Airlines on the brink

Interesting, especially considering my recent first hand experience of Monarch:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel/news/article6970326.ece

Well I hope Jet2.com sort themselves out. Just got back from Lapland with them 28 hours later than I should have thanks to their very, very old plane breaking down. Still at least they put us in a quality hotel for the night, so its not all bad. Plus the holiday was fab.

RoseR wrote:Well I hope Jet2.com sort themselves out. Just got back from Lapland with them 28 hours later than I should have thanks to their very, very old plane breaking down. Still at least they put us in a quality hotel for the night, so its not all bad. Plus the holiday was fab.

Do you remember me telling you about flying on Jet2.com last March, and saying how old and battered the plane was? They do have some more modern planes, but some of their 737s really wouldn't pass an MOT.

Rose, I'm glad you had a brilliant time :D Sorry your plane broke down though :( I was chatting to a Monarch pilot a couple of days ago, and he said that there might be some legal action over this Paddy Power speculation.

Welcome back Rose, I'm glad you had a good holiday and you got back safely :D

Ally

I will never fly Jet 2 again. The plane had paint blisters every-where that expanded the higher you got. Their in flight meal, which they had the cheek to give you a cutlery set was a shortbread biscuit and an apple and a minute cup of coffee. The draft that came in from the windows was unbelievable. The fluorescent lights were on the blink and flashed all the way. The prob with the plane was the heating had packed up in the cockpit so the captain and his windscreen was frozen.
So glad it cost them a fortune to put us in the best hotel in the resort, I am afraid every-one used the minibars, everything and added it to their bill.
Due to fly again to Lapland end of Feb, we are thinking of cancelling rather than go with them again.
Trouble is Inghams told me that was the only airline they could get, they think they will possibly as well as Crystal pull out of Lapland.
Still it must not detract from the holiday as it was just the best. I will post pics but I have to go to work, although I am shattererd.

Sorry to hear this Rose. Sadly, you got lumbered with Jet2 as other airlines have pulled out of the route, and tour ops are pulling out of certain resorts. I have a feeling Lapland and other Nordic ski resorts will not feature in many brochures next year, and probably justified in terms of cost v profit.

Jet2 have some really old 737's, the model which virtually all European airlines (Monarch included) have binned off and stopped using a while back. However, Jet2 have a contract I am told with Royal Mail, and these old bangers have the seats taken out (they are on removable panels of flooring) and these planes are used to fly post about when they are not in use. If you looked on the side of the plane, you would have seen a hidden cargo door in the paintwork which opens right up to enable seats to come out and cargo to go in instead.
My bet would be that without that contract, if it actually exists, Jet2 might not be about anymore.
I have flown with them once before, and would most definitely not choose to fly with them again. My seat was actually broken and it would not go upright at all on the outbound flight. The poor lady behind me had me resting on her lap all the way to Turin. Thank God it was a smooth flight, as I half expected bits to drop off in turbulence!!!!