Airline flight time changes
Discussion
Booked a return flight from Vancouver for 20:00 hours on 13th September. Wasn't cheap and had to pay another £80 for extra legroom as I'm too tall to fit in a normal seat for 10 hours. Anyway, a few weeks ago I received an email telling me it was now departing at 13:35 (over 6 hours earlier), causing major issues getting across from the far side of Vancouver Island in time (car, ferry, bus etc).
Today I've been told it's been moved forward yet again to 11:15am - nearly 9 hours earlier than I originally booked AND is no longer a non-stop flight, but will spend 2 hours at Calgary!
So what it looks like the airline has done is to combine two under-booked flights into one to save money. I now have to shorten my stay by a day and pay a considerable amount for overnight hotel accommodation in Vancouver to have any chance of making the new flight time. Apparently alterations under 12 hours constitute a 'minor' change.
Anyone else had similar crap and did you get anywhere pursuing the airline?
Today I've been told it's been moved forward yet again to 11:15am - nearly 9 hours earlier than I originally booked AND is no longer a non-stop flight, but will spend 2 hours at Calgary!
So what it looks like the airline has done is to combine two under-booked flights into one to save money. I now have to shorten my stay by a day and pay a considerable amount for overnight hotel accommodation in Vancouver to have any chance of making the new flight time. Apparently alterations under 12 hours constitute a 'minor' change.
Anyone else had similar crap and did you get anywhere pursuing the airline?
58warren said:
Booked a return flight from Vancouver for 20:00 hours on 13th September. Wasn't cheap and had to pay another £80 for extra legroom as I'm too tall to fit in a normal seat for 10 hours. Anyway, a few weeks ago I received an email telling me it was now departing at 13:35 (over 6 hours earlier), causing major issues getting across from the far side of Vancouver Island in time (car, ferry, bus etc).
Today I've been told it's been moved forward yet again to 11:15am - nearly 9 hours earlier than I originally booked AND is no longer a non-stop flight, but will spend 2 hours at Calgary!
So what it looks like the airline has done is to combine two under-booked flights into one to save money. I now have to shorten my stay by a day and pay a considerable amount for overnight hotel accommodation in Vancouver to have any chance of making the new flight time. Apparently alterations under 12 hours constitute a 'minor' change.
Anyone else had similar crap and did you get anywhere pursuing the airline?
Sounds very bizarre - is this a charter airline?Today I've been told it's been moved forward yet again to 11:15am - nearly 9 hours earlier than I originally booked AND is no longer a non-stop flight, but will spend 2 hours at Calgary!
So what it looks like the airline has done is to combine two under-booked flights into one to save money. I now have to shorten my stay by a day and pay a considerable amount for overnight hotel accommodation in Vancouver to have any chance of making the new flight time. Apparently alterations under 12 hours constitute a 'minor' change.
Anyone else had similar crap and did you get anywhere pursuing the airline?
If the flight leaves Vancouver at 11:15AM with a 2 hr layover in Calgary, it will land in the UK at a very peculiar time of day (approx 3/4am)
Had a similiar occurrence on a BA flight recently.
flying to the US on business - heading into Orlando from LGW - 2 flights, one at 11.30 and another at 2(ish).
I'm on the earlier flight - which "becomes" delayed for unidentified reasons.
Fast forward 3 hours and we are sat on the flight, due to depart, when it turns out that they simply held the flight back as both planes were half empty and they coudl get away with 1 flight rather than 2. To add insult to injury, they kept the flight at the gate for another 30 mins as they squeezed some other passengers from a totally different airline / flight on.
Was over 4 hours late into Orlando, long drive once landed and missed my evening appointment.
And no apology.
flying to the US on business - heading into Orlando from LGW - 2 flights, one at 11.30 and another at 2(ish).
I'm on the earlier flight - which "becomes" delayed for unidentified reasons.
Fast forward 3 hours and we are sat on the flight, due to depart, when it turns out that they simply held the flight back as both planes were half empty and they coudl get away with 1 flight rather than 2. To add insult to injury, they kept the flight at the gate for another 30 mins as they squeezed some other passengers from a totally different airline / flight on.
Was over 4 hours late into Orlando, long drive once landed and missed my evening appointment.
And no apology.
Scheduled flights aren't routinely cancelled by the big players due to low booking figures.
Doing this will lose you your slots pretty quickly, and quickly have a chunk of your fleet out of position. It'd be suicide to do this with LHR and any New York airports.
Tin pot state owned flag carriers from hot European countries have started doing this more and more though, at a minimum doing a hopping flight from one station to the next. This descision is normally only made 24 hours before.
I would suggest in OPs case, the airline hasn't got a bloody clue what it's doing with its schedule. They need a rocket up them to publish them most of the time.
Doing this will lose you your slots pretty quickly, and quickly have a chunk of your fleet out of position. It'd be suicide to do this with LHR and any New York airports.
Tin pot state owned flag carriers from hot European countries have started doing this more and more though, at a minimum doing a hopping flight from one station to the next. This descision is normally only made 24 hours before.
I would suggest in OPs case, the airline hasn't got a bloody clue what it's doing with its schedule. They need a rocket up them to publish them most of the time.
Apparently Canadian Affair (the booking agent) tell me that Air Transat are refurbishing their fleet, which is causing the schedule changes - though I find this hard to believe.
Last time (December 2011/January 2012) I flew with Air Canada, of which I'd heard terrible things, but I had a great trip out and back with friendly flight attendants, good food and a copious supply of red wine!!!
Last time (December 2011/January 2012) I flew with Air Canada, of which I'd heard terrible things, but I had a great trip out and back with friendly flight attendants, good food and a copious supply of red wine!!!
58warren said:
Apparently Canadian Affair (the booking agent) tell me that Air Transat are refurbishing their fleet, which is causing the schedule changes - though I find this hard to believe.
Last time (December 2011/January 2012) I flew with Air Canada, of which I'd heard terrible things, but I had a great trip out and back with friendly flight attendants, good food and a copious supply of red wine!!!
Air Transat...you could just have ended the story there, no more explanation needed. By some margin the worst airline I have ever flown with. You quite literally would have to pay me to get on one of their planes again.Last time (December 2011/January 2012) I flew with Air Canada, of which I'd heard terrible things, but I had a great trip out and back with friendly flight attendants, good food and a copious supply of red wine!!!
deckster said:
58warren said:
Apparently Canadian Affair (the booking agent) tell me that Air Transat are refurbishing their fleet, which is causing the schedule changes - though I find this hard to believe.
Last time (December 2011/January 2012) I flew with Air Canada, of which I'd heard terrible things, but I had a great trip out and back with friendly flight attendants, good food and a copious supply of red wine!!!
Air Transat...you could just have ended the story there, no more explanation needed. By some margin the worst airline I have ever flown with. You quite literally would have to pay me to get on one of their planes again.Last time (December 2011/January 2012) I flew with Air Canada, of which I'd heard terrible things, but I had a great trip out and back with friendly flight attendants, good food and a copious supply of red wine!!!
I assume they cannot get away with this as I have given them money for something they are now not offering???
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