DigitalGhost

No worries. I actually flew to the Canary Islands as well on a charter flight with them once. It was around 4am and everyone was asleep on the plane including quite a few little kids but the flight attendants still felt the need to wake everyone up by playing an advertisement for their duty free services over the loud speaker. Never again.

Saying that though, when I connected between Japan and Korea recently it was with United Airlines and that reminded me of how internal flights in North America aren't all that much better. Oh how I missed the delight that is SkyMall magazine.

Sam-in-Okotoks

I got this email from Moneycorp today, I don't know much about it but it might save somebody some money. It looks like they have arranged a discount with Air Canada for their Customers. The way I read it, you only need to be registered with Moneycorp to get the discount and it's free to register.

Finally fantastic news – Air Canada deal has been secured and its all systems go. They are offering Moneycorp clients up to 10% discount. It works in a similar way to our Qantas deal i.e. it is aimed at emigration clients, therefore it is only a UK initiative. This means the start location can only be London Heathrow, however the flight discounts are not limited to migrant one way flights. This means clients going on holiday or going over on an inspection trip will be able to book return flights. Once a client is registered and requests the Air Canada deal, we will send them a unique Moneycorp promotional code which they will then input online.

Sam

LinsyPinsy

linz
Me too, as booked the tickets with canadian affair 2 days ago...phew
linsy

james_smith99

they used thomas cook, but seeing as plenty of others thought they were ok i'd go with the majority view. it was all stupid stuff that annoyed us. you had to pay for their cr@ppy headphones, half the films were only available to premium economy and i think you had to pay for drinks and things like that. i know the tickets are cheaper than ba and ac, but that doesn't make them cheap. charge me the extra £20 and then give me a couple of drinks and some headphones and i'll feel like a customer and not cargo

....mind you, i'm glad it wasn't globespan. if everyone thought they were much worse, god knows what 10 hours with them would have felt like !!

Aviator

You get what you pay for. If you want the frills take BA or AC. The only way fares are kept down is to reduce costs. If you want to pay the extra £20 when others don't, you could use that for your drinks and headset (or take your own headset as many do). Pax are self loading cargo by the way.

james_smith99

so by that logic, for every product or service, you have two options. you can pay for the premium product and expect the best or you pay less and they can do what they like ?? what would we fill internet forums up with if everyone felt that way !!

the sole reason they treat you like rubbish in economy is thats the carrot (and the stick i suppose) to make you want to upgrade to premium economy. its nothing to do with them keeping their costs down, its solely so they can differentiate between the products they can offer. its hard for airlines to show any value in the different levels of service they offer, do you think there'd be a business class if business people bought their own tickets?, so this is what they've got. if they could get away with throwing the economy passengers out at 500 feet they'd do it. they can't so ropey headphones is all they've got to torment us with !!!

Aviator

Not sure where you learned your airline economics, but you are a bit off course old boy.

Any company can do what they like for any reason so long as it is within the bounds of the regulations. Market forces will sort out if it works or not. If you are dissatisfied with the product or service, don't use it. If enough people don't use it or buy it, it will change or they go under.

Many people pay their own fares in business and first class, that's why they exist. These days few businesses are paying for their employees to travel anything but economy. If you don't like the headset, bring your own, if you think you may get thrown out, pack your own parachute, as they're extra

james_smith99

exactly !!

Siouxie

I would suggest Air Transat.

Direct flight (non-stop) Gatwick to Vancouver

June 18th 2010 (example)

Single ticket £239


www.airtransat.co.uk

farjojo71

I flew with Thomas Cook last month, booked through Canadian Affair into Calgary and they were fine. I'm booking with them again for flights in May. HTH

lmartin999

To be honest any airline flying between UK and Canada is going to be fine - they are going to get you from A to B safely. Beyond the obvious considerations of convenience there are only a few things to consider when you choose (some more important than others):

1. How much are you prepared to pay for additional amenities and services on board?

2. Bad weather. Aircraft going mechanical etc. Although there is no guarantee - it is likely that a scheduled airline is going to deal with irregular operations and/or aircraft breaking down much better and quicker than a charter. Most charters use the same aircraft back and forth between two fixed points. If the plane breaks in Calgary, then it will affect flights from London the next day etc. AC, for example, is much more able to work around this as it has more planes to shift around and re-schedule. (This often happens at LHR where there are a lot of planes all on the ground in the early am and most flights to CAN leave in the pm). Also, if flights are cancelled they have additional flights on which to put pax etc. These kind of things for me are significant.

3. Frequent flyer programs. Don't overlook these. Even a modest amount of flying, coupled with a carefully chosen credit card and other services can add up to a lot of miles quickly. There are lots of ways, for example, to earn Aeroplan miles, and they are more usable than people often claim! This year I will have had 4 return trips to Cancun in business class virtually free. Also, it doesn't take a huge amount of flying to get status with an airline and start to enjoy benefits like priority check-in, lounge access, extra luggage allowance and of course free upgrades.

I fly exclusively with Air Canada and Star Alliance. Maybe I pay a bit more here and there, but the things listed above make it well worth it for me. Worth thinking about before always looking for the absolute cheapest option IMO.

Cdnshaz

Aeroplan is how we got our exec class to Toronto in March, one way, you still pay taxes but still cheaper. Keep in mind that charters you get one suitcase, is that enough when you are moving permentley? Unfortunately AC now only allow one suitcase as well, and 50 bucks for each additional suitcase, if you are over on charters it's like 10 quid a kilo.....
Scheduled flights are less likely to cancel and won't if only a few on board, charters usually will cancel if not a full flight.
Just something to think about when you are making a decision.

Yelkcub

& with BA (if they are not on strike!!) you can fly from LHR Terminal 5 which is the least stressful airport experience I have every had in the UK - that is worth a few quid in itself!!

mjwalker007

You wouldnt be saying that if you were there Wednesday and Thursday ......It was utter chaos !! Our Flight back on Wednesday was completely cancelled ( along with around 14-15 other BA Flights) Had to wait in a line for over 3 hours to rebook for a flight on Thursday, when we got to the airport Thursday, due to the chaos the previous day, it took us over 4 hours to get through the bag drop and security , and then when we eventually got on the plane , we had to sit on the tarmac for 4 hours until they found someone to de-ice the wings and push the plane back !! possibly the worst and most stressful experience travelling Ive ever had especially with a 6 and 1 year old in tow !!...................................all because the U.K falls apart when there is 1 inch of snow !!!

dbd33

Hmmm. Where to start?

I was on a plane into Washington DC, the runaway along the river. There was a crashed plane laying in the water, a famous crash at the time, there were still bodies on the plane. We blew a tyre and skidded sideways.

I was on a plane into Toronto that got stuck in a snow drift. After hours of fetching various tow trucks to no avail we climbed out on to the tarmac, wandered the streets of Mississauga for a bit and then tried to reclaim our baggage from the wrong side of the customs.

I was on a plane into La Guardia, we had to turn back because, as we flew, several other planes were hijacked and crashed into buildings.

I hitched a ride in a car. It seemed to be going well but then it became apparent that things were expected of me I wasn't willing to do.

I was robbed and so obliged to telephone American Express and have them send me a new credit card as a matter of urgency.

My rental car sank into the Great Salt Lake.

I won a nine ball game against the girlfriend of a large Columbian in Reno and got a rib broken for my trouble.

I was in the Home Depot in Manassass VA when some nutter shot random people in car park.

Oh, oh, wait I have something comparable. I was on the subway and it stopped in a tunnel. The lights went out. I gasped. Then it started again.