Jetairfly/TUI fly in 2016

[Stij]

Welcome GlennOST!

[Passenger]

JetairFly / TUI on Facebook is a poor example of how not to handle your customers ! When respond / question, expect a generic answer that only can come from somebody at a call center in Oostende with NO aviation background. When questioning to much, your posts are removed. Feedback can make you better as a company, and should not be pinned to a wall at any office to be used as laughingstock. Point i try to make that TUI Fly / JetairFly is a dominant player at OST and it shows. Deals can be found, but in general prices are extremely high (Much higher compared to BRU). We ar not talking about 29 euro deals here, no airline can survive on that. But often it's cheaper to fly (for example) from BRU to the USA compared to OST - LPA. A FAIR price is often hard to fiend !

Ryanair had to improve it's product in order to grow, TUI keeps downgrading it's service and upping it's prices and charging for extra's. But TUI flY is not a real airline anyway, it's used as a tool to offer you a "pakkage holiday". TUI's interest is double, fly and fill the hotels they have a contract with. Andy only when the demand is low you can book a cheap flight only (last minute), it's much harder to fiend that Fair price ! The last 12 month's i have flown Ryanair one time, not my favourite but service improved a lot. The last 3 flights and the next 2 are on Brussels Airlines, not the best but a big step up compared to TUI. Can only hope more people follow that example so that TUI would stop squeeze the lemon that bad and improve it's product.

Can you tell us what exactly they did wrong to you? Apparently, the only thing they do wrong, is not explaining you why they don't offer cheap last minute flights during high season. Or perhaps they don't offer you a cheap deal on specific dates you want in September? Change your travel dates and you easily find a return Ostend-Barcelona for 120 € return, luggage 20 kg p/p included. Fair deal actually.

And what is wrong when an airline that is owned by a touroperator, prefers to sell travel packages during peak season, i.s.o. tickets only?

[Sonho1985]

Someone has a clue what the Comfort Class on their 767 (currently it is an ex-Arkefly bird) looks like?
I only find some info and pics about the C-class on the 787, which looks quite nice for a charter company and they are promoting it. For the 767 on the other hand, no info at all is given about the comfort in the cabins.

I am planning a trip with the kids to the theme parks in Orlando and want to know if it is worth to pay the extra cost or not. Is it a real premium cabin or just the same seats as in Y-class with a few centimeters extra leg room?

[GlennOST]

Exactly Passenger, it boils down to communication / the lack of it.
If you want "the good news show" on your Facebook page, please don't allow clients to comment.
Listen and take constructive conversation serious. Maybe sent a PM, why not call and talk.

Now about pricing, yes you can get deals !. But the point is a "fair" price the rest of the year, not only during peak season but year round !.

A example, for my last 5 flights the price from OST was always the highest compared Brussels, and we are not talking a few euro's here Double / triple.
That is not a fair price (i'm not a cheapest deal searcher) that is greed, and greedy you can be when competition is lacking, as it does in OST.
TUI is the dominant player in OST and using that pretty good.

Would you consider 300-450 euro a fair price (OST-LPA) with a stopover in TFS/LGG and paying for checked bags on top when you can fly direct from Brussels for 1/3 that price ?.
For real.... when traveling with 3-4 it's simple to do the maths, the difference is a lot of money !.

Any post on FB is answered in the same manner "We offer the best price, we offer 29 euro deals, keep searching". When customers team up it results in Delete, delete, delete !.

I live close to OST and it takes a drive to BRU but you know what !.
It is still cheaper to book a flight from BRU and book a hotel Sleep, park and fly deal (Novotel / Van der Valk ) compared to a single flight on TUI from OST and you still save money !.

So on a positive note, my vacations last a day longer in a Brussels hotel, my car is parked save, and i can go discover the city (Leuven/Brussels/...) and all payed with the price difference between OST and BRU.

Flying on Brussels Airlines and even Ryanair's new customer friendly service is a added bonus.

The new TUI Fly = a copy cat of the old Ryanair product... just add a few 1 euro tickets

[convair]

I know it can be very frustrating, but this is the most basic law of commerce: offer vs demand.

[GlennOST]

Exactly the opposite Convair, Free market conditions don't apply when competition is not present !.

Maybe a tough for Brussels Airlines, at present 2 weekly flights from BRU to LPA en TFS could be turned in daily flights.

BRU - OST - LPA / BRU - LGG - LPA, even in a mix with TFS, BRU - OST - TFS / BRU - LGG - TFS

Extra stop, yes but so does TUI, it would create more competition but especially a higher frequency so more options for the Brussels Air customer !. Also a smooth move to get into the regional airports without much risk.

[convair]

Exactly the opposite Convair, Free market conditions don't apply when competition is not present !.

In this case, the offer is (much) lower than the demand, hence the high prices: perfect example of the offer vs demand law as I said hereabove. And the competition is free to come in...

[GlennOST]

In this case price doesn't reflect the demand !. It is a artificial high price that can be asked because market domination in OST.

There is a big difference in average pricing compared between OST / BRU / CRL

As you (assumption) work in aviation you know that you don't always need a full aircraft to make profit !.

A "real" airline would try to keep you as a returning customer, maybe even has a loyalty program.

At TUI Fly your welcome as a customer to buy a "ticket only" when it suits them (those 29 euro deals).
In fact those 29 euro deals are often only to be booked one way, the return is overpriced (OST).

The discussion I had with TUI was not about promo pricing but about "fair" pricing, so NOT the lowest price.

You can be the dominant player and charge more (why not i would do the same), and still have a business model where you think in the long run.
In this case greed takes over reflection in artificial high pricing.

The Facebook page is showing that more and more people using this airport (OST) are complaining.
You can just as TUI Fly does push the delete button but you can also focus on return clientele.

These are the people traveling multiple times a year, a customer that a company desperately wants and tries to keep.

Yes competition can come in, and customers can walk away... You can expect my first trip report on Brussels Airlines in the next few weeks

[Poiu]

It's called a monopoly!
JAF. Would be stupid not to take advantage of their monopoly in Ostend, it only shows that FR/EZY/.... do bring an advantage for the customer, even if he doesn't fly LCCs. As example you can compare ticket prices on BRU-GVA with those on BRU-ZRH.

By the way there are no 29€ tickets at JAF, you always have to pay a 15€ transaction fee.

[skumfiduse]

Hello GlennOST

I have read the expressions of your feelings about Jetairfly's communication and pricing strategy.

Removing your posts on their social media channel is not right, I agree. Facebook is one of today's leading customer service channels where complaints are taken care of in a decent, constructive manner.
What makes you think Jetairfly has a wall with customer feedback to laugh with? I'm sure some messages will be shared within marketing, sales & communications departments to learn from rather than to laugh about.

It is difficult to compare service levels, in relation to fare levels, of Ryanair versus Jetairfly/TUI and Brussels Airlines. They have different business models, different operating models and different pricing strategies. They all fly between A and B - probably some equal routes - yet you may find completely different fares.

Furthermore, I agree it does not feel fair to find rather cheap low fares between BRU and USA while you find way more expensive ones between Ostend and Las Palmas, Gran Canaria. This difference can be explained by the very competitive transatlantic market whereas competition in the Belgium-Gran Canaria market is rather limited. Four airlines, active in this market, are putting the majority of their capacity on sale from Brussels. This explains the lower fares from Brussels airports in comparison with Ostend, not even mentioning Jetairfly's monopoly position on this route. Since Jetairfly has a monopoly position, they can set certain fare levels enabling to offer different fare levels on other routings.

If you would ask 10 people in your neighbourhood, or queuing at Ostend airport, what they believe is a fair price level, I'm pretty sure you will get 10 different opinions. What is fair to you, might feel 'over-fair' to a friend, and 'under-fair' to someone else.

By the way, Brussels Airlines often promotes their 39 Euro fares. One-way that is, and available on limited flights and to a limited number of destinations. That's how it works in aviation where offering & demand and competition have a big impact on the constantly changing fare levels.

I hope you manage to book a holiday to Gran Canaria eventually, albeit most probably in another period than you had in mind. Gran Canaria's climate is favourable all year round (compared to that in Belgium).

[Passenger]

Wow. Big words: monopoly, market dominance, greed.

But actually, what are we talking about? Jetairfly has 4 or 5 flights a day out of Ostend tomorrow (Wednesday). Brussels Airport has more then 100 flights, just on Wednesday morning alone (a.m.).

There is no "monopoly" at an airport with a handful of flights per day. Jetairfly is just "the sole user" at Ostend. And there is no "market dominance" when you have just 3 flights in one week to a destination.

And as skumfiduse just wrote: there is competition enough for the JAF destinations out of Ostend: if you don't like the JAF-fare, you book a flight out of BRU, AMS, CRL, Rotterdam, Lille, ...

[GlennOST]

OK Passenger... that is what I did the next two fights are booked from BRU as I wrote a few post's ago.
But that doesn't take the fact away that OST are high yield flights.
Limited in capacity (compared to BRU) yes... but highly profitable, and this is not only the case for LPA btw.

Anyway, point made... hope many more better and good news coming from TUI Fly soon

[Sai]

Someone has a clue what the Comfort Class on their 767 (currently it is an ex-Arkefly bird) looks like?
I only find some info and pics about the C-class on the 787, (...) Is it a real premium cabin or just the same seats as in Y-class with a few centimeters extra leg room?

Difficulty is what do you consider as a "real" premium cabin? As it really differs amongst airlines. Is legroom the most important for you, or the extra baggage allowance, the food, the IFE, fast lane, the...?
It is on par with SN's Premium economy, almost exactly the same...
Do keep in mind Premium Economy is not Business Class (no full flat beds ) and a B767 is not as new and fancy as a B787. But it also is a fraction of the cost of a Business Class ticket...
Layout and legroom is the same as this one

[sn26567]

Layout and legroom is the same as this one

A 767 with 8 seats abreast? Never seen that. Even with 7 seats abreast, the width is barely 17.9 in.

[ostair]

In this case price doesn't reflect the demand !. It is a artificial high price that can be asked because market domination in OST.

There is a big difference in average pricing compared between OST / BRU / CRL

)

Agree with you.

When TC had their own flights from OST prices were better.
But TC didn't have a plane at OST so hours were crap therefor people used JAF.
Why would someone fly to Tenerife and arrive late at night while JAF had a early morning flight.

Talked to a now ex member of staff of the airport and he said that the management will only negociate with carriers not flying to one the JAF destinations.
They are scrared that JAF will pull the plug.
This is called monopoly...

[Homo Aeroportus]

A 767 with 8 seats abreast? Never seen that. Even with 7 seats abreast, the width is barely 17.9 in.

Mind you André, this is standard config per Boeing Manual.

762 Single Class.jpg (317.69 KiB) Viewed 5357 times

But it looks like on the 763 the draftsman let himself go :

763 Tin Can.jpg (324.25 KiB) Viewed 5357 times

763 Tin Can Zoomed.jpg (258.9 KiB) Viewed 5357 times

Now that's a window seat !
All'italiana. With the forearm sun tanned on arrival.



H.A.

[Passenger]

Not everyone here visits the homepage as much as the forum pages. For those who haven't visted the homepage yet: webmaster Bart has posted terrible news there:
https://www.aviation24.be/airlines/tui-gro ... ssed-away/

RIP Hans (1962-2016)

[Passenger]

Travel Magazine - NL:
http://www.travel-magazine.be/nl-be/Pag ... emID/33684

Travel Magazine - FR:
http://www.travel-magazine.be/fr-be/Pag ... emID/33685

[DIBO]

Anybody knows what happened to OO-JVA? Seems it went tech in Girona 2 days ago (GRO-BRU operated by a TradeAir F100 instead). Seems it did not yet resume any scheduled flights??

[sn26567]

Not only in Belgium does Jetairfly have problems. Also in France. Since this morning at 06:00, 140 passengers are waiting to board their flight to Malaga at Toulouse Blagnac, as reported by France 3. Twelve hours later, no news from the airline, except that the flight had been cancelled for technical reasons. The airport personnel has provided drinks....

http://m.france3-regions.francetvinfo.f ... 77611.html