Flightw*se living social deal.... Joke!!

No.username

Hey folks just letting people of my experience with a deal offered by flightw*se through living social. For people that dont know, living social/citydeals is a website offering a daily deal to people registered with the website. They are only the middle man, so once you have purchased your deal its the supplier of the goods/services you now deal with.

A couple of weeks ago i got an email with the daily deal. It was a 30 min or 60 min lesson at flightw*se, €47 (30 min) and €92 for the hour. I jumped at the offer!! Bought a voucher for an hour and 2 of my friends also got one. Happy days!!

Let 2 weeks go by and decided, since the weather was pretty good that i would ring and book the lesson. I rang the mobile number supplied, but no answer. No problem ill try again later, i thought! I must have rang them 15 times a day for about 4 days before i finally got through to somebody.
When i told him i have a voucher and would like to book a lesson, the first thing he asked was "is it a living social voucher?" When i said yes, he told me that i would have to wait at least 6 weeks, and i need to email him with my availability, and i would receive a text in 3 days with a booking. This was a kick in the teeth, it felt because i got the voucher at a discounted price i was being treated differently to those who didnt. But he insisted it was nothing to do with that, and that they were just busy. My friend who also got a voucher decided to ring and ask if there was availability for the weekend, when asked was he using a voucher he said NO.... He was told there was a space for him on saturday (just 4 days away) I was going mad!! Tried to ring them but guess what, no answer! And i have still not received a text with a booking which i was supposed to get 3 days after... Which was about 2 weeks ago!

They sold over 800 of the vochers according to living social website. Surely if they were unable to cope with that amount they should have restricted the amount sold. Just being greedy!

I cannot comment on the service they provide to paying customers, but a word of advise (take it or leave it) steer clear of any offer you see on living social for flightw*se.

Is there anyone here that has had the same problem, or anyone that has managed to use their voucher?

xflyer

Hmm, a flight school turning people away because they're too busy???? More to it than that I think. Maybe it takes six weeks for the money to get back to them. Why not go out to Flightw..ahem in Weston and ask at the desk?

Generally companies love to sell vouchers as many are never redeemed. Effectively it's free money, thus they can afford to offer good deals.

No.username

Yeah i think your right xflyer. I think they just sold over the amount they could cope with. I might pop into them on when i get a chance. I have read a few reviews about tgem on different forums and i dont doubt that they provide good training, i just think they bit of more than they can chew.

Danbo!

Think this is more of a consumer issue rather than a&a.

Anyway, these guys sold 800 vouchers for half hour flights, so 400 hours. They have 2 aircraft, so aside from any other non voucher bookings they may have already booked, each aircraft needs to do 200 hours to clear the voucher holders off the book. Yes, they could have said that bookings could take weeks, but you can't expect all 800 people to be accommodated very quick. Yes it's poor form that there's no answer from the mobile, but it's a tough job organising 800 flights.

All of the above doesn't even take into consideration that a half hour flight would probably cost the company 1 hour with briefings and preparation etc. Or doesn't consider down time for either aircraft for maintenance.

No.username

Hi Danbo, how do you know they are all only half hour lesson. Im not disbelieving you i just want to know. It should have been made clear at time of booking that there was a different waiting list for living social customers. I dont know about the half hour lesson costing the company 1 hour, but that was their discision... Nobody else should suffer because of their choice to give this offer.

As for the forum i posted in. I did so to inform other aviation enthusiasts of my experience and see if anyone else has had the same issue, however, should a Mod sees fit to move the thread, feel free to do so.

Danbo!

No.username wrote: »

Hi Danbo, how do you know they are all only half hour lesson. Im not disbelieving you i just want to know. It should have been made clear at time of booking that there was a different waiting list for living social customers. I dont know about the half hour lesson costing the company 1 hour, but that was their discision... Nobody else should suffer because of their choice to give this offer.

As for the forum i posted in. I did so to inform other aviation enthusiasts of my experience and see if anyone else has had the same issue, however, should a Mod sees fit to move the thread, feel free to do so.

Well maybe some are one hour, in which case this makes things even busier. If the lesson was limited to 30 mins including preparation, taxiing, etc, then you'd only be in the sky for a few minutes. The company obviously knew this, but what im saying is, and maybe they didn't make it clear enough when you were buying the voucher, you should expect to wait to get an appointment.

There may or may not be a separate waiting list and it's understandable if there is. They may be giving priority to existing customers. Or they may not be a separte list and they just want to know if you have a voucher for cash-flow purposes.

No.username

I expected to have to wait a certain amount of time, but i didnt expected to be 3 weeks waiting on a date and then when i eventually get a date i expect that it will be another few weeks.

Ill eventually get it i suppose

ed2992

I agree i think flightwise are a bunch of cowboys bought a few lessons with them always had to push them for a lesson ringing them many times and they never return their calls keep well away from them try skytrace they might be better thats what i will do in ther future!

Naked Lepper

they are a joke

tried to get a flight for 3 months, have 100 euro one hour voucher

now i want a refund and theyre ignoring me

how will i get my refund?????

Stovepipe

Hi there.
Go to Weston and get in the boss's face. Do not move off his desk until you get satisfaction, either way. If they threaten you with security, call the Gardai. Failing that, Joe Duffy....
regards
Stovepipe

brian higgins

Hi All,

I have recently had this thread brought to my attention and feel the need to put the record straight.800 vouchers sold last February and 400 redeemed so far currently 2/300 being procesed split is a 50/50 30min and 1 hr inclusive of briefing. Living Social customers are customers and not second class citizens as stated by one blogger.A little understanding of the aviation world is required to explain why it takes time to process a booking. Weather, routine maintenance,flight safety considerations together with circumstances outside of our control such as state visits resulting in Ireland being a no fly zone for 6 days this summer create challenges to which we have risen admirably.The majority of voucher redemptions have arisen in the last month 4 weeks prior to expiry despite the initial sale date having been 5 months ago. With the best will in the world to meet that expectation you would require a fleet of 30 aircraft flying 8am to 8pm for the 4 week period with no downtime due to weather or maintenance not withstanding statutory rest periods for the flight instructors. All calls to the contact number are answered by a real person and relevent data collected and the booking request is queued. The lead time has slipped due to the recent bubble. Alll customers should rest assured that once their call to book has been logged on or before midnight on 6/8/11 their fligh is guaranteed even if they don't want to fly until next year and you can quote me on that. Our business is focused on introducing people to the wonderful world of flight and ensuring that the experience is memorable and fun while maintaining the highest standards in training,safety and product quality.
Look forward to flying off the remaining vouchers and introducing another 400 people to the world of flight.

Continued safe flying.

Yours sincerely, Brian Higgins General Manager Flightwise

No.username

brian higgins wrote: »

Hi All,

I have recently had this thread brought to my attention and feel the need to put the record straight.800 vouchers sold last February and 400 redeemed so far currently 2/300 being procesed split is a 50/50 30min and 1 hr inclusive of briefing. Living Social customers are customers and not second class citizens as stated by one blogger.A little understanding of the aviation world is required to explain why it takes time to process a booking. Weather, routine maintenance,flight safety considerations together with circumstances outside of our control such as state visits resulting in Ireland being a no fly zone for 6 days this summer create challenges to which we have risen admirably.The majority of voucher redemptions have arisen in the last month 4 weeks prior to expiry despite the initial sale date having been 5 months ago. With the best will in the world to meet that expectation you would require a fleet of 30 aircraft flying 8am to 8pm for the 4 week period with no downtime due to weather or maintenance not withstanding statutory rest periods for the flight instructors. All calls to the contact number are answered by a real person and relevent data collected and the booking request is queued. The lead time has slipped due to the recent bubble. Alll customers should rest assured that once their call to book has been logged on or before midnight on 6/8/11 their fligh is guaranteed even if they don't want to fly until next year and you can quote me on that. Our business is focused on introducing people to the wonderful world of flight and ensuring that the experience is memorable and fun while maintaining the highest standards in training,safety and product quality.
Look forward to flying off the remaining vouchers and introducing another 400 people to the world of flight.

Continued safe flying.

Yours sincerely, Brian Higgins General Manager Flightwise

All calls answered by a real person??? Thats the biggest amount of bullsh1t ive ever heard!!! I contacted you numerous times with no success! I will gladly post emails sent and received from you! Needless to say, there were more sent!! I gave you about 22 dates that i was free for a lesson and your trying to tell me that you couldnt fit in a 1 hour lesson within them???? How was it when i rang pretending to be a cash paying customer that i got a lesson nearly straight away!

The funny thing is i was, at that stage, planning on starting modular training with the view of going all the way through to gaining a fATPL. Fortunatly for me i realised what a sham Flightw*se were before i embarked on an expensive career change in my life. I can gladly say im now just brushing up for my ppl skill test with NFC and hopefully will fly for a living one day!

Although living social's refund policy is a bit up in the air (no pun intended) i applied for a refunded which i got within 3 days. Failing that, i was well prepared to contact joe duffy show, as mentioned above. Im not one for trying to give a company a bad name, after all the recession has kicked the crap out of all businesses, let alone the aviation businesses, and i would only badmouth a company if i had good reason, which i feel in this case i do!

So Brian, if you get a chance to respond to this i would be grateful, im sure ill hear from you within 2, 3, 7 or 77 days from now, however i wont hold my breath!

AfterDusk

brian higgins wrote: »

So how do you explain voucher customers being told it'll be weeks until they can fly, but full-paying customers getting a date 4 days away?

TW Mr Tayto

Danbo! wrote: »

There may or may not be a separate waiting list and it's understandable if there is. They may be giving priority to existing customers. Or they may not be a separte list and they just want to know if you have a voucher for cash-flow purposes.

Especially when the LS vouchers were €47, and normally they are €95

Companies like these training schools use many of these gift/deal websites for business, and sales usually trickle through - helping to keep things ticking over. (GiftsDirect, Golden Moments, things like that.)
You can imagine the shock Brian had when EIGHT HUNDRED vouchers were sold in TWO days!!
It's already been mentioned the amount of actual flying it will take to "fly off" these vouchers, let alone keep normal business up and running.
Assuming that their aircraft have a similar maintenance schedule to light helicopters, they need maintenance every 50 flight hours, with a more intense inspection every 100 flying hours. They have to find days for that, and it might be a day where the weather is good enough to fly!

I think the fact the Brian has made an account on boards, to try calm the situation shows he cares about ALL his customers. I don't think any business sets out to anger anybody, so I personally am giving Brian the benefit of the doubt.

My father recently flew with flightwise, on a LS voucher, and he was treated 100%, and enjoyed it. I understand No.Username may be furious, and it makes sense; but my experience was quite good!

I will admit, that I have met Brian in person more than once: but I feel the arguments in this post state facts, rather than a bias OPINION.

No.username

Surely Brian should have done some research before going ahead with the living social deal. Anybody with half a head on their shoulders will realise that offering flying lessons for as little as €47 is going to attract a lot of customers.

Im not aware if living social allows a company to cap the number of vouchers sold, but flightw*se should have either capped the numbers or chosen to be a midweek special, rather than a 3 day weeken special, the fact they didnt, is in my eyes pure greed!

The arguement of weather, maintenance and closed airspace stopping the lessons should have been accounted for when going ahead with this deal and having the balls to put an expiry date on the voucher. But it is very kind of flightw*se changing the "voucher reedem" expiry date to a "must book before" expiry date, very kind indeed!

To be honest the thing that really boiled my blood and drove me to write on boards.ie was brian's communication skills and the lies he told me. I was told send an email with dates im available and i would receive a text message within 2 days confirming a booking. Needless to say i never got a text! Numerous calls went to voicemail which i left my name and number but got no return phonecall, when i finally did get through to brian he assured me my date would be confirmed that day..... 3 months later still nothing so i got a refund. If he had just been honest with me and told me that i wasnt going to get my lesson in the near future, i would have said fair enough and got a refund, instead i was told lie after lie after lie.

Naked Lepper

brian higgins wrote: »

Hi All,

I have recently had this thread brought to my attention and feel the need to put the record straight.800 vouchers sold last February and 400 redeemed so far currently 2/300 being procesed split is a 50/50 30min and 1 hr inclusive of briefing. Living Social customers are customers and not second class citizens as stated by one blogger.A little understanding of the aviation world is required to explain why it takes time to process a booking. Weather, routine maintenance,flight safety considerations together with circumstances outside of our control such as state visits resulting in Ireland being a no fly zone for 6 days this summer create challenges to which we have risen admirably.The majority of voucher redemptions have arisen in the last month 4 weeks prior to expiry despite the initial sale date having been 5 months ago. With the best will in the world to meet that expectation you would require a fleet of 30 aircraft flying 8am to 8pm for the 4 week period with no downtime due to weather or maintenance not withstanding statutory rest periods for the flight instructors. All calls to the contact number are answered by a real person and relevent data collected and the booking request is queued. The lead time has slipped due to the recent bubble. Alll customers should rest assured that once their call to book has been logged on or before midnight on 6/8/11 their fligh is guaranteed even if they don't want to fly until next year and you can quote me on that. Our business is focused on introducing people to the wonderful world of flight and ensuring that the experience is memorable and fun while maintaining the highest standards in training,safety and product quality.
Look forward to flying off the remaining vouchers and introducing another 400 people to the world of flight.

Continued safe flying.

Yours sincerely, Brian Higgins General Manager Flightwise

Finally a reply - I sent so many e-mails and never heard back.

How can I get a refund? At this point I just want my money back and am really disappointed with the terrible service, not your fault I suppose but I just want my money back now.

Should i knock up to you in person or what? I have all the emails that I sent to you saved in case flightwise try to say no refunds.

I dont know much consumer rights but can find out, im not interested in chasing you any more. It was a gift but now I just want the cash back for it. What a waste of time - could have went to so many other various flight schools and booked a lesson straight away.

Next time maybe it would be a good idea to not completely overbook yourselves so that you cannot run operations? You dont see ryanair selling 5000 tickets for one flight, or the aviva selling 500,000 tickets?

Please reply here if youre not going to reply to my e-mail. thanks.

111M

The truth finally comes out, that lamp No. username is part of NFC. They spend their time bad mouthing everybody. With an attitude like his I hope for everybodys sake he is never put in charge of any aircraft.

No.username

111M wrote: »

The truth finally comes out, that lamp No. username is part of NFC. They spend their time bad mouthing everybody. With an attitude like his I hope for everybodys sake he is never put in charge of any aircraft.

Haha you make me laugh! By "part of NFC" you mean that i train there, then yes your correct how did you figure that one out you moran?? Was it the fact that i mentioned im training there???

So is it just my attitude that caused you to register with boards TODAY, or is it the attitude of other posters that had the exact same problem?

Since your making assumptions about me and my relationship with NFC, which is nothing more than student/fto relationship, can i make a bold guess and say that you or someone you know works in Flightw*se and asked you to give them some back up on this thread! And until today you had never heard of boards!! Or was it just a coincidence you registered today and just came across this thread.

Naked Lepper

111M wrote: »

The truth finally comes out, that lamp No. username is part of NFC. They spend their time bad mouthing everybody. With an attitude like his I hope for everybodys sake he is never put in charge of any aircraft.

Hi there

Are you part of flightwise? If so please please please let me know how I can get my 100 euro back! PLEASE!!

No.username

Naked Lepper wrote: »

Hi there

Are you part of flightwise? If so please please please let me know how I can get my 100 euro back! PLEASE!!

Naked, did you book through living social? If so it is them that you contact to recieve the refund. Thats how i went about it!

If you booked direct through the school, your best bet would to arrive at the reception.

andy_g

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