Airline/Airport/Travel questions and queries

jackinthemix94 · 07-02-2017 7:29pm

Locker10a wrote: »

In my experience both products are very similar, on this particular route EI use larger and in many opinions more comfortable aircraft, this is a matter of personal preference with seating etc.

In the past two or three years Delta have upgraded the aircraft - service, food etc is definitely superior to EI - I've done both within the past 12 months to NY.

But on this route you may be right, the 757 is never great transatlantic

.

Blut2 · 08-02-2017 12:29pm

Delta also have far worse customer service. When I flew DUB>JFK return with them recently they weren't assigning seats on either leg of the journey until after arrival at the boarding gate, which just causes so much unnecessary hassle if traveling in a group. Everything is aimed to push economy passengers to upgrade to economy+.

helimachoptor · 08-02-2017 12:44pm

I see that Norwegian will shortly release prices for the Cork-US routes, anyone hazard a guess as to what their return prices will be?

The_Wanderer · 08-02-2017 12:47pm

I've never had any issues with EI going across the pond.

I always found the service to very good, either sitting up front or down the back (most of the time).

roundymac · 09-02-2017 4:36pm

Delta serve pizza and ice cream as a half way snack, very nice too.:D

Conflats · 09-02-2017 4:58pm

roundymac wrote:

Delta serve pizza and ice cream as a half way snack, very nice too.

Do they only do it on certain routes? I flew to ATL with them last October and back from jfk and while ice cream was served there was no pizza ðŸ˜¯. We got a toasted sandwich late on in the flight though

denis halpenny · 10-02-2017 10:49am

just a random question,how come the likes of italair,tap air,belguim airlines,polish airlines etc dont fly into dublin?im sure there would be plenty of buisness for them all.

Locker10a · 10-02-2017 11:07am

denis halpenny wrote: »

just a random question,how come the likes of italair,tap air,belguim airlines,polish airlines etc dont fly into dublin?im sure there would be plenty of buisness for them all.

Many used to but couldn't maintain profitability flights against giants Ryanair and Aer Lingus who offer low fare competition

denis halpenny · 10-02-2017 11:17am

i see well thank you for that.

joeysoap · 10-02-2017 11:06pm

Locker10a wrote: »

If I was you I'd still check in the 30hrs before and select the free seat. Turn up to the airport, Mobile boarding pass ready to go, approach security and ask a member of staff if it's ok to use (don't mention what the EI website says) just play dumb!
Worst case scanario you're turned away and have to go to the desk! But the benefit of this is at the desk they will only be "reprinting" your boarding passes, and thus you will still have the seats you selected.
If the EI mobile app simply doesn't allow you check in for FAO at all, then proceed on their main website checkin, select seat, and just print from the desk, again requesting a "reprint" from airport staff.
I've done this many times with no issues and take about 30 seconds at the desk

Just for information, Al do not have mobile boarding at Faro, you either buy a seat in advance, find an Internet cafe with a printer or just plain queue up and get allocated a seat. I did the latter and got 4D (another bug bear of mine, when you check in on line you are charged for the front 6? Rows, turn up at the airport and they are the ones nearly always allocated.) Turned out there was passengers in 4 E and F but nobody in 4A, B or C so I just indicated to the CC that I was going to 4C and she replied that was grand.

Locker10a · 11-02-2017 1:04am

joeysoap wrote: »

Locker10a wrote: »

If I was you I'd still check in the 30hrs before and select the free seat. Turn up to the airport, Mobile boarding pass ready to go, approach security and ask a member of staff if it's ok to use (don't mention what the EI website says) just play dumb!
Worst case scanario you're turned away and have to go to the desk! But the benefit of this is at the desk they will only be "reprinting" your boarding passes, and thus you will still have the seats you selected.
If the EI mobile app simply doesn't allow you check in for FAO at all, then proceed on their main website checkin, select seat, and just print from the desk, again requesting a "reprint" from airport staff.
I've done this many times with no issues and take about 30 seconds at the desk

Just for information, Al do not have mobile boarding at Faro, you either buy a seat in advance, find an Internet cafe with a printer or just plain queue up and get allocated a seat. I did the latter and got 4D (another bug bear of mine, when you check in on line you are charged for the front 6? Rows, turn up at the airport and they are the ones nearly always allocated.) Turned out there was passengers in 4 E and F but nobody in 4A, B or C so I just indicated to the CC that I was going to 4C and she replied that was grand.

I think you just missed my point, If like suspected mobile boarding pass wasn't allowed my advice was to check in online on the desktop site, but just don't print the boarding pass(unless you have access to a printer), this way you still have to que but get to select your seats(as the check in agent will just reprint the seats you've chosen online), it works well if you're fussy about having a window/aisle seat etc or want to ensure your group are together.
Airlines always keep a certain number of seats for airport check in so to sort out any seat reassignment issue that may occur with PRMs, separated families, aircraft changes etc. and you're correct that the "choice" seats if not sold are often available at check in on full or busy flights.
You may also notice with EI the never allow you to select row 10 and 24 when choosing seats as these are the Exit rows for the A321, so if the aircraft gets upgraded closer to the flight the exit row(extra legroom) passengers can be accommodated in these rows and also this prevents families with children etc. having to be moved .

joeysoap · 11-02-2017 1:50am

Thanks Locker 10a, I got your point alright, I was solo and just decided that as the flight was going to be nowhere near full, and as I had to join the queue anyway why even bother checking in, got to airport around 4.30 and AL had 3 check in desks open, no passengers at any them, two ladies chatting away to each other and the guy called me to his desk (with gold circle or something like that on the overhead display) and he issued the ticket in 1 min flat, didn't have to show booking, just passport. Aircraft was DER showing bit of wear, nothing serious, overhead light not working and tray in front wouldn't sit down properly. Lovely flight though, departed only a few mins late and arrived 30 mins early. I take your points about keeping a few seats , but both AL AND RY discourage anyone who actually books a seat from booking the 'choice' seats by making them overly expensive, and then in case of AL they give them away free at the airport to the very passengers they should be encouraging to check in online and in the case of RY it's well documented the later you checkin online the better chance you have of getting one of their 'choice' seats. In a busier period I would definitely do it your way though. Cheers

billie1b · 11-02-2017 12:21pm

Locker10a wrote: »

Many used to but couldn't maintain profitability flights against giants Ryanair and Aer Lingus who offer low fare competition

I'm hardly surprised when you could get a return flight with FR/EI to Poland for €100 odd, with LOT it was nearly 4 times the price

Locker10a · 11-02-2017 12:50pm

billie1b wrote: »

Locker10a wrote: »

Many used to but couldn't maintain profitability flights against giants Ryanair and Aer Lingus who offer low fare competition

I'm hardly surprised when you could get a return flight with FR/EI to Poland for €100 odd, with LOT it was nearly 4 times the price

There are many legacy airlines serving dublin, who offer all the frills, however LOT could sustain Dublin flights as its mainly a point to point market and at that one with very low yields, Lufthansa, Swiss etc offer flights that can firstly connect to their huge long haul markets, and secondly serve markets that attract a lot of business passengers withe corporate expenses etc and thus theres a higher yield

NORWOOD1 · 11-02-2017 2:08pm

Hi all

I am flying Air France premium economy from CDG to SIN in April. Just wondering if anyone has flown with Air France and what the seats are like for sleeping on the 12 hour flight?

Thanks

VG31 · 11-02-2017 3:57pm

Locker10a wrote: »

There are many legacy airlines serving dublin, who offer all the frills, however LOT could sustain Dublin flights as its mainly a point to point market and at that one with very low yields, Lufthansa, Swiss etc offer flights that can firstly connect to their huge long haul markets, and secondly serve markets that attract a lot of business passengers withe corporate expenses etc and thus theres a higher yield

I can see why the likes of LOT, Brussels Airlines and TAP Portugal don't fly here but I think Austrian Airlines could do well here. Only Aer Lingus fly to Vienna and Austrian have lots of long-haul connections as well.

11-02-2017 4:22pm

VG31 wrote: »

I can see why the likes of LOT, Brussels Airlines and TAP Portugal don't fly here but I think Austrian Airlines could do well here. Only Aer Lingus fly to Vienna and Austrian have lots of long-haul connections as well.

Ramp rumour has it Brussels Airlines to fly here during the summer, nothing has developed since I heard about it a month ago.

Marcusm · 11-02-2017 5:00pm

VG31 wrote: »

I can see why the likes of LOT, Brussels Airlines and TAP Portugal don't fly here but I think Austrian Airlines could do well here. Only Aer Lingus fly to Vienna and Austrian have lots of long-haul connections as well.

So too does Austrian's parent, Lufthansa. I doubt the decision would be made on a standalone basis. Perhaps their view is that the additional connecting traffic can be dealt with already.

Marcusm · 11-02-2017 5:05pm

6-7 inches more legroom and a fixed shell seat so that the seat in front slides rather than reclines into you. Fixed armrests too, I believe. More space, fewer seats etc but sleep will be as noise dependent as any cabin.

embraer170 · 11-02-2017 5:41pm

Deleted User wrote: »

Ramp rumour has it Brussels Airlines to fly here during the summer, nothing has developed since I heard about it a month ago.

Their Belfast attempt didn't exactly work out.

kevinandrew · 11-02-2017 6:56pm

I actually got to try out their Premium Economy yesterday, unfortunately it was just a short hop from London to Paris on their 787 Dreamliner but it gave me a good idea of what to expect on a longer flight.

The seat itself feels very 'premium' being in its own shell with additional stowage, power outlets, USB charging, noise cancelling headphones and a very large personal screen. The seat itself doesn't recline in the traditional way, it slides forwards and down into its own shell which I don't find particularly comfortable but it does mean the seat in front of you never reclines into your personal space. I'm guessing your flight will be operated by a 777-300ER so the configuration will be a 2-4-2 layout, pick a window or aisle seat and the feeling of additional space will be increased.

I travelled in World Traveller Plus with British Airways to New York last year, the Air France seat has them beat in almost every category, the only thing better with British Airways was the fact it was one of their 747s with old style cushioning.

Chris_5339762 · 12-02-2017 10:36am

Deleted User wrote: »

Ramp rumour has it Brussels Airlines to fly here during the summer, nothing has developed since I heard about it a month ago.

Then you have Brussels Airlines, Aer Lingus AND Ryanair all on the same route, and I reckon you'd be hard pushed to find enough demand.

Donegal Storm · 12-02-2017 11:17am

Hey guys, I'm planning on flying Singapore to Dublin economy over the summer and just checking prices at the moment, I usually fly with Etihad but with Qatar starting up over the summer I'd be interested in giving them a try. Prices are broadly similar so just wondering if anyone has tried both and which they prefer? Also what's Doha airport like compared to Abu Dhabi?

As far as I can tell, Qatar will be a 3-3-3 layout in both flights which is leaning me towards them as I'm not a fan of the 3-4-3 on the Dublin flight with Etihad.

Thanks

L1011 · 12-02-2017 2:56pm

SN at least have some interesting connection options (Africa); but I wouldn't think there's huge demand for them.

Locker10a · 12-02-2017 6:30pm

L1011 wrote: »

SN at least have some interesting connection options (Africa); but I wouldn't think there's huge demand for them.

The logical solution would be a codeshare with EI if they wanted to offer Ireland-Africa connections

Shannon757 · 12-02-2017 8:17pm

kevinandrew wrote: »

I actually got to try out their Premium Economy yesterday, unfortunately it was just a short hop from London to Paris on their 787 Dreamliner but it gave me a good idea of what to expect on a longer flight.

They have Dreamliners flying from Paris to London?

conor_ie · 12-02-2017 10:41pm

Shannon757 wrote: »

They have Dreamliners flying from Paris to London?

Probably just introducing it on short routes so cabin crew get used to it before it's put on the longer sectors...

P_1 · 12-02-2017 10:42pm

Just a quick one. Are you still allowed to take shaving kit in hand luggage these days?

JCX BXC · 12-02-2017 10:42pm

P_1 wrote: »

Just a quick one. Are you still allowed to take shaving kit in hand luggage these days?

As long as you've no liquids above 100ml you're fine.

Pat Dunne · 12-02-2017 11:48pm

P_1 wrote: »

Just a quick one. Are you still allowed to take shaving kit in hand luggage these days?

Yes, you can bring a standard style razor (Gillette, Wilkinson Sword etc) in your carry on bag or checked in luggage.

Captain_Crash · 13-02-2017 9:19am

Donegal Storm wrote: »

Qatar will be a 3-3-3 layout in both flights which is leaning me towards them as I'm not a fan of the 3-4-3 on the Dublin flight with Etihad.

By the time the summer comes around, EY should be back to double daily on the A332 to DUB so you will have 2-4-2 seating to contend with. EY are top notch and id recommend them to anyone for a long haul trip, I've never flown QR but I have heard they are also very good and new airport in Doha is excellent.

Donegal Storm · 14-02-2017 8:34am

Thanks, I wasn't aware of that. I've always been happy with Etihad though Abu Dhabi airport can be awful when it's busy. Better than Dubai at least but Doha from what I've just been reading is a brand new airport so should be nicer.

I might give it another month and just go with the cheapest option then

schemingbohemia · 14-02-2017 3:00pm

Not sure I'm posting in the right area. Mods please move if needs be.

My folks were delayed more than 3 hours on a Ryanair flight from Nice to Dublin on 3rd February, due to leave at 2100 left after 0000. They were told locally it was a technical issue and that someone was being flown from Stansted to fix the issue.
However, lo and behold, when they made their claim to Ryanair it turns out to have been an electrical storm that caused the delay so no compensation payable.
Can anyone confirm if electrical storms on that date caused delays to other aircraft? Doesn't seem to have effected the flight from Stansted to Nice with the engineer on board. Anyone able to direct me somewhere where i'd find this information?

Fred Swanson · 14-02-2017 3:27pm

This post has been deleted.

Donegal Storm · 14-02-2017 3:38pm

There was however a fairly large thunderstorm just off shore around that time..

schemingbohemia · 14-02-2017 4:16pm

Is that midnight in the map? Flight time was supposed to be 2100 local time. Would flight take off towards sea or stay above land? If as Fred says other flights were arriving and departing without issue surely that should help the claim?

Fred Swanson · 14-02-2017 4:19pm

This post has been deleted.

billie1b · 14-02-2017 4:35pm

Supposedly the inbound flight was struck by lightening on approach, had to await engineer to sign it off for its return.

schemingbohemia · 14-02-2017 4:38pm

billie1b wrote: »

Supposedly the inbound flight was struck by lightening on approach, had to await engineer to sign it off for its return.

But is that not Ryanair's fault for not having a more locally based engineer? I know the whole system would probably fall apart if that was required but it was actually the location of the Engineer that caused the delay (Stansted) rather than the lightning itself?

I know I'm clutching at straws here.......

billie1b · 14-02-2017 4:56pm

schemingbohemia wrote: »

But is that not Ryanair's fault for not having a more locally based engineer? I know the whole system would probably fall apart if that was required but it was actually the location of the Engineer that caused the delay (Stansted) rather than the lightning itself?

I know I'm clutching at straws here.......

Well you could also look at it the way the airlines would and say that it's not their fault that mother nature struck the aircraft with lightening, they all have so many different ways and loop holes out of things.
My flight with a different airline a couple of weeks ago was canx altogether with short notice and we're supposedly not entitled to any compensation for it. The best thing to do is contact the companies who handle delayed/cancelled flights compensation and they'll look into it for you, they'd know better

colbarr · 14-02-2017 10:45pm

Do pilots lose out on flying hours if they arrive early and vice versa if they're delayed?

Locker10a · 14-02-2017 11:00pm

colbarr wrote: »

Do pilots lose out on flying hours if they arrive early and vice versa if they're delayed?

I don't really understand what you mean? Could you explain more?

Tenger · 14-02-2017 11:55pm

colbarr wrote: »

Do pilots lose out on flying hours if they arrive early and vice versa if they're delayed?

It would depend on the airline working conditions.
Flight crew are paid a salary, rather than paid by the hour. However their actual flight hours (called block hours) are calculated very closely. This is the time from aircraft pushback until arrival onstand. This is a big indicator of seniority and experience over a pilots career. EG. "7500 hrs on type"
Whether they are early or late on a given day might have an impact on some sort of internal company productivity payment. But they dont have a massive impact on that. They can do their best to shorten turnarounds and liase with ground crew and cabin crew but often its up to the weather/tech/ATC/airport/tow truck Gods to let you be early, on-time or late!

colbarr · 15-02-2017 1:18am

I'm not talking about the money side of things. I'm wondering about the block hours. What do you mean by they're "calculated very closely"?

My train of thought here is that a first officer who is, say, 20 hours away from having the required hours to be promoted to captain might spend the next two weeks accidentally delaying a flight to gain hours.

But on the flipside, a pilot who is very efficient with their time management, or get stuck in a massive tailwind on a regular basis might lose out on hours as a result.

What are the general rules regarding this sort of thing?

smurfjed · 15-02-2017 4:37am

@colbarr, its just a case of tough luck, hours are from block out to block in, if a specific flight takes longer or shorter than average there is nothing that you can do about it.
However from a money point of view, in some airlines crews are paid salaries and additional block hours, credit hours, overtime and productivity payments, we have had a few cases of people releasing the parking brake early or setting it late in order to gain a few minutes per flight , this rapidly adds up when doing 4 flights a day, once the company had proof of their actions, they were warned then fired.

Donegal Storm · 15-02-2017 5:49am

schemingbohemia wrote: »

Is that midnight in the map? Flight time was supposed to be 2100 local time. Would flight take off towards sea or stay above land? If as Fred says other flights were arriving and departing without issue surely that should help the claim?

It's a 12 hour accumulation from 12pm to 12am, most of the strikes offshore are between 6pm and 9pm. Can't answer your other questions sorry

joeysoap · 15-02-2017 8:00pm

schemingbohemia wrote: »

But is that not Ryanair's fault for not having a more locally based engineer? I know the whole system would probably fall apart if that was required but it was actually the location of the Engineer that caused the delay (Stansted) rather than the lightning itself?

I know I'm clutching at straws here.......

Maybe try putting in the flight no here and see what they come up with?

https://myflightdelayed.com/

Fred Swanson · 15-02-2017 8:07pm

This post has been deleted.

martinsvi · 16-02-2017 4:39pm

schemingbohemia wrote: »

Not sure I'm posting in the right area. Mods please move if needs be.

My folks were delayed more than 3 hours on a Ryanair flight from Nice to Dublin on 3rd February, due to leave at 2100 left after 0000. They were told locally it was a technical issue and that someone was being flown from Stansted to fix the issue.
However, lo and behold, when they made their claim to Ryanair it turns out to have been an electrical storm that caused the delay so no compensation payable.
Can anyone confirm if electrical storms on that date caused delays to other aircraft? Doesn't seem to have effected the flight from Stansted to Nice with the engineer on board. Anyone able to direct me somewhere where i'd find this information?

If the airline is using the extraordinary circumstances clause, it's them who have to provide evidence that this was indeed the case

here are some of the relevant judgments http://ec.europa.eu/transport/sites/transport/files/themes/passengers/air/doc/2015-summary-of-the-most-relevant-ecj-judgements.pdf

"An airline can be exempted compensation in case of a long delay or a cancellation if it can prove extraordinary circumstances. The ECJ clarified that a technical problem which comes to light during aircraft maintenance or is caused by failure to maintain an aircraft cannot be regarded as “extraordinary circumstances”. Moreover, the fact that an air carrier has complied with the minimum rules on maintenance of an aircraft cannot in itself suffice to establish that that carrier has taken all reasonable measures to relieve that air carrier ofits obligation to pay compensation.
Case C-549/07 (Wallentin-Hermann) "

If you look further, generally courts tend to agree that aircraft breakdowns are not extraordinary and lighting strikes are to be expected if you poke skies with a shiny metal tube:

"Judge Melissa Clarke ruled in favour of two passengers in an appeal case against Monarch Airlines at Reading County Court. The passengers, Michael Evans and his partner Julie Lee, were awarded €600 (£450) each for a five-hour flight delay.
In this case, Monarch did not have spare aircraft available at Gatwick or Hurghada so passengers had to wait for the plane that had been struck by lightning to be checked in Gatwick

Monarch tried to argue that this should have been considered an 'unexpected flight safety shortcoming', which is one of the events the regulations state might be an extraordinary circumstance.

But Her Honour Judge Melissa Clarke ruled: "Damage caused by a lightning strike may well be an unexpected flight safety shortcoming, but that does not make it an exceptional circumstance [...]an unexpected flight safety shortcoming is only an exceptional circumstance if it is not inherent within the normal exercise of the carrier's activity"

vicwatson · 27-02-2017 6:21pm

Is this aircraft registered in Ireland ?? If so why, how? Is obviously legit. I'm basing the question as the registration begins EI?

"LIVE First commercial flight for Alitalia Boeing 777-200 (EI-FNI) operating #AZ784 from Rome to Tokyo"

Airline/Airport/Travel questions and queries

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