Aurela (Operating for Monarch) off the runway at BHX

[Weary]

given sufficient use of brakes and reverse.

That would be MAX manual brakes then, as anything else would be proportionally negated by any reverse thrust.

But - somebody mentioned that the reversers were not actually used...........

Oh dear

[Andrew Bowyer]

Just a slight diversion but my daugther, who was a pax on this service, has just had a full refund paid into her bank account by Monarch without her having to fire a letter in anger. Pleasing in times of poor customer service.

[pedrobaltic]

FougaMagister - finally some sense and balance

[mad_jock]

So what would be a sensible speed to attempt a 90 degree corner in this type of aircraft?

[Smudger]

Normal operation, about 15 knots in the dry, much more would be uncomfortable for the pax and would put unnecessary strain on the landing gear.

[criss]

One can always learn from 'professionals' in this forum. New lessons - Lithuania is a 3rd world African country, and Small Planet is ridden with Soviet captains.

Beats me how you find time to make up all this BS when you always complain your schedules are so cramped.

[Doors to Automatic]

That would be Autobrakes MAX then

Manual brakes would also work?

[Weary]

Quite right Doors - I've ammended my post !

[VC10man]

I always thought that Lithuania was a Baltic state, now I am told it is in Africa.
You learn something new every day!!!

[FougaMagister]

Some interesting pictures here:
ASN Aircraft accident 21-SEP-2012 Boeing 737-35B LY-SKA
Due to its position and orientation, looks like the aircraft skidded off the (wet) runway during the turn to the A1 taxiway.

Cheers

[Doors to Automatic]

Are there any reliable reports about the touchdown out yet? How fast was it going, where did it touch down etc?

[SanjiUK]

Question I would like to ask is when were they sent the email? Had the decision to sub charter been made by the time of booking and if so were the passengers made aware then?

If I have booked a flight and then get an email a couple of days before the flight and I am not happy with the new travel arrangements it may be difficult to arrange travel with another company. Also if a passenger elects not to travel for this reason, will they get a full refund of the fare including taxes and charges etc?

First time posting.

I booked a Monarch flight (ZB7448) to Malaga from EMA on the 23rd of May – the date of departure the 17th September 2012.

I received an email on the 10th September entitled ‘Important, not long before you fly’ which gave me all the spiel about hand luggage dimensions.

The next email I received was during the afternoon on the 14th September, 2 days before I departed, informing me of the change of aircraft, but failing to mention the carrier and up until that point I had no reason believe flight ZB7448 wasn’t going to be a Monarch plane.

I did my own investigation that evening and discovered that the flight was going to be operated by Small Planet Airways and this aircraft had been operating this route since the beginning of September, but Monarch waited until 2 days before I flew to inform me of the change of aircraft and still omitted to name the carrier in the email.

During the next day I contacted Monarch via their Facebookpage to enquire about departing from Manchester on an aircraft that was going to be a Monarch plane, and I was told they don't do refunds and there would be charges and any difference in flight prices – when I had calculated these charges together, it was a ridiculous amount of money to pay out.

Would I have booked the flight in the first place if I had been told I was going to end up on a wet-lease Lithuanian old crate, with a dilapidated interior, a reduction of on-board services and a cabin crew who nobody could understand? No, I wouldn’t and Monarch knew that too, so I believe this is why they withheld this information.

I’m so incensed by this that I’m about to write to the CAA, EU, EASA and anyone else who will listen, because I believe that Monarch breached the EU directive, article 11, by not informing me earlier of the carrier.


I would also appreciate any comments regarding the legal and safety aspects of having a cabin crew giving a safety briefing in poor English that could not be understood by the passengers, and according to my video, it lasted 96 seconds from start to finish.

Finally, I’d just like to say, that the flight home was like sitting in an overcrowded oven for three hours. It was unbearably hot, cramped and at one point I could smell aviation fuel tainting the air in the cabin.

It's not an experience I would wish to repeat in a hurry.

Thank you for reading and any advice.

[Slik]

In reply to Fireflybob, I booked flights with Monarch and wasn't told of any other operators being used, checked in on line and still no mention that it wasn't Monarch. Only 36 hours before my flight did they send an e-mail saying it was another operator (unspecified). After reading the horror stories about these leased planes, I contacted Monarch and finally got through to customer services director who told me that the plane I was due to fly on was Aurela on 21 September and that all rumours about the plane were exagerated. I kicked up and got transferred to another flight as I refused to fly on this heap. At least (given there were no casualties) I can now complain with the words "told you so" but it could have been so much worse. Monarch are deceiving passengers by not telling them until the very last minute that it will be another airline when its probably too late to do anything about it.

[Uplinker]

Although I have read most of this thread, I cannot be ars*d to read the last few pages, so apologies if this has already been raised; but what if the crew suffered brake failure after landing and after cleaning up whilst taxying forward on the runway at around 10 knots, and then not being able to slow down enough for the turn at the end?

Just a thought.

[A4]

You do the memory items for loss of braking and switch to the back up system (takes about 2 seconds on the 'bus). Ultimately you just apply the parking brake.

I would be very surprised if this is loss of braking due to failure (but I accept it may be). I suspect it is more loss of braking ability due to too much energy being taken into the turn to exit the runway. Physics will always win.

[Burnie5204]

Well there has certainly been a change...

At EMA we're still seeing the Air Italy Group and the Small Planet aircraft but as well as the voices of the wet lease crews we've come to recognise there is now a profoundly british voice in the flight deck on every flight and from what I can gather its the captains.

[Rhino power]

All Monarch flights from EMA on the current schedule have been by foreign operators.
First we had Avion Express A319 LY-VEU, then Small Planet B733 LY-FLJ which was joined by Air Italy B734 I-AIMR, this was replaced for one days flights by Air Italy B738 EI-IGN. LY-FLJ and I-AIMR are the current incumbents, although i understand the schedule drops to one aircraft this month.

[Burnie5204]

Correct - to a monarch liveried A321

The comment was more on how all MON flights operated by the 2 wet lease companies are being accompanied by MON Captains

[chocolateracer]

The comment was more on how all MON flights operated by the 2 wet lease companies are being accompanied by MON Captains

As in on the jump seat?????

[Cough]

Originally Posted by A4

You do the memory items for loss of braking and switch to the back up system (takes about 2 seconds on the 'bus). Ultimately you just apply the parking brake.

Correct, for an Airbus. This is a Boeing...