MSE News: Easyjet passengers told they'll have to fly on Latvian airline's planes

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  • fifeken
    fifeken Posts: 2,699
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    richardw wrote: »
    OMG! easyJet have advised me of an aircraft change on my flight from Gatwick! Something different at the back of the aircraft.
    I've got two of these next month. I was assuming changes in easyJet A320s from 186 seats to 180, but it could be SmartLynx planes.
  • coffeehound
    coffeehound Posts: 5,633
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    agarnett wrote: »
    Who leads? Can you see UK CAA having much say in it? They regulate Easy, don't they? But what influence do they have over wet-lease arrangements like this where it isn't even Easy crews or engineers working on the aircraft (or is it in the latter case?).

    I would *guess* that the contract between Easy and Smartlynx will include an arrangement where Easy handles line maintenance, so dailies, overnight and minor defect rectification under the authority of SL's CAMO. Copies of the tech log pages and maintenance paperwork will be emailed to Smartlynx CAMO department on a daily basis so that they can maintain the aircraft and engine logs and track the hangar maintenance checks, which are governed by flight hours and calendar intervals.

    Depending on the length of the lease SL might subcontract hangar inputs to Easy as well, or they might prefer to schedule these elsewhere to use cheaper labour rates in Eastern Europe (it's worth mentioning that plenty of base maintenance for UK-registered airlines is carried out at East European providers, too). Basically there'll be regular communications between Easy and SL every day.

    In terms of the regulation, EASA will no doubt be working closely with the newer members to ensure the NAAs are on top of their obligations. The operators are subject to detailed scrutiny before they are awarded e.g. their AOC, maintenance, training, and CAMO approvals, and with ongoing audits and inspections.
  • peachyprice
    peachyprice Posts: 22,346
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    agarnett wrote: »
    MSE were spot on by starting this discussion.

    So that an armchair warrior using google for a source of information can whip everyone up into a frenzy with self-indulgent ramblings? Yes, I guess that is the response they were after. Well done MSE.

    The funniest thing is the one person whose opinion you held is such high esteem in your first reponse it the person most vehemently rebutting your BS. :rotfl:
    Accept your past without regret, handle your present with confidence and face your future without fear
  • agarnett
    agarnett Posts: 1,301 Forumite
    edited 19 March 2017 at 11:20AM
    I offered our richardw a pedestal, yes.

    But I discovered he mightn't like too much the light I shone on the aviation industry. Maybe he doesn't understand as much as I thought he might.

    Yes I am a pretty discerning Googler, but then most scientific, engineering and forensic minds are. It is also no accident that one of the oldest groups with common interest on the internet were aviation people. I was a BBS member of one such group long before I had a browser on my computer. Yes that long!

    We all have limits. For example, I can take simple engines apart and put them back together - have been doing it 45 years. But I daren't try it with modern cars for fear of messing up some new technology that I didn't recognise!

    Another example: Last week I picked up for nothing a second hand 40 inch 2013 Samsung TV that a friend had lost patience with and replaced. I got it working when it clearly had a fault which meant it only stayed on for 2 minutes when I got it, but then I think I have bricked it. I was over confident, thought I was on a roll and took a step too far in upgrading the firmware without really knowing what I was doing other than Googling a bit further. I was annoyed with myself but at least I learned something without it costing a penny from my pocket!

    I can usually repair personal computers software-wise or hardware-wise when owners have given up. I can even program computers in a modest way, but I can't write apps for mobile phones because I have never tried, so I haven't learned. I can sensibly instruct lawyers on a wide variety of issues without costing myself a fortune, but I can't guarantee I can win an argument on MSE on any issue.

    I believe in transparency in consumer markets. I enjoy travel, but I haven't used a travel agent for 35 years. I make my own arrangements - yes so do most people now, but I always have. Most people have been playing catch-up in that regard.

    I fly a heck of a lot. Hell, I have even flown myself, but I can't fly an Airbus.

    Message is: I am one of those unfortunates who has accumulated a lot of knowledge covering a lot of subjects. I may be no absolute expert in any. That doesn't disbar me from commenting knowledgeably on the ones I choose. Even aviation engineers and pilots make mistakes because they don't know enough sometimes to do the right thing. We all learn from it and do better next time.


    I do not own an armchair like those MSE'ers who sit in theirs and clearly cannot abide a smarta$$. Story of my life if I was bothered to tell it that way! You can get over it.


    There was a very sound consumer protection reason why MSE created this thread. It relates to the possibility of an outlawed commercial practice in play. I wouldn't go as far as to say it definitely is, but I have opened up the box for those who wish to peer in before they buy.

    Consumer law has developed in such a way that in the EU, if your flight is delayed by more than 3 hours, you can claim €250 compensation. I have said that I could claim a couple of those from Ryanair from the last few years if I was so disposed, but I still haven't, and am unlikely to now, because I like very much the way Ryanair have changed. I already get very very good service from them and I trust their current operation because I know it better than most. It would be illogical to say I trust the whole airline industry because I trust Ryanair. Especially given the amount of knowledge I have accumulated.

    A couple of years ago, I had second thoughts when I inadvertently bought a codeshare flight from a large European brand airline, but ended up too late realising the flight was with a non-EU airline I didn't much trust. So my kids came to meet me on holiday on an operation I was worried about. I thought I was buying into brand I knew. On balance I let it ride. I lived with a risk I did not intend to take, but I won't do that again so easily.

    When I choose flights, I do not choose the cheapest, although often Ryanair still is. When I buy flights I buy into a brand because I know something about its features and the benefits I can get from those.

    I know a little bit about Easyjet and have flown with them but not for a few years now. I would easily buy Easy if they were going my way. However, despite my Googling, I know very little about Smartlynx other than that Easy have allowed their name to be associated with Smartlynx. I found that surprising when I read about it on MSE, and so I have developed my thoughts.

    Perhaps there should be a new law that says passengers get €250 compensation if they find themselves on an ACMI but weren't warned when they bought the ticket that it is likely you are being flown by an ACMI company, and not by the brand itself?

    You don't like my thoughts. I get it.

    Sadly, no-one in the thread has given any logical reason why I should change my thoughts. I am open-minded. Try me with logic and reasoned argument.

    Meantime, I shall continue to agree with MSE that there is a question to be asked here about the correctness of deliberately substituting a lesser product for the one purchased at the point of delivery.

    I can live with the suggestion that it is better to avoid a long delay by getting a decent ACMI substitute to fill the gap on the day a mainline aircraft goes tech. I can even agree that an operation like Easy could even have such aircraft on standby at base to cover such eventuality if all their own were at full stretch, but to deliberately hire in a smaller outfit to cover a planned increase in normal demand doesn't strike me as right unless it is declared right up front when you book the flight.

    Such practice almost - but not quite of course because Easy have associated themselves with Smartlynx - reminds me a little (not a lot) of the operators who for decades have swarmed around, and made most of their annual income from the seasonal demand for Haj flights.

    Haj flights most definitely got generally known in the industry as the seamier side once upon a time. Maybe still are. I am not saying Smartlynx is on the seamier side. They are however not Easyjet.

    All airlines are NOT the same. Some of us are discerning buyers. You can be if you want to be.

    Some people blindly trust the NHS. I don't, but I have to use them. Eyes wide shut if you like. Your choice.
  • peachyprice
    peachyprice Posts: 22,346
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    More inane ramblings..............
    Accept your past without regret, handle your present with confidence and face your future without fear
  • richardw
    richardw Posts: 19,458
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    agarnett is making wrong assumptions about my views, please ignore all of his assumptions about my views.

    agarnett, you appear to feel very strongly about these issues, please liaise with the relevant regulatory authorities and if necessary, use FOI requests under the FOI act.
    Posts are not advice and must not be relied upon.
  • richardw
    richardw Posts: 19,458
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    edited 18 March 2017 at 1:29PM
    agarnett wrote: »
    I offered our richardw a pedestal, yes.

    But I discovered he doesn't like too much light shone on the aviation industry...

    Your assumptions are wrong.

    Please stop making incorrect comments about my likes/ dislikes.
    Posts are not advice and must not be relied upon.
  • agarnett
    agarnett Posts: 1,301 Forumite
    edited 18 March 2017 at 4:40PM
    richardw, you made a "please delete ..." comment at now gone post #40 which I took wrongly for as you suggesting the thread be deleted.

    I apologise for misinterpreting what you were trying to do which was to just delete your own post., which is now gone.

    I have been open about my level of knowledge and motive.

    It is perhaps a sad fact that most MSE'ers are disposed to blindly trust services they don't understand - like airlines, and like the NHS.

    I am not a journalist, nor am I a campaigner for any particular cause currently, so I have no need for FOI requests, thanks. I've seen all I need to see and I have tried to show MSE'ers what is there to be seen.

    I shall be flying again tonight at 11 or 12 km high and that means I shall be trusting the complex life support system I place myself into. That is what a modern airliner is. It is not just an A to B machine. If the airliner suddenly depressurises at that altitude I shall be unconscious in 15 to 20 seconds. In fact within 5 minutes from leaving the runway I am usually totally reliant on the life support system which is a critical part of the aircraft, in order to stay conscious.

    Even if I had breathing apparatus, if the machine broke up for any reason, I have no parachute and besides, I would freeze solid in moments at -56 degrees C or so. For my twenty-quid air fare I rely rather a lot on the fact that my ticket purchase will work out for me, else you mightn't see me here again next week, eh? That'd be the real tragedy for some.

    We airline passengers take a hell of a lot as granted. I understand statistics better than most, so I do not take everything as granted. Like all of us, I choose what to take note of. You choose. I choose. We choose differently but may end up in seats next to one another nevertheless. Sometimes it's good to share why we choose differently in case it helps others. Sometimes it is not good, because they get scared. That's unfortunate if they are in a plane where they do not really want to be for too much longer. If they are sat on the ground reading this, then next time they buy a ticket they will perhaps make a more informed choice.

    Back onboard the aircraft, the people whose role it is to make sure the systems are working perfectly day in day out will not be in the aircraft with me. They are not the pilots. They are those on the ground with the necessary qualifications and inspection authorities to use their stamps and pens. The ground is usually the place where people are most susceptible to commercial pressure, isn't it? It can be a difficult place.

    peachyprice, my ramblings (and I will let that much ride) do nevertheless contain some sense and meaning. If you on the other hand wish to come here repeatedly to practice an inane ability to deny it completely out of hand, and target a poster for ridicule, then at least get control of your vocabulary please.

    All airlines are NOT the same. discerning ticket buyers know that.
  • IAmWales
    IAmWales Posts: 2,024 Forumite
    agarnett wrote: »
    I'm sorry? What was this then? Right after one of my posts?

    I could give you the benefit of the doubt that you had posted something and then withdrawn it but didn't know how to completely delete the post, so was asking for your single post to be erased, but that would be rather odd given your MSE experience! I am sure you know how to delete your own posts.

    Your badgering of richard makes you come across as a bully. Poor form :(
  • agarnett
    agarnett Posts: 1,301 Forumite
    edited 18 March 2017 at 4:46PM
    IAmWales that was never the intention and I took richardw as well able to defend himself. I apologise, Richard, if I misunderstood your 'please delete' which was still there until we worked out this afternoon that was where I had started to misinterpret your intentions. Thank you for deleting it. I have deleted /amended one or two of mine following it and will delete more if you wish to delete your end of the now irrelevant quickfire back and forth we had.
    I would *guess* that the contract between Easy and Smartlynx will include an arrangement where Easy handles line maintenance, so dailies, overnight and minor defect rectification under the authority of SL's CAMO. Copies of the tech log pages and maintenance paperwork will be emailed to Smartlynx CAMO department on a daily basis so that they can maintain the aircraft and engine logs and track the hangar maintenance checks, which are governed by flight hours and calendar intervals.

    Depending on the length of the lease SL might subcontract hangar inputs to Easy as well, or they might prefer to schedule these elsewhere to use cheaper labour rates in Eastern Europe (it's worth mentioning that plenty of base maintenance for UK-registered airlines is carried out at East European providers, too). Basically there'll be regular communications between Easy and SL every day.

    In terms of the regulation, EASA will no doubt be working closely with the newer members to ensure the NAAs are on top of their obligations. The operators are subject to detailed scrutiny before they are awarded e.g. their AOC, maintenance, training, and CAMO approvals, and with ongoing audits and inspections.
    coffeehound, thank you for your thoughts on how the CAMO and line maintenance regime might work in this case. I am sorry I missed your post earlier.

    I do wonder about how many "boots on the ground" there actually are, even in the UK CAA for their part, to achieve what you so succinctly describe perhaps as a best case scenario for the sort of regulatory oversight we all might like to think is in place. Have you a view on whether UK CAA might take the lead on ensuring joined up compliance on this one (as Easyjet's presumed main regulator)? With wet-lease, whose AOC is in play? And, just out of idle curiosity, was CKhalvashi right when he said that SL would be using EZY callsigns whilst operating EZY flights?

    I fear there are a lot more British soldier boots on the ground in the Baltic States right now than CAA types.
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