An apology from TUI - but who wrote such waffle.

Westin

tightauldgit said:

It's entirely possible. I think what we are seeing now is that all of these different cogs have been cut and cut and cut to the bone and when the system is stressed what it used to have the resilience to handle is just breaking under the strain. 

Doesn't excuse the stories of horrendous customer service though.

Exactly.  I think I would be questioning my company procurement strategy for airport handling, catering etc. and looking at analysing stress impacts when cost has been the likely (only) determining factor in awarding 3rd party contacts.

I have heard many stories from friends working at airports how staffing is at minimal levels as that is what the competitive tender process led to.  Ground staff are paid poorly and although companies are desperate for staff to do extra work, they can only afford to pay x1 time rate, no overtime as no funding available.  If you are already doing a 38-40hrs working shift week why would you work your day off from say 4am on base pay not much above statutory minimum. Three weeks ago one Spanish registered airline sent two aircraft back empty from Gatwick as the outsourced handling agent only had three staff on duty split between check-in and boarding with multiple flights and could not staff the gate in a timely manner.  

Perhaps the days of the lowest cost tender winning need to be changed. Perhaps we all need to accept paying more to fly? Perhaps this part of TUI’s ‘ecosystem’ needs attention and investment for a sustainable future?

sammynunes

I don't see what more TUI could have done. They were practically giving away holidays last summer and in summer 2020 but people stayed away because they thought it was somehow safer to crowd themselves on to Britiish beaches.

If people had gone on holiday as normal for the last two years there wouldn't be as much as an issue. They are being kind by not laying the blame at the feet of the consumer imo.

Pollycat

daveyjp said:

The report states the aircraft had a fault.  This may not be evident until the pilots are in the cockpit.

I once had a flight from Montenegro, but engineers had to fix a fault before we could leave. We were delayed, took off, but it was just a flight to Belgrade to swap cockpit crew as they were out of hours.

The article states that people received emails/tests from TUI stating:

"the cancellation was down to "operational and supply chain issues" in combination with the influx of people going on holiday at this time of year. "

The passengers were told the plane had a malfunctioning part but it was being repaired

Also from the article:

It was a woman from [another] travel agency," said Huw, adding that the representative told them the cancellation was due to the malfunctioning part.

And:

Another passenger, James Dewitt, recalled that staff were still trying to fix the plane when the bad news was announced. "They didn't even know that had happened," he said. "The staff on the plane didn't know any more than we did."

eskbanker

sammynunes said:

I don't see what more TUI could have done.

Easy to sit in an armchair and say it, but they could/should have made sure that they were capable of resourcing what they were selling....

sammynunes said:

They were practically giving away holidays last summer and in summer 2020 but people stayed away because they thought it was somehow safer to crowd themselves on to Britiish beaches.

If people had gone on holiday as normal for the last two years there wouldn't be as much as an issue.

Hardly surprising that overseas holiday sales plummeted - for significant chunks of that time, people were locked down at home, or not permitted to leave the UK or enter other countries, etc, so it's unrealistic to characterise it as a free choice between holidaying at home or abroad.  There was also the issue of travel companies failing to abide by their legal obligations to refund cancelled holidays, which made many more reluctant to book foreign trips during uncertain times.

sammynunes said:

They are being kind by not laying the blame at the feet of the consumer imo.

While it's fair to recognise the difficulties faced by the travel industry as a result of the pandemic, exacerbated by the Brexit effect on the employment market, I doubt that many would go as far as praising them for not blaming 'the consumer', especially those customers who, through no fault of their own, have been inconvenienced by late cancellations, etc!

Pollycat

eskbanker said:

sammynunes said:
They are being kind by not laying the blame at the feet of the consumer imo.

While it's fair to recognise the difficulties faced by the travel industry as a result of the pandemic, exacerbated by the Brexit effect on the employment market, I doubt that many would go as far as praising them for not blaming 'the consumer', especially those customers who, through no fault of their own, have been inconvenienced by late cancellations, etc!

I'm really pleased that TUI haven't laid the blame at my feet for the holiday I booked and paid for 2 years ago seeing as how they have had my money for over 2 years.

NoodleDoodleMan

sammynunes said:

I don't see what more TUI could have done. They were practically giving away holidays last summer and in summer 2020 but people stayed away because they thought it was somehow safer to crowd themselves on to Britiish beaches.

If people had gone on holiday as normal for the last two years there wouldn't be as much as an issue. They are being kind by not laying the blame at the feet of the consumer imo.

We had two holiday bookings cancelled by TUI during that period due to the health pandemic afflicting the Canaries.

It's difficult to go on holiday "as normal" in these prevailing conditions, especially when the holiday provider (rightly) cancels.