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View Full Version : Stelios and the Germans


BaronChotzinoff
11th Oct 2014, 20:18
What's the guy got against them and their culture? I travel monthly between Luton and Schoenefeld, returning on Sunday via the one late evening flight of the weekly schedule, yet it seems that at least 50% of these suffer delays of at least an hour. This is not good news for people needing to get bleary-eyed children to bed or themselves back into London and up early for work next day.

If the delays were minor ones caused by trying to keep within tight turnaround times I could understand it - but this is clearly not the case, it seems rather as though this service has been designated as some sort of "bucket flight" ready to patch up cracks in the system such that wherever you're travelling to and from on the Easyjet network and whatever problems you've met with, you'll still get home sooner than the highbrow German-sympathisers expecting Teutonic efficiency from their chosen airline operator.

Take last Sunday, for example. The flight was delayed for a whopping THREE HOURS on the grounds that the plane was requisitioned to be sent off to Cyprus or somewhere else a bit closer to Stelios' homeland and heart to rescue some unfortunate trippers from being stranded sunning their backsides even longer - due to bad weather, as far as the scanty details given over the tannoy allowed to be understood.

Then, to add insult to injury, you would at least expect that some gesture of goodwill would be forthcoming after hours spent in the 30 degrees heat of SFX such as a complimentary bar service - but no, not a whit of it, it was as though nothing had happened. (I don't know what the particulars of legal obligations are in this respect, but no doubt it only applies to people actually stuck on the plane.)

I've always preferred EZY over Ryanair for the obvious reasons but having said that I've used a similar service with Ryanair to EMA month after month and that was very rarely late - I can't remember it ever being in fact. Unfortunately, there isn't a choice or I would definitely switch and never look back.

ExXB
11th Oct 2014, 21:00
Three hour delay? The ECJ says you are entitled to compensation under Regulation 261. Perhaps if more passengers on these flights did so, they might rethink their priorities.

INeedTheFull90
14th Oct 2014, 10:36
STELIOS is a shareholder now and apart from the occasional whinge has nothing to do with the running of EJ.

Longer flights such as a Cyprus flight will be tight on crew hours if delays are encountered therefore I'm sure they'd send a plane there and potentially tag a sort SXF on to the end of another flight (eg crew operates LTN-FCO-LTN, if they have the hours they could technically be asked, but not forced, to then do a SXF) subject to crew hours to operate a rescue flight.

There is a plane and full crew on permanent standby in LTN from early morning up until the early evening so it could be that this plane could already be doing another rescue flights.

As the end of the day minimising passenger inconvenience is priority for all airlines and it looks like this was no different. If you'd want a specific explanation of what went wrong then file an EU261 claim and all should be revealed.

That way both flights operate instead of one operating and one being cancelled albeit both flights are delayed. This way you get people where where they want to be and don't have to pay for 180 hotel nights. Makes perfect sense to me.

As a whole the SXF-LTN has a 'very low' delay index according to flight stats. However as it is the plane's last flight of the day then it is more likely to be subject to knock on delays throughout the previous sectors, as with all short haul airlines.

Very surprised that light refreshment vouchers were not offered. I've had much shorter delays and been given them.

No doubt itll be rubbished by the spotters and a few 'frequent flyers' with an EC Blue card on here, but that's how it is. Airlines as vastly complex organisations and with so many dynamics at play, things won't always go to plan.

flash8
14th Oct 2014, 17:47
Once met the great guy back in '99 on an inaugural flight from Liverpool... he was roaming the cabin speaking to the passengers.

However when I asked him for an "Orange Juice Please" he didn't look amused.

Mate and I cracked up after though.

G-ARZG
14th Oct 2014, 19:56
'Stelios and the Germans'...

Worst ever Kraftwerk tribute band?