Some Very Disappointed Young Slf
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Sorry GC2750 but how do you know the families concerned were 'working class'? Are you making this assumption because they had to think twice about forking out hundreds of pounds for one way tickets to London with either Flybe or bmi.
I've just looked at both airline's websites and two adults and two children travelling on the next bookable flight with bmi at 19.50 would pay £596 for economy one way tickets.
Flybe's last flight to Gatwick this evening can't be booked online but the total cost for the first flight tomorrow morning would be £419.
The two children and their fathers certainly could not have flown BA, not because they're either poor or rich, but because the world's favourite airline has not flown scheduled services from Northern Ireland for a number of years.
As far as ensuring they reached Central London on time I would once again point out many people choose this Ryanair flight because it enables them to get there before 9.00am when combined with the Stansted express.
I've just looked at both airline's websites and two adults and two children travelling on the next bookable flight with bmi at 19.50 would pay £596 for economy one way tickets.
Flybe's last flight to Gatwick this evening can't be booked online but the total cost for the first flight tomorrow morning would be £419.
The two children and their fathers certainly could not have flown BA, not because they're either poor or rich, but because the world's favourite airline has not flown scheduled services from Northern Ireland for a number of years.
As far as ensuring they reached Central London on time I would once again point out many people choose this Ryanair flight because it enables them to get there before 9.00am when combined with the Stansted express.
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What about the idea of going the night before as everyone's suggested? That's a Hell of a long day for a fit adult to undertake as it was planned, let alone a disabled child. 
Seems to me that they were cutting it fine in any case. Surely planning to "do London" in a day including travel there and back is a little optimistic?
Seems to me that they were cutting it fine in any case. Surely planning to "do London" in a day including travel there and back is a little optimistic?
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It's extremely common in Northern Ireland for people to travel to London by air for the day. Remember the majority of the population live within the Greater Belfast area which places them half an hour at most from an airport.
The people featured in this article live in Lisburn - 20 minutes drive to BHD via the M1, Westlink and Sydenham by-pass on a Saturday morning around 5.00am - and that's definitely not breaking any speed limits. Once on the aircraft its 50 minutes to Stansted and another 45 on the train to Liverpool Street. Et voila you're there.
Many people travel from Manchester to London for the day by train and I think it probably takes slightly longer. My sister who lives in West Yorkshire goes to London on business on occasions and she travels by train from her local station to Leeds and on to London on the East Coast Mainline.
Due to the presence of the Irish Sea people here can't take daytrips by train but cheap airfares allow them to do so by plane.
Many people book the odd day away in advance at the cheapest possible fare.
I know one lady who works on a checkout in a supermarket who enjoys Saturdays shopping with her daughters in Newcastle, Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow etc simply because of the availability of cheap flights.
The people featured in this article live in Lisburn - 20 minutes drive to BHD via the M1, Westlink and Sydenham by-pass on a Saturday morning around 5.00am - and that's definitely not breaking any speed limits. Once on the aircraft its 50 minutes to Stansted and another 45 on the train to Liverpool Street. Et voila you're there.
Many people travel from Manchester to London for the day by train and I think it probably takes slightly longer. My sister who lives in West Yorkshire goes to London on business on occasions and she travels by train from her local station to Leeds and on to London on the East Coast Mainline.
Due to the presence of the Irish Sea people here can't take daytrips by train but cheap airfares allow them to do so by plane.
Many people book the odd day away in advance at the cheapest possible fare.
I know one lady who works on a checkout in a supermarket who enjoys Saturdays shopping with her daughters in Newcastle, Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow etc simply because of the availability of cheap flights.
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I can't help but feel that I'm missing something here. This is what I take to be a summary of events.
Flights were booked with Ryanair, a lo-cost airline that has a wide reputation for price and operational excellence when things are going well, and appalling behavior when they aren't. The planned trip did not apparently allow a usable margin for error or delay.
The kids are disabled: This makes the story 'better' for Press coverage than if they weren't.
On the day of travel, a significant delay occurred. Ryanair duly behaved in accordance with their reputation.
The fault apparently lies with everybody (including other airlines with whom no booking or contract was made) except the parents and/or organizers of the trip.
I'm trying to get more out of this event than that, but it's not easy!
Flights were booked with Ryanair, a lo-cost airline that has a wide reputation for price and operational excellence when things are going well, and appalling behavior when they aren't. The planned trip did not apparently allow a usable margin for error or delay.
The kids are disabled: This makes the story 'better' for Press coverage than if they weren't.
On the day of travel, a significant delay occurred. Ryanair duly behaved in accordance with their reputation.
The fault apparently lies with everybody (including other airlines with whom no booking or contract was made) except the parents and/or organizers of the trip.
I'm trying to get more out of this event than that, but it's not easy!
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TS
From my angle, the other airline(s) missed the opportunity to get positive regional or national media exposure for a fraction of the price of buying advertising....... and didn't, at a time when times are hard.
That aside, I tend to see it your way and as my flying instructor told me many years ago, 'only go by air, if you have time to spare.'
From my angle, the other airline(s) missed the opportunity to get positive regional or national media exposure for a fraction of the price of buying advertising....... and didn't, at a time when times are hard.
That aside, I tend to see it your way and as my flying instructor told me many years ago, 'only go by air, if you have time to spare.'
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Tightslot, let's be absolutely accurate here.
First of all just one of the children was disabled not both.
Secondly, no-one is pointing the finger of blame as such at anyone.
The intro to the story does not attempt to do this. Instead it accurately points out the children were 'devastated' by the turn of events.
This cannot be denied. Any child of nine would be deeply distressed if a day out they had been looking forward to for ages was cancelled at the last minute in this way.
Hindsight, as they say, is a great teacher. The parents now probably wish they had travelled the night before and if you're a parent yourself you can understand how painful it must have been to see the children's disappointment and be unable to do anything about it.
However, the entire incident does raise wider questions.
Yes, this was bitterly disappointing for these children but would it be unreasonable to travel on a flight at 6.30am to attend a funeral or wedding in London at 1.00pm?
Anyone on this Ryanair flight in this position also needed help and there was no-one there to provide it.
First of all just one of the children was disabled not both.
Secondly, no-one is pointing the finger of blame as such at anyone.
The intro to the story does not attempt to do this. Instead it accurately points out the children were 'devastated' by the turn of events.
This cannot be denied. Any child of nine would be deeply distressed if a day out they had been looking forward to for ages was cancelled at the last minute in this way.
Hindsight, as they say, is a great teacher. The parents now probably wish they had travelled the night before and if you're a parent yourself you can understand how painful it must have been to see the children's disappointment and be unable to do anything about it.
However, the entire incident does raise wider questions.
- What happened to the flight crew due to operate the service?
- Is an eight and a half hour delay to a short domestic flight which lasts only 50 minutes not really a cancellation? One of the parents made the same point.
Yes, this was bitterly disappointing for these children but would it be unreasonable to travel on a flight at 6.30am to attend a funeral or wedding in London at 1.00pm?
Anyone on this Ryanair flight in this position also needed help and there was no-one there to provide it.
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"Anyone on this Ryanair flight in this position also needed help and there was no-one there to provide it"
Thats the point some of us are trying to make! When you book with Ryanair you don't get, and shouldn't expect to get, the levels of customer service you might get with another carrier. Ryanair are a lo-cost no frills operator and therefore do not have staff at airports to provide assistance in these circumstances.
Thats the point some of us are trying to make! When you book with Ryanair you don't get, and shouldn't expect to get, the levels of customer service you might get with another carrier. Ryanair are a lo-cost no frills operator and therefore do not have staff at airports to provide assistance in these circumstances.
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What happened to the flight crew due to operate the service?
It's all very well demanding a 'person of authority' present to handle disruptions with suitable authority. Take it from me, when a 168 seat aeroplane gets disrupted, you have 168 people with desperate sob stories, heart-rending sagas of how they MUST get there 2 hours ago, job interviews, weddings in 3 hours, urgent business meetings....... The disabled child would not have got look in! Ryanair has dispensed with all that- you are buying a bus ticket for travel with no guaranteed arrival time. you pay less, you get no customer service, you get travel- don't complain about the food, there isn't any. That's it.
I'm afraid for important events, I would aim for the night before, even with a full service airline. Aeroplanes don't even achieve 97-98% reliability, which means 1 flight in 50 is totally ruined. They were playing the odds. Sadly children suffered, but they have nobody to blame but themselves. Disruptions happen.
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Rainboe, we know Ryanair is a basic, bog standard lo-co carrier. Passengers pay for any refreshments they consume during the flight. There's no pre-assigned seating and the cabin crew are, shall we say, informal although in my experience very friendly. As I said my last trip with them was on the same flight exactly one week earlier and I sat in row 1 where I heard the male cabin crew member call every female passenger 'love' and groups of male passengers 'guys' as they boarded.
HOWEVER, even a basic, bog standard lo-co carrier must have some kind of operations management department which in theory should know about the rostering of every aircraft.
Flight crews do not just disappear in a puff of smoke on their way to the airport.
When you make a booking Ryanair, like everyone else, asks for your telephone number and e-mail address.
They must have known the night before this flight was not going to operate and passengers should have been informed at that stage giving them time to make alternative arrangements.
HOWEVER, even a basic, bog standard lo-co carrier must have some kind of operations management department which in theory should know about the rostering of every aircraft.
Flight crews do not just disappear in a puff of smoke on their way to the airport.
When you make a booking Ryanair, like everyone else, asks for your telephone number and e-mail address.
They must have known the night before this flight was not going to operate and passengers should have been informed at that stage giving them time to make alternative arrangements.
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The answers to your questions frequentflyer2 are all contained in the various responses above. You are complaining that a service was not supplied by an airline that doesn't offer that service, and boasts about it publicly. You don't get to keep asking the same question until you get the answer you want (unless you're the government, of course).
