Summer Holidays

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OFT
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Re: Summer Holidays

Post by OFT »

EastHam56 wrote: Tue May 31, 2022 11:21 am EvilC , all part of the tory master plan to do away with holidays for the peasants , another brexit bonus
:grin:

Want a nice break in the country? Why not stay in the UK and go fruit and veg picking on the farms.
Two birds one stone etc.
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smuts
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Re: Summer Holidays

Post by smuts »

Airlines are the first to get the begging bowl out, took billions in bail out cash and advertised relentlessly about getting away this year...and now it's all falling apart as they've got no staff as they treated them like dirt.

Add this to their appalling customer service and so on I'm surprised there aren't riots at airports. They're basically scamming people who've paid a huge amount of money to take a break only for them to arrive and find after hours of waiting they've got no flight.

We're going away in July and I'm dreading it.
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EvilC
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Re: Summer Holidays

Post by EvilC »

I am meant to be flying out of City Airport this summer. It is marginally more convenient that Heathrow for me and I have always preferred it as queues seem to be shorter and you don't have to walk miles to everything. I fully expect BA to switch me to either Heathrow or Gatwick at the 11th hour (they moved me from Gatwick to Heathrow last year) just because they can.

I just hate the uncertainty. You spend a ****ing fortune now for a holiday, I need this one more than I have ever needed one in my life, the COVID uncertainties were bad enough but were part of life. I'd rather they just charged me a bit more for the flight and guaranteed that it would be going.
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Re: Summer Holidays

Post by fjthegrey »

Taking my son and wife to Weymouth for a week in mid June.

He's gonna love it. 8 months old. The sea, the beach, he's gonna be a wide eyed little piglet. He is already fascinated with nature it seems, you take him out for a walk and he is transfixed with trees, plants and flowers. Studies them real fascinated intent. He tries to maneuver himself when he's in the house so that he can see out the window and check out what the trees by our house are doing. Think he might lose his **** in an Aquarium as well. Can't wait.
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iLoveLasagne
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Re: Summer Holidays

Post by iLoveLasagne »

My cousin went to Spain with his missus and child for £340 all inclusive for 5 days in Spain and my mum's friends have just booked similar for £2XX leaving in around 9/10 days for 5 days also. Both include flights, hotels and food; whether hb/fb or all inclusive I am not sure but still both seem extremely cheap also regardless of the star rating.

On Saturday I spent £10 train fare going into London, £15 on pub lunch, £30 for four pints, nearly £5 on 3 pool games, £10 on a small burger (no chips!) and milkshake afterwards. SEVENTY QUID on a trip to the pub.
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S-H
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Re: Summer Holidays

Post by S-H »

fjthegrey wrote: Tue May 31, 2022 12:54 pm Taking my son and wife to Weymouth for a week in mid June.

He's gonna love it. 8 months old. The sea, the beach, he's gonna be a wide eyed little piglet. He is already fascinated with nature it seems, you take him out for a walk and he is transfixed with trees, plants and flowers. Studies them real fascinated intent. He tries to maneuver himself when he's in the house so that he can see out the window and check out what the trees by our house are doing. Think he might lose his **** in an Aquarium as well. Can't wait.
We took our 3 month old to the Sea Life Center in Weymouth recently, and it literally blew his mind, all the colours really grabbed hold of him, didn't stop smiling and making happy noises.

Well worth a visit.
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Re: Summer Holidays

Post by -DL- »

EvilC wrote: Tue May 31, 2022 10:48 am I think you will see going abroad return to being something that only the better off can afford. Jet fuel is increasingly expensive, employee costs will rise and people are facing a real income squeeze. People will still want to go abroad, holidays in this country are unreasonably expensive post-COVID and you cannot guarantee the weather.
Holidays in this country were unreasonably expensive before Covid. I'm dreading our summer holiday, as like the last two, it's no doubt going to be rammed. Long queues for everything, no chance of a walk-in meal anywhere, and a thoroughly unpleasant experience all round.

Add in twats that have never driven a motorhome before, renting one and blocking up single track roads in the countryside as Google Maps says it's the right way to go.

Going away on my own for a few days from Saturday. 5 days of peace and tranquillity, then a month after I get back, the family holiday :nonpl:
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Re: Summer Holidays

Post by smuts »

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-61654195

Not often I stick up for this government but I make Shapps right.

I find the excuses from some of the people in the industry baffling. They took furlough money for staff, then laid loads off and then happily flooded the media with advertising telling everyone to get away in 2022.

They can't have it both ways.
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Re: Summer Holidays

Post by The Sherriff »

As someone who worked in aviation for 17yrs and whose Mrs is still long haul cabin crew, I’m disgusted but not surprised by the chaos at peak travel times.

Heathrow is the worlds most expensive airport in terms of taxes. Despite hefty cash reserves and publically stating they could survive 18months without a single passenger setting foot on their turf, they made thousands upon thousands redundant. Now they can’t backfill.

You can’t just pick anyone up off the street and put them in the airport or an airline. There are so many clearances, processes and procedures to understand. Probably took me 2yrs to get to grips with it all.

This is nowt to do with Breadstick as my daughter calls it, this is pure greed from the airlines and airport authorities. The unions have been next to effing useless. BA will cancel flights as they don’t have enough crew, legally they can operate but the unions kick off. VA use the same union but won’t cancel flights instead opting to operate on the bare minimum legal limit. As such the crew have to work their arse off, with reduced downtime at the other end.

All these airlines are quite happy to take your money for a reduced service, then shamefully move the goal posts at the last minute.

Airports can’t function without baggage or security, airlines can’t fly without crew. The later is where the problem is, an individual can only use a temp airside pass for so long, once that expires they are parked. The crews are stretched, there isn’t enough people to fill the roles. BA used the pandemic as an opportunity to get the workforce on mixed fleet contracts.

On the front line, Crew are jacking it in or going sick. From a capital project perspective, where I sat, too many people left and realised there’s life outside the airport. Throw in the wanky IR35 and you have scenario where they can’t attract anyone back. As much as I loved my time working in this sector and as good as it was financially, I’m never going back on account of the way they have behaved during and after covid.

Operationally the airports are functioning, they arent prepared for the peak times though.

Coming back into the country, there aren’t enough e-gates. As newer passports get allocated, the quantity of automation gates doesn’t align, hence why you have long queues.

Other European hubs and major cities have also incurred savage queues during the peaks, they don’t charge the taxes the uk does though.

Good luck to anyone travelling this week, I’m appalled and angry with my previous employers but no way surprised. Pure greed.
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smuts
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Re: Summer Holidays

Post by smuts »

As you say Sherriff, they're happy to take people's money knowing that they can screw them over at the last minute and fob them off with vouchers or make them fight for weeks to get their money back.
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Re: Summer Holidays

Post by Jennings »

Me & two of my daughters fly out to Lima next week for two months of high altitude trekking in the Andes

We’ve planned our own itineraries so we’re not hiring any guides or mules - just going for that secluded experience which means apart from a couple of popular acclimatisation treks we will be far from the madding crowd.

Nervous & excited in equal measure.
Last edited by Jennings on Wed Jun 01, 2022 1:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Summer Holidays

Post by S-H »

#Pray4Jennings
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'Appy 'Ammer
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Re: Summer Holidays

Post by 'Appy 'Ammer »

S-H wrote: Wed Jun 01, 2022 12:22 pm
#Pray4Jennings
https://tenor.com/bDWkf.gif
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Re: Summer Holidays

Post by Jonah »

:lol:


Our BA flight is still going out tomorrow at the moment..... :fxd:
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Re: Summer Holidays

Post by S-H »

#Pray4Jonah
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Billy Hunt
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Re: Summer Holidays

Post by Billy Hunt »

As things stand, we fly out to Sicily early Friday morning with BA :fxd:

Bit of a hiccup of my own doing though... :oops:

I just went to get some Euros, gave my driving licence as I didn't have my passport with me... Poxy thing ran out on 28th May. With a hire car booked and needed Friday morning at the airport ...

The DVLA helped hugely on the phone and either tomorrow, or at latest Friday morning, my licence will be viewable online and they issued a check code that the hire company can use if I can convince them to do so
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Re: Summer Holidays

Post by 'Appy 'Ammer »

S-H wrote: Wed Jun 01, 2022 1:54 pm
#Pray4Jonah
https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/c79e903f-a ... Y59GU.copy
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Re: Summer Holidays

Post by S-H »

:D
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Jonah
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Re: Summer Holidays

Post by Jonah »

:lol:

....and after the positive covid last week - still not feeling 100% but now tested neg so I cant be blamed for ruining the holiday. :scarfer:


.....yet.
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Re: Summer Holidays

Post by RichieRiv »

Speaking with colleagues in Germany, Switzerland and Denmark. Apparently, it's murder at the airports. According to the Eric I work with who just returned from Kos, the hotels, bars and restaurants are all struggling due to a lack of staff. Covid may have gone, but this is going to have an impact for years.
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