

matkat.....but really all it boiled down to was a snag that could never have been foreseen and which Boeing or RR themselves could not fathom or indeed offer any solution to. what an awful lot of waffle saying absolutely nothing about the problem, whilst trying to blame everyone other than GSM. Come on then , what WAS the problem?, or was it simply that the FC simply spilt a cup of coffee in the cockpit? ;);)

[SWBKCB]

Quote:

"Its my understanding that when Monarchs A330 went tech at Sanford, they brought the pax back via XL airways. Why couldn't FGS do this? or another alternative, was every seat on alternative airlines filled from JFK? Not one single seat on any airline available?????"

and MON have managed to find aircraft two weeks in a row to cover flights out of NCL over the pond - did people like Omni, North Amercian, ATA, really have nothing available stateside (not to mention any European operators who could have done it for a price....)

[take-off]

Would seem like Jet2 could pull the carpet out from under gms feet, at least they do try to get you home, eventually and if not to the right airport,at least they bus u home afterwards, maybe not ideal, but seems to be what customer service is about, give good service and the pax will come back, quiet why people go back to ryanair is beyond me,obviously the 'free':} seats

[GSM SCOT]

GSM SCOT has been quiet as been away on a trip !

[SkyTrax2]

Just saw Flyglobespan on the official Boeing 787 premier, cant wait for that one, hopefuly it will not be seen in Ireland or England and left all for us Scots since we are the people who appreciate the service they are trying to provide, am no trumpet for GSM but what they have done for the Scottish holidaymakers is phenomonal.

The English have too much choice when it comes to air travel and are too critical.

Go GSM!

[Skipness One Echo]

They won't be around to get the 787 unless they get their act together very quickly. I sure as Hell wouldn't fly long haul with them at the minute.
I thought the days of us Scots blaming the English for everything were gone....."too much choice" ! Now that IS funny!:ugh::ugh:

[heslop2006]

I've read on wikipedia that FlyGlobespan are starting a service to Orlando this winter from NCL. Can anyone shed some light on that?

[skyman771]

GSM SCOT has been quiet as been away on a trip ! Just arrived back from NYC? :E

[markbarbera]

GSM SCOT, can you clarify winter 2007 schedule plans for YHM? Will there be flights beyond the weekly Glasgow-Manchester flight?

[GSM SCOT]

Don't know if there will be anything else released for the winter to YHM.

[Hen Ddraig]

Whats gone wrong this week? All the Uk to YHM flights seem to have gone pear shaped. Huge delays, Cancellations and re routes via Iceland. Looks like another shambles.


Hen Ddraig

Time to spare, go by air.

[Musket90]

Maybe due to one of their B757's at STN last couple of days having maintainence.

[matkat]

Correct, B757 Icelandair dry lease had to have an engine change, completed yesterday morning.B767 on Air India charter, damaged whilst being pushed into hangar yesterday morning.

[kernowbird]

Booked to fly Man-JBG in March 2008. Just been informed bi-lateral agreements delayed and flight won't operate

[IB4138]

So why is Cape Town still shown as operating?

I believe the cancellation is down to an equipment shortage.

[kernowbird]

We've been told we can re-book onto the Cape Town route which the SA Govt have assured GSM will be OK.
Interested to see the CPT route has also been changed to include Economy Premium and Business classes only, which could indicate a plane change.
Do we stick with GSM, or bail out to a bigger operator?

[StoneyBridge Radar]

Air France / KLM have some good fares for MAN JNB in March '08, roughly about £520 in Y.
I hate to put someone off any direct flight out of MAN, but after my own experiences on the CPT run, I'll never touch Globespan again :mad:
On their recent performance, to book for travel 8 months into the future is giving them a helluva long time for something to go t1ts up. I'd play safe and look elsewhere whilst alternative fares are low-ish.
Stoney

[wheelbarrow]

Id book with a reputable airline, stay well away from NOFlyglobespank they will only f*** up ure holiday.
In big trouble my spies in Govt have revealed Regulator NOT happy , alot of Caa visits due also.
BEWARE
Visit http://www.airlinequality.com/Forum/flygspan.htm

[chrism20]

If you're travelling longhaul book elsewhere. Shorthaul has had its ups and downs recently but is showing signs of improvement lately.

[iflycwl]

Does anyone know if Fly Globespan are going ahead and basing a B737-600 at Cardiff for Winter 2007 season ?

They have applied for the slots............TFS,ACE,FNC,ALC,AGP etc, 9 flight a week

[GSM SCOT]

I dont imagine this will be going ahead now as its leaving it very late to sell the flights.

They would need to release the flights at the start of the summer to get the loads needed.

[webby1919]

At the moment we have the following A/C for W07:

B736 - 4
B733 - 2
B738 - 5
B73G - 2
B763ER - 1

The B763ER will operate the CPT flights and 1/2 SFB flights.
There will be 5 B738s and 1 B736 based at GLA for W07, 1 B73G at ABZ,
1 B733 at MME, 1 B733 at STN, 3 B736s and 1 B73G at EDI.

The schedule requires 5 A/C at GLA for Shorthaul routes, 4 at EDI, 1 at ABZ, 1 MME, 1 STN.

THe longhaul requires MAN/GLA share B763ER and 1 B738 to operate YHM over W07.

We seem to have 1 A/C spare capacity - not sure where this will be operating.

[Skipness One Echo]

Is the B767 one of your own or a leased Neos example?

[TechProblem]

It should globespans own back, as air india should have one 777 to replace it.

[webby1919]

Yip, our own G-CDPT back. The Neos is being kept until late Nov 07 though, may be enough time for the GSM A/C to have a re-fit before re-entering service?

[Meeb]

Budgie news reporting that all GSM longhaul going to Zoom....

[webby1919]

GSM will operate their own longhaul this Winter - SFB/CPT/YHM.

[14 loop]

Looking at YHMs arrival board today I see that....

GSM131 3:30 PM 3:11 PM Early GLA
GSM165 4:30 PM 3:39 PM Early STN / LPL
GSM151 6:40 PM 6:35 PM Early LGW

I know the moderators weren't keen on a running commentary about performance, but given all the negative publicity in the early days of the programme I think it is important to highlight that as performance has improved the volume of posts on this thread has reduced.

Now I'm no GSM apologist for their earlier form of which they are probably their own biggest enemy from a customer service perspective but maybe they've turned a corner!

Anyway...within a month I'll have sampled their long-haul ops and I'll report back.

[ADC2604]

blimey - nice change ;)

[groundrat]

seems like gsm have indeed turned a corner-good on them for getting their heads down and getting on with it!!more of the same please and i'll start warming up the humble pie for me dinner:):)

[webby1919]

Summer 08 on sale now.

They have released:

GLA-BCN & AGP daily
EDI-AGP 10 weekly, BCN daily
ABZ - BCN, AGP 2 weekly.

[Pontious]

Webby1919

You seem remarkedly well informed, so what about the B752?

[tallaonehotel]

Webby1919..

Tried the website to book GLA-ACE on the 10-04-08 and the summer flights aren't available..
Any news?

[webby1919]

Out shortly - normally released in batches of 2 or 3. ACE should be 2 weekly, as will LPA and PFO, TFS should be daily from GLA for Summer 08.

[mmeteesside]

Keep adding new routes to be on sale....currently

//Aberdeen - 1 short haul a/c
ALC 2x weekly
BCN 2x weekly
FAO 2x weekly
AGP 2x weekly
PMI 3x weekly

//Belfast - 1 long haul a/c
SFB 2x weekly

//Edinburgh - 5 short haul a/c
ALC daily
BCN daily
FAO daily
AGP 10x weekly (daily + extra Fri, Sat, Sun)
PMI 10x weekly (daily + extra Fri, Sat, Sun)

//Glasgow - 3 short haul a/c
ALC daily
BCN daily
FAO daily
AGP daily
PMI daily

[webby1919]

GSMs 3rd B763ER will arrive next week at GLA. Rumour has it that this may go to Air-India with G-CDPT arriving back into GSM fleet in time for CPT/SFB W07 routes.

Also, EDI-NCE released for S08 - 5 weekly.

[markbarbera]

How about GSM's S08 plans for YHM?

[webby1919]

At a guess I'd say much the same as this year, with 1 A/C doubledropping from STN. 1 A/C from GLA and 1 A/C sharing MAN/LGW routes.

[STATSMAN]

Have GSM given up on LPL/NOC to JFK and LPL to YHM for S08?


STATSMAN

[airhumberside]

No YHM fligts are on sale for next summer so too early to say if LPL-YHM will return. As for JFK too early to say again but this summer's problems have done the routes chances of returning no good at all

[dwlpl]

The Liverpool/JFK route went on sale early July last year, so any delay will result even less of a chance of the route being successful.

[markbarbera]

Can anyone confirm that FlyGlobespan is leasing two new B-787-8s from ILFC?

[Mr @ Spotty M]

Well they are getting two 787-8 and as Boeing has not announced an order from them and their logo is on the side of the first 787, l guess 2 & 2 makes 4.
I am sure l remember reading some time back they were from ILFC, most of the aircraft that they operate come from ILFC.:ok:

[matkat]

The first 787 is number 5 off the production line and the second is number 11 most aircraft(but not all) are from ILFC the new 767 coming next month from Air New Zealand is from GECAS and the 737-800s are from CIT the B737-600s are owned by FGS.

[Mr @ Spotty M]

"Matkat" are you saying that their two 787s are line numbers 005 & 011?
If so you are very much mistaken, 005 is for Royal Air Maroc for delivery in 2008.
FlyGlobespan aircraft are not due by my info till March and Nov 2010, so might be 305 and 411 but l very much doubt that either.

[Shimrod]

As a pax, I've been watching the performance of Flyglobespan to Hamilton for the last 6 weeks or so. Booked the flight last year when they seemed to have pretty good reviews, but certainly this season it looked as though I'd made a big mistake.

The last few weeks, the Canadian flights from Manchester & Glasgow seemed to have improved a lot, with few delays, and those that are delayed (excepting the MAN flight today!) have been no worse than I have encountered on many other flights.

Have they have got past the worst of the problems now? I've read on here and a couple of other places that they had new planes coming towards the end of summer - have they arrived, and is it these that have improved the situation? Wth the particularly bad performance early on, I was concerned that they were going to go bust before our flight.

And a question that probably belongs in the SLF forum, we have seats booked in business class - with the various changes that have occurred to our flight since then, are we likely to encounter a free for all on seat allocation when boarding rather than receiving the allocated seats?

Thanks
Shim

[markbarbera]

What has happened to Monday's flight 151 LGW-YHM? Shows on YHM arrivals board as mech delay of about 22 hrs. Also MAN-YHM flight 103 showing mech delay close to 18hrs...

[spanishflea]

More broken planes. Expect a return of the Icelandair 757 again. Followed by more broken planes...:}

[TechProblem]

TFFiT (757) went very tech on 26th's, atm its having an engine change in manchester. Icelandair brought in one of there own 757's with winglets to op the flight today to MAN-NOC-JFK ex LPL pax.

Todays YHM is also up the wall, JM should arrive around 3 in the moring tomorrow to op the 103.

New a/c? only 737's atm, 767 that are flying for air india might be back to op the Cpt/Yhm through the winter season, thats still to be confirmed though.

[GSM SCOT]

A third 767 will arrive in the next few days, G-CEOD and will then go to India to replace G-CDPT that is coming back to the UK as it is due a major check and will then stay in the UK to operate the MAN-CPT-MAN and the GLA-SFB-GLA and also some YHM routes through the winter session.

G-CEOD will then return to the UK in November 07 and operate GSM routes.

G-CEFG is on lease to Air India till May 2008 when it is then due back for the summer session within GSM.

That is the plan but as always is subject to change.

[Pontious]

Spotty M

The 787's were always due for delivery in mid-late 2008 as announced at the time of ordering.

:ok:

[Mr @ Spotty M]

Sorry Pontious, but l am 100% sure you are mistaken with a 2008 in service date.
I understand that they will be RR powered and the first line number quoted previously in this thread is GNAX powered.
My understanding is FCA will be the first operator in the UK in 2009.
I however will be the first to apologise to one and all if l am incorrect.

[MUFC_fan]

Currently, aircraft will be received:

Globespan:
March 2010
November 2010

First Choice:
January 2009
February 2009
January 2010
February 2010
January 2011
February 2011
+ six more before the end of 2013

Monarch:
November 2010
2 due 2011
2 due 2012
1 due 2013

XL (A330 for comparison):
November 2008
December 2008
March 2009
April 2009

[Iron Duke]

I understood that the Air India contract ex Mumbai on the B767 had recently been signed for another year .... I also understood that AI were happy with GSM, and vice versa .....
Anyone know any different ... would be grateful to hear ....
Many thanks ..

I.Duke

[DTVAirport]

Does anyone know if MME will see a second based aircraft for S08?

Also, I know this is subject to change, but does anyone know what the first aircraft for S08 will be? I know the B736s won't be back and the proof is in TFS, as a B736 can't quite reach there apparantly.

Can anyone also confirm we have a B733 based for the forthcoming winter season?

[scotsunflyer]

MME will have a B733.

The B733 will operate GSM471/472, EDI-AGP-EDI, then operated GSM061P from EDI to MME, departing at 1630 on 31 Oct.

The other B733 will operate GSM447/448, EDI-PMI-EDI, then operate GSM667P from EDI to STN departing at 1545 on 31 Oct.

Two arrivals booked from MME on 31 Oct, GSM16P and GSM072P, arriving EDI at 1505 and 1525.

Hope this helps.

[Mr @ Spotty M]

Thank you "MUFC_fan" for backing up my info on B787, you only missed FCA sister company, TOMs dates.:ok:

[MUFC_fan]

Sorry, couldn't find the TOM details!

Sure FCA is first UK airline though!

[air new zealand]

Saw ex Zk-nco in flyglobespan colour,s today at auckland airport so should be on way to the Uk soon.

[GSM SCOT]

GSM are closing there base in ABZ from the end of October with plans to reopen it for the start of the summer 08.

Some flights will operate through the winter, probably in a W pattern with EDI or GLA but some will be cancelled, passengers have been notified today.

[chrism20]

This will be fun as quite a few flights last winter were operated EDI/GLA/XXX as it was.

[mightymouse111]

GSM Scot, any chance you could explain the reasons behind that?

Where are these aircraft now going to operate in the winter?

I know its not through the lack of crews!

[Richard Taylor]

Very disappointing if true.

Presume bookings for winter below expectations the reason.

How typically Aberdeen! :rolleyes:

"Give us flights to A, B, C etc...but DON'T EXPECT US TO USE THEM!" :ugh:

[gavin360]

hi there sorry 2 change the subject i am flying bfs-mco on tues 11th sept just wondering is it still the 767 with the italian crew ??

[DTVAirport]

"Give us flights to A, B, C etc...but DON'T EXPECT US TO USE THEM!"
That sounds more like MME, which, in light of ABZ being temporarily pulled, I am now doubtful of a second based a/c for S08, but I won't stop hoping.

[webby1919]

There have been small cuts to the W07 schedule from ABZ and EDI, GLA remains strong with no cuts at all.

ABZ will lose FNC, and Tues TFS, all others staying for now. No based A/C but positioned in to operate the flights. Good news in most flights will be operating, just not with a based A/C.

EDI flights cut: FAO 3 weekly, GVA 4 weekly, PMI now 2 weekly, PRG 2 weekly.

[GSM SCOT]

HI, We do not fly into MCO but we do fly into SFB and it is still operated on the NEOS 767 with Itallion crew and a GSM Cabin service manager onboard.

Will be operated on a GSM 757 and GSM crew from November.

[afterdark]

will the Glasgow to Sanford flights in March/April 08 be on a GSM 767 or 757 ?

[GSM SCOT]

SFB will operate on the 757 from 1st of Nov 07 till the 22nd of May 08 then it goes on the 767 which will be back from Air India by then.

[gavin360]

sorry i am so used to flying to mco i keep mixing them up have already booked car hire from there twice and had to get it changed at the last minute thanks for the reply.

[andy1205]

hi guys any more news on gsm flights out of cardiff they was going to base one aircraft from the winter

[GSM SCOT]

Highly unlikely GSM will have an aircraft based down in Cardiff this winter.

ABZ is losing it's 700 due to not enough aircraft for the winter schedual.

[andy1205]

summer time they should be short not winter

[GW76]

not enough aircraft....yeah right....more like not enough passengers.

[GSM SCOT]

We are still flying to 6 destinations from ABZ this winter, these will be in a W pattern from EDI and GLA so there are plenty passengers.

Flights are running at 95 - 100% capacity.

Also other plans for some aircraft.

[TFAME]

GSM SCOT , Hi,
Now that TCD/XL are downsizing their Man-SFB service from 747-300's , would there be an opening for GSM to hop in and begin service to SFB from Man .

Just a thought.

TFAME

[Joe Curry]

EDI flights cut: FAO 3 weekly, GVA 4 weekly, PMI now 2 weekly, PRG 2 weekly.
Not surprising given it's 28.5% cheaper for airlines to fly International routes from Glasgow during the winter.? No such discounts exist @ EDI

[CHIVILCOY]

Joe Curry; "Not surprising given it's 28.5% cheaper for airlines to fly International routes from Glasgow during the winter.? No such discounts exist @ EDI"
:= Lets not start any of that nonsense please!!

[Joe Curry]

It's fact..

www.baa.com/assets/B2CPortal/Static%20Files/Couscott2007-08.pdf

[CHIVILCOY]

Joe Curry

It's called supply and demand - more demand means cheaper costs and has nothing to do with your interpretation of the figures I'm afraid.:ugh:

[GoEDI]

Webby, some of your info is wrong. ABZ has lost everything except AGP and TFS for winter. FAO from EDI has always been 3x weekly.

[Joe Curry]

It's called supply and demand - more demand means cheaper costs and has nothing to do with your interpretation of the figures I'm afraid.

EDI has recorded more demand during the winter months
for the past few years. In fact it has been BAA's busiest Scottish winter airport for about half-a-decade. It is currently BAA's busiest 2007 year round airport. So if more demand were to apply, BAA's EDI would should be offering 28.5% discount? :ugh:

[skyman771]

GSM SCOT Also other plans for some aircraft What like lease them to Air India ?:E

[GW76]

So if more demand were to apply, BAA's EDI would should be offering 28.5% discount?

Broken record anyone...?:rolleyes:

[GoEDI]

EDI-PFO now on sale weekly for S08. This is the first time PFO has been offered from EDI by GSM.

[scotsunflyer]

There use to be a Saturday flight for a few weeks in the summer, a few years ago from Edinburgh, think it was operated by ECA (ECA800/801), on behalf of Airtours.

Also Air 2000 use to do a weekly winter charter flight which was a split load with Glasgow and Edinburgh back in the late nineties.

[mmeteesside]

Also a weekly Aberdeen-Jersey on sale which is an interesting choice! On a Tuesday too.

[GoEDI]

Sorry, should have been clearer. First time it's been offered by GSM. :ok:

[ROSSKi MYT]

Haven't heard much from gsm at Glasgow Recently:confused:

[GBALU53]

Interesting times on the Aberdeen- Jersey-Aberdeen as Jersey airport closes at 2130 local time and that is the arrival time with the departure being 2210 I know it is only one day a week from the 1st of July for 13 weeks have they asked the airport if they are open?:ok:

[Richard Taylor]

GSM Scot:

My local says ABZ has lost all bar AGP& TFS this winter, have they got it wrong (again?)

As I understand it, the airline are blaming BAA Aberdeen for their high charges which, whilst they can be absorbed during the busier summer period, are making winter ops unsustainable out of ABZ because of the lower catchment area up here.

BAA + lower catchment area = Quelle Surprise!! :rolleyes:

Jersey is interesting. As will be the S08 programme. Wonder how long that will remain intact?

[ROSSKi MYT]

There Is One Due From Air New Zealand Later This Month, Not Heard Much For Glasgow Recntly

[diesel36]

After flying with a training Captain he told us coming in spring is another 2x 737-700 and 2 737-900ER.

[DONTTELLTHEPAX]

Has anyone got any news on STN, what is going to happen to the YHM flights? also anything new going to happen at STN.

[ROSSKi MYT]

Wonder Where They Will Be Based.. Hopefull The 737-900er Will Be Glasow.. Any Route Deveplopments For Gla?

[scotsunflyer]

Tom D reported earlier in the summer that they hoped to base 4 x B73G at Edinburgh next summer.

Somehow I doubt it.

[GW76]

Why would you doubt it...? That wouldnt be any great expansion on what theyve got already at EDI

[mathers_wales_uk]

Hi guys,

I have been looking at the CWL Mayfly for the winter and it shows that there will GSM flight once a day.

Can anyone in the know confirm this please and whether it's a GSM flight or a charter on behalf of another airline.

Many Thanks

Mathers

[ROSSKi MYT]

Well There Isnt Anything Show On GSMs website And Its A Bit Late To Put This Winter On Id Say? Would The 737-700 At Edi Not Be Replacing The Likes Of The 737-600?

[caaardiff]

Once a day? Or one-off?

GSM are doing military flights into CWL on the 757, not sure how many though!

[diesel36]

The MOD flights start tmrw and run thru till end of october, going into a couple of airports in the uk.

[mathers_wales_uk]

well i have seen

12 Nov 07 - GSM518 FNC 07:00 - 14:45
13 Nov 07 - GSM675 TFS 11:55 - 20:45
14 Nov 07 - GSM115 AGP 09:00 - 16:15
15 NOV 07 - GSM67 ALC 09:00 - 15:15
16 NOV 07 - GSM675 TFS 11:55 - 20:45
17 NOV 07 - GSM115 AGP 09:00 - 16:15
18 NOV 07 - GSM677 ACE 06:00 - 15:45
19 NOV 07 - GSM67 ALC 16:15 - 23:00

Theese flights are also being operated in January so not sure what the start and end date are for theese

[chateau57]

Heard several rumours that Globepsan are going to pull out of Stansted. Can anyone confirm or deny this ?

[Routair]

StanstedSUMMER 2007
London Stansted - Cyprus (Larnaca) (http://www.flyglobespan.com/route_display.asp?OutDepAir=STN&OutArrAir=LCA&Season=SE7)
London Stansted - Tenerife (http://www.flyglobespan.com/route_display.asp?OutDepAir=STN&OutArrAir=TFS&Season=SE7)
London Stansted - Toronto YHM (http://www.flyglobespan.com/route_display.asp?OutDepAir=STN&OutArrAir=YHM&Season=SA7)
Cyprus (Larnaca) - London Stansted (http://www.flyglobespan.com/route_display.asp?OutDepAir=STN&OutArrAir=LCA&Season=SE7#ret)
Tenerife - London Stansted (http://www.flyglobespan.com/route_display.asp?OutDepAir=STN&OutArrAir=TFS&Season=SE7#ret)
Toronto YHM - London Stansted (http://www.flyglobespan.com/route_display.asp?OutDepAir=STN&OutArrAir=YHM&Season=SA7#ret)

WINTER 2007
London Stansted - Tenerife (http://www.flyglobespan.com/route_display.asp?OutDepAir=STN&OutArrAir=TFS&Season=WE7)
Tenerife - London Stansted (http://www.flyglobespan.com/route_display.asp?OutDepAir=STN&OutArrAir=TFS&Season=WE7#ret)


Maybe its just a case of winter time kicking in and the other summer flights coming to an and?

I am most prob wrong tho:rolleyes:

[webby1919]

GSM are going to TFS daily through W07, S08 still to be released, but we can probably still see daily TFS, daily YHM via another UK airport and another couple of shorthaul routes, such as LCA and ATH returning. Will have to wait and see.

[webby1919]

W07 cuts again from EDI. MJV dropped for Winter- sure to return for S08 though.

EDI-PFO added for S08, GLA-PFO dropped to wekly for W07.

Should be interesting to see what S08 has in store for GSM.

They should have 3 B763ERs back from Air India, 2 B739ERs, 5 B738s, 4 B736s, 6 B73Gs, 2 B733s (although rumoured that the B733s will be replaced with another A/C - probably B738s). More SH A/C will probably be ordered as rumours of a BHX and CWl base for SH for S08.

[mathers_wales_uk]

Webby

As the flight that i have listed above are being operated throughout the winter from CWL. Are theese GSM flights or are they operted on behalf of another carrier?

[webby1919]

They have got to be operated as a charter - they are not appearing for booking on the GSM website.

[captaintrigger]

Just confirmed now - Stansted base closing as of October 2007.
all cabin crew and most pilots laid off.
What a shame..... they had some of the best Pilots and cabin crew in the business.
Good luck to all the crew
Mr D once again has F@@@@@D up!!!
CT

[LNAV]

Sadly there is truth behind the rumour.

[compton3bravo]

Would have thought they cannot compete with the likes of Monarch, XL and Thomsonfly on the routes they were operating out of Stansted. Also Flyglobespan is not a well known name in the South of England, if you talk to anybody outside of the aviation industry hardly anybody has heard of them!

[diesel36]

On a cabin crew site says at the end of october, feel sorry for the guys at stn

[markbarbera]

Another thread is reporting that GSM is closing the Stansted base as of October 2007. CAn anyone confirm this? Is this just for W07, or a permanent withdrawl from Stansted?

[diesel36]

MR D probably streamlining ready to float,
he has always said he wants aircraft direct from boeing and thats how he would do it, and to expand further, he has also been out to hamilton talking to the airport about them expanding it as the flights were so popular, after talking to the north american managers in YHM they could go up to 6 flights a day in peak season.

[captaintrigger]

Its Perament!!

Sorry to all the Crew.

[DONTTELLTHEPAX]

TFS is still bookable until March 2008 ?

[markbarbera]

cataintrigger, can you clarify the STN news? GSM will not be using it as a base, but they will still operate currently scheduled flights in/out of STD (i.e. TFS), correct?

Perhaps GSMScott is reading and can shed light on this...

[GoEDI]

W07 cuts again from EDI. MJV dropped for Winter- sure to return for S08 though.

EDI-GNB has been added for the ski season though, weekly flight.

[GSM SCOT]

Unfortunately the base at STN will close on 31st October, the flights still show on the website but when you try and book them you can't. Website will be updated over the next few days.

Highly unlikely that it will reopen for the summer 08.

[DTVAirport]

Unfortunately all these cutbacks are pointing at a carrier in trouble, if they go bust, I don't think my local MME could survive loosing another based LCC, there's no-one else who could step in - perhaps Ryanair, but doubtful.

[DONTTELLTHEPAX]

Something is not right the TFS and LCA from stansted were/are doing very well and the YHM had just pulled its socks up. With no compertition on the TFS route, maybe EZY or FR have some plan we dont know about !

[GSM SCOT]

The Carrier is not in trouble, they are pulling there aircraft and using them on more profitable routes/contracts.

The 757 started an M.O.D. contract today and there could be more aircraft going to India (737's)

[DTVAirport]

So is this a way of remaking the money that is rumoured to have been lost on the long haul services?

[GSM SCOT]

Had problems with longhaul but the flights have always been achieving high loads even through all the tech problems with the Icelandair 757's.

The only route that wasn't getting the loads was the LPL-JFK but these are now up after being cut to 4 times a week.

Air India is a huge money maker for GSM, thats why they took all the flack last winter for using 738 for 6 trips to SFB.

[airhumberside]

So if the STN base is closing does that mean no STN-XXX-YHM flights next summer or will alternative arrangements be made?

[Richard Taylor]

GSM Scot:

Was the carrier making money on the ABZ routes over the summer, I'm curious to know.

BAA have denied the claims that operating costs at ABZ were to blame for the carrier pulling most of the forthcoming winter services.

Or was it indeed just a case of "use it or lose it" - & the area duly "lost it".

[DTVAirport]

Well the majority of YHM flights went through non-hub airports I believe, - LPL, NCL, BFS and probably more? So probably.

On a similar note, does anyone know what the loads were like on the STN-NCL-YHM route?

[GSM SCOT]

ABZ was very busy during the summer with full loads on almost every flight but there was a big drop in demand for the winter.

That and the high BAA costs meant the base would be unmanned through the winter.

There is talk of the YHM starting off from LGW in May next year instead of STN although not confirmed as yet.

[DONTTELLTHEPAX]

This aint washing with me for one, Loads were very good on all STN routes, there is more to all this than meets the eye :=

[diesel36]

Loads on all stn flights very good . i dont think so
ive done a fair few of those trips, some via ncl/bfs/bhx
all the pax get on at the stop, one of the flights from stn had 2 people on it then was full from bhx, another via ncl had 22 from stn full from ncl
been like it nearly all summer,
The co have said GLA/LGW/MAN exceeded there expectations

DONTTELLTHEPAX think you need to stop :=

[skyman771]

GSM SCOTTand there could be more aircraft going to India (737's) I guessed as much:E What like lease them to Air India ? GSM's only major success seems to be in aircraft leasing, though how long capacity shortage in the leasing market will support GSM is any body's guess..... and then what?:eek:

[GSM SCOT]

Time will tell but you can hardly call leasing two aircraft to Air India
"a major success in aircraft leasing" can you ?

[Hansol]

I suspect its the old story of yield and load factor. Coming out of STN is a big move backwards and definately indicates a wider problem in the business.

[jethro15]

Time will tell but you can hardly call leasing two aircraft to Air India
"a major success in aircraft leasing" can you ?
True, but when you take into account the hope to lease out up to four B737-800's in place of two 700's it puts a slightly different slant on things.

[GSM SCOT]

There is only two 738's at the most possibly going to Air India.

The lease is only for the winter with ALL aircraft being back in the GSM flying program by May 08

STN flights from November on have now been removed from the website.

[jethro15]

Ah, but I didn't mention Air India.

[GSM SCOT]

You could be referring to the CWL charters then !

[diesel36]

Its the same with loads of airlines, excel send aircraft away in the winter mytravel do thomas cook, why is it such a big deal if GSM do
Its called earning money

[Nil further]

Ive pointed out before that i am no lover of some of the individuals associated with this outfit , however i really dont see why if they have made a commercial decision that a base is not profitable then they will withdraw means that the entire business is in jeopardy .Surely this is good business practice , they had a go , didnt work move on to the next challenge , thats business .

AFAIK there are still jobs for UK pilots , in India with this outfit , still a job and the more employers out there , the better for all of us.

I would imagine that their 787 delivery positions will make a tasty few quid for Mr D.

NF

[markbarbera]

I wonder if SNN is on GSM's radar. Some really attractive incentives were announced yesterday. Multi-year discounts on airport charges, plus a real push to fill the SNN-LHR void. Only good for new 08 routes.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/0910/shannon.html

I wonder if GSM is considering a Summer 08 daily LHR-SNN-YHM. Actually, any of the overseas schedules could fit into a YHM-SNN-XXX pattern quite nicely. And Shannon's price is right, particularly for discount airlines... could we be seeing a Shannon base for GSM in the not-too-distant future? (blatant speculation on my part)

[diesel36]

Well you never know, the co has also said DUB/BFS/SNN performed better than they thought and going to add extra capacity next year

dont know how it will be done though, wish they would release yhm for next summer.

[en2r]

I wonder if GSM is considering a Summer 08 daily LHR-SNN-YHM.
Do GSM have LHR slots??? As far as I know they don't and buying slots at the moment would cost an absolute fortune.

[DONTTELLTHEPAX]

Slots at STN are becoming few and far between, would it have not made more sence to change the routes rather than pull out of a base.
How bad were the loads on LCA and TFS anyone know, I thought all the routes were doing very well but (diesel36) put me right on the YHM loads I was shocked that they only flew a hand full of pax from STN on the YHM route, I was told it was doing very well :uhoh:

[Mr @ Spotty M]

"Nil further", l don't think so with the B787, l am told they are on lease from ILFC, so it might cost to canx.

[CentreFix25]

I wonder if GSM is considering a Summer 08 daily LHR-SNN-YHM.You've got as much chance of seeing a EZY or RYR at LHR as you do GSM, none! (Unless its on lease).

[GSM SCOT]

GSM have no intention of moving into LHR

A base will be established in LGW from May 08

[bonernow]

Confirmation was given to the stn based crews today that GSM are indeed pulling out of stn.

Management cited the new costs being levied by BAA STN as the reason for the company pulling out.

Even RYR are looking for an alternative to STN due to the nature of the increase in charges & RYR have 40 or so aircraft based there. If the price hikes continue a lot of the smaller operators at the airport will be re-locating to another southern based airport or closing down their operations as appropriate.

It begs the question, why have BAA STN decided to suddenly increase their charges so much? Speaking as a Pilot and as a passenger who has used STN regularly, I think it's one of the worst airports in the country. I fail to see how there can be any justification in the price rise. It's not like the level of service offered by the airport is anywhere near decent!!

Don't know if the crews have been offered jobs at EDI/GLA but I know GSM are short of crew in those airports so I would imagine guys will still have jobs within the company, but may have to relocate/commute.

[WAIF-er]

BAA price hikes probably paying for that other airport west of london!

[Shiny side down]

GSM Scot, how do you know that (May 08 for LGW) to be true?

[diesel36]

Because the stn crew have been offered GLA/EDI for the winter then LGW as off s08 doing YHM/YVR/YYC so hopefully our own aircraft doing these flights with our own crew...

[ground_star]

Not to mention the GSM pullout & FR looking for pastures new don't forget that Air Berlin are pulling the Belfast route at the end of the year too.

Luckily I get home every week on EZY so the AB chop isn't going to hurt much, but it does beg the question of when the likes of EZY will start ditching BAA in favour of other airports who offer slightly more than a shopping centre with intercontinental transport links & charge less for it!

Perhaps if nearby Cambridge had better terminal & handling facilities, plus a decent road network (its a nightmare to get to) then it could be a viable alternative - the maint base is already there with Marshalls isn't it?!

Cat & Pigeons time now...there was talk years ago of Alconbury airfield near Huntingdon being re-vamped & opened to commercial aviation. The runway is covered in shipping containers at the minute but it has great road links, nearby rail & isn't in too much of a populated area - it's ideal. What ever happened to the idea - anybody know!?

[OLNEY 1 BRAVO]

The reason for the hike in prices is very simple.

For more years than I care to remember, BAA was allowed to cross subsidise it's airports with the result that charges at Stansted were held artificially low as revenue from Heathrow and Gatwick was used to offset any losses. Luton Airport certainly tried to get this arrangement stopped on many occasions even resorting to complaining to Brussels.

BAA's ability to cross subsidise is no longer allowed by the CAA - in other words each of BAA's airports has to stand on its own feet. Thus in the case of Stansted were income has been less than costs, the only option has been to increase charges.

In addition, I would guess that in some cases, the special deals available to all airlines when setting up routes to new destinations are coming to an end - I think they typically expire after two or three years.

[LAX]

diesel36
Maybe your in the know?? I can confirm that I am gsm flight deck based at STN and had the grim reaper call on Mon that the base was closing. I have told the company that due to my personal situation I am able to accept a positon at another base. Their getting back to me when they have crunched the numbers. I have NOT been offered gla/edi as a base.

Rather upset now as I have been a very flexible and loyal employee flying from any base they asked me to when they where short this year. I am not the only person in this situation. As a small group of experianced gsm pilots we are rather upset that we may have no jobs after 31 Oct whilst all the spotty 200hr cadets they recruited this year get to keep theirs oooop north!

Whilst my rant is over many of us are hoping that what is suggested in your post comes good.

[Galaxy]

Sad times for all you Stansted guys and a rant is understandable, one question though-did the spotty 200hr cadets sign up for permanent contracts and are you permanent staff or one of the contractors who earned good overtime for your flexibility?

[scotsunflyer]

As mentioned earlier, the Aberdeen-Jersey had interesting flight times.

Route no longer bookable

[GBALU53]

Don,t quote me on this, the possible reason for not being able to book at the moment as quoted earlier the schedule is wrong as they were trying to operate into Jersey after the airport closed.
The schedule for the aircraft was planned to do these sectors Aberdeen-Paphos-Aberdeen-Jersey-Aberdeen.
This is why the aircraft was going to Jersey late as the first flights was the bext part of 12 hours to complete.
I understand Globespan were going to change them round and make Jersey the first flight so this would leave Aberdeen around 0630.
This could be the reason that the final changes are not complete, untill this is done they will not make available the bookings.:ok:

[Richard Taylor]

The understanding of just about all in Aberdeen though is that GSM have axed the route.

It's frustrating that the NE public seemingly have supported the vast majority of summer flights offered them by GSM, yet we still find routes axed.

Seems to me that the winter flights just didn't get the chance to become established in the minds of the public before the plug was pulled. The dead hand of the BAA may be behind this.

And I wouldn't be surprised if more S08 alterations take place at ABZ either.

The changes may not be the fault of GSM, but the perception is that they haven't enhanced their reputation which, up to now anyway, had been good at ABZ.

[Jamesair]

DDVAirport

The NCL flights carried 931 pax during August

[IB4138]

More unhappy GSM punters have arrived in Spain.

They have been told that their flight home to EDI will operate via MME.

[BeaconInbound]

I believe MME still have at least one aircraft online so it's not suprising. But there again, that's the problem with a smaller airline in terms of airframe numbers. All it takes is a few to go offline at a similar time and then the s:mad:t hits the fan. Lets hope that next year will be better for them with a cut in routes.

[Mr Gammon Flaps]

I see from the GSM website that you can no longer book flights for this route.

Looks like the rumours of poor sales on the route may be true and that it has been axed. Just like STN/ABZ/LPL.

I wonder what will happen to all of the GSM Manchester based cabin crew???

[wheelbarrow]

Well it certainly looks like its the end of this comedy, the leadershi* hasnt got any better and the lies deceit immoral bullying continue to flow from the
so called management.

Only the very few will get continued work in the uk as the backstabber smiling assassin pilots/ ccrew/ whingenineer have been noted and passed on in due course to colleagues far n wide!

Surprised the Fossils still there.

Check Out http://www.airlinequality.com/Forum/flygspan.htm

The Passengers Will NOT be coming back.

I hear the recently leased B767 G-CEOD has got MAJOR maintenance issues and CAA wont be letting it go anywhere!!!!!!!!!

B757 G-CEJM heads to Fedex soon so hence no longhauls looking likely.

Said it Ages ago.

"What a load of ole Sh*T"

xx Jimmy

[jethro15]

B757 G-CEJM heads to Fedex soon
Are you sure about that?

jethro
UK and Ireland Airline Fleet Listings
http://www.jethros.i12.com

[DTVAirport]

I've heard that too

[ROSSKi MYT]

I Heard That Too But Where I Found it Out Now says its Staying

[ROSSKi MYT]

Does Anybody Know why Glasgow Malaga Flights Routed Back Via Madrid Today:confused:

13:45GSM112MALAGA VIA MADRID LANDED 1638

[GSM SCOT]

Aircraft went via MAD due to a medical emergency onboard

[kernowbird]

Had my March 08 Manchester to Cape Town booking cancelled by GSM today, blame cast on bi-lateral talks (or non talks) and low passenger confidence. Silver lining is I've now booked cheaper with BA.