Why pay extra for meals on UK Charter

[Fraudsquads]

On a recent trip with a UK Charter operator I paid in advance for the inflight meals (yes, I enjoy them).

My point is, as a flight only pax. Why did I bother to pay for the meal when everyone around me including flight onlys some paid others didn't everyone got a meal. A friend travelled on the same service without paying for food.

I was sat at the back and the crew even walked through a couple of rows asking if anyone wanted an extra meal. I can't fault the service on that flight from EXT to PFO.

The company has decided to try to charge extra for meals yet clearly seems to carry more than enough to go around and nothing appeared to be done to check who had paid for the meal.

Is it just another con? comments please.

If any of the crew are reading this I'd have been quite happy if you'd offloaded the drunk Honeymooner who was sat in 29E, he disturbed quite a few of us despite your 3 warnings to keep quiet. I was even offered £10 for my seat by the guy in 29D.

Should they really have served him 4 cans of Becks, Red wine and Champagne?

FS

[Tiger]

No they should NOT have served him Becks, Red Wine and Champagne. Ugh! What a combination!

Unfortuately, pay bars as such on charter airlines pay commission and the likes of your paxs was helping to boost this. Also charter crews tend to less experienced than scheduled airlines when it comes to dealing with paxs. They do a 6 mth temp contract, possibly being kept on for the winter.

Get some old timer and they soon deal with the problem often before trouble starts.

As for meals. The airlines are jumping on the Low Cost band wagon. Paxs keep telling us wonderful EasyJet and Ryan Air are and this is what you want.
Charter airlines have gone full circle on themselves by the looks of things. Remember the days of second hand aircraft and BAC 1-11`s packed to the rafters? Court Line with there 1970`s Pink, orange and turquoise jets? Overwing exits had back to back seating so your knees touched the person opersite.
Those were the days! When going to Alicante was posh and you dressed up to fly!
Paxs were fed a cheese roll and if up market Ham Salad. You all bought duty free....

Then came Air Europe! Hot meals, IFE, etc...Other airlines followed.
Paxs wanted more and more. You got more. Individual screens, better movies.....you wanted even more, you got posh crisps. Expections grew, brochures promised even more....in the end crews worked like super humans and airlines went bust.

The interesting thing was I worked charter flights for British Midland who did them on behalf of Air 2000. It was a 737-400 with 174 seats with no IFE. The aircraft was "old" as the paxs put it coz it didn`t have TV. The aircraft at the time was under 5 years old. It was amazing to see families just sitting there. They lost the ablity to chat to each other or read etc...

The meals to the airline cost about £20 ish per tray. A cold meal is usually more expensive than hot. The caterers charge per item then charge per item to place an item on the tray. So that little plastic dish was charged to be placed on the big tray, as was the cup, the cutlery pack. The dry stores such as coffee tea bags sugar etc... it charged for as an item, then charged to place on aircraft then again to take off. The same coffee packet or tea bag will be place the next day even on the same aircraft will re charged again.

Hope this helps

[rupetime]

Low frills is in fashion at the moment and they are all going to be
doing it eventually. Give it a couple of years, one of the charter airlines will start offering flights with no extra's and good flights at that and people will switch again.....at the moment people love a bargain and they perceive these airlines branded as low cost
to be that bargain, hey they might even get on the telly at the same time !

Tiger - where did you get that figure for the cost of a meal to the airlines - £20 - most good quality airlines will be buying charter meals at less than the price of a McDonalds happy meal - and for those outside the uk these happy meals retail at £2.99 in the UK.

rt

[Tiger]

Figures for the inflight meal was from my Flight Supervisors course back in 1990 and visits to airport catering departments. Airlines regularly revise menus and costing. Having dealt with catering departments at first hand and been shown the process of an airline meal, from start to popping the "tasty" morsal into you mouth. I was also offered a job as a menu/catering bod for a well know charter airline.
I don`t have all the figures regarding the tray served on board to paxs, but I have given an the way an airline is charged for its meals. Quoting the Big Mac isn`t viable costing and shows lack of knowledge and understanding.
I have tried to explain who catering companies charge airlines. The airport over heads, vehicles, personal, and foods are slightly different to catering an aircraft. What may seem excellent food type a upon the ground becomes a catering nightmare in the air.

[Fraudsquads]

Thanks for your comments...

Maybe I'll try the service of MyTravel lite sometime maybe not. Obviously the cost of the seat with them will be lower than the full service or a flight only with MyTravel. Will the two still be available in 2 years.

I've been discussing with colleagues recently the benefits of 'The package holiday' versus getting a low cost flight and booking accomodation and car hire direct.

I'm of the opinion if I can do it cheaper myself it will be MyTravel.FS not MyTravel.com Maybe there are risks in not having the ABTA bond but I think using credit cards for bookings guarantees should be enough more often than not.

I know you can't guarantee that the airline will still exist if you book maybe 6 months in advance but I'll take my chance.

As far as the 'package holiday' goes the brochures already offer a flight and a hotel then you can add to that package

food inflight
extra leg room (in an emergency exit seat)
transfers to the resort

there may be others that don't come to mind. I wonder, why call it a package or are they simple trying to redefine the package holiday as we knew it.

If only I lived near LHR I'd gladly use BA.

FS

[Tiger]

Personally, I dislike package holidays and find them restrictive after planning and booking my own. It can be hard work but if you find it interesting can be good fun. It can work out a little cheaper or at least you get what you want, plus maybe getting addition benefits, such as car hire because you need to get from airport to hotel you get a car for the week or two.

I worked at Thomas Cook for a year and booking the package holiday was dull, but on we did do custom made holidays for some clients which were great fun to do.
There are some great round the world fare using the various Airline Alliances. Star had fares from £900 ish stopping off in different parts of the globe.

Using the net and holiday companies such as BA Holidays and Thomas Cook Holidays who do accommodation only gets some good deals on hotels. BA and TC offer deals such as stay 4 nights get the 5th night free, etc...

[wub]

I've used BA holidays for years, great value and flexibility but the in-flight service has diminshed over the time. Once on a long haul to the far east you got hot towels, liquers after dinner and a help yourself galley, where there was fruit, cup noodles, drinks etc. This year the help yourself comprised a 'tuck box' filled with hula hoops and mini cheddars. No towels, liquers etc.

Even on the BA shuttle you get a sandwich in a bag on a flight costing £266!