DIY holiday

eskbanker

NoodleDoodleMan said:

eskbanker said:

NoodleDoodleMan said:

"if you need someone to do that for you then you probably shouldn’t be travelling independently."

I first flew abroad in 1958 (and countless times since) so I do understand the potential pitfalls of travelling, independently or otherwise.

But you still found it 'astonishing' that a low cost UK airline didn't have onsite staff available to rebook flights for a planeload of passengers at a European airport, which would perhaps suggest that your expectations haven't caught up with the way that contemporary airlines work?

There were plenty of uniformed Easyjet staff on duty - so yes, I was astonished that their level of assistance was to give me their UK telephone number and direct me to a service agent who handed out A5 pamphlets.

Otherwise they were totally disinterested.

My only expectation was that I would be given guidance and advice on how to proceed - obviously that's an assumption too far.

But if the guidance is basically that you need to contact the airline via call centre/app/website to make the revised arrangements then realistically there's nothing much that onsite staff can add to that if they don't have the capability/capacity/authority to do this for you, although it's not unreasonable to expect politeness.

Grumpy_chap

Doshwaster said:

Too often you see people without any insurance resorting to GoFundMe pages in order to get themselves or their family home. 

Hmm, these GoFundMe facilities are an interesting twist on insurance.
Recently there was a piece on the BBC Breakfast about a family who'd lost everything in a house fire, did not have any home insurance and - what a good news story - it was wonderful how the local community all got together and raised the family some absurdly large amount of money to get themselves back recovered.

The way insurance works is everyone pays a little bit into the community pot and the community pot pays out to those who suffer a loss.
The GoFundMe model has the community pot paying out to those who suffer a loss but the obligation for everyone to pay a little into the community pot at the outset is not there.  A very neat trick for those who suffer a loss - all the benefit, none of the participation.

dont_use_vistaprint

NoodleDoodleMan said:

dont_use_vistaprint said:

NoodleDoodleMan said:

comeandgo said:

NoodleDoodleMan said:

heatherw_01 said:

I have booked flight and hotel separate for hundreds of trips over 20 years.
No issues.
I use reputable companies and have travel insurance that covers the things you mentioned, for all trips.

Presumably you've never had a flight cancelled with late notice and subsequently abandoned by the airline ?

At the moment I’m on a 9 week self arranged holiday to three different countries, this is the fifth one I’ve organised. In the past  I have had flights cancelled at late notice  or delayed but never been abandoned by the airline.  We make sure there is plenty time allowance if changing planes at an airport .  Always book directly with airline.  Also, be aware if not in Europe there may be no requirement for an airline to arrange anything for you or any compensation if flight late or cancelled.

We've been effectively abandoned after short notice cancellation - Easyjet at Amsterdam airport this July.

Many Easyjet passengers in similar circumstances.

Aeroplanes are not your mum. When you travel independently, you often have to sort out your own stuff and solve your own problems

 it really isn’t very difficult to get on a bus or taxi from an airport and go and sit in a restaurant for a few hours or put yourself into an Airbnb or budget hotel/hostel until the next flight is it?  Keep ALL your receipts and you’ll probably get the lot back

if you need someone to do that for you then you probably shouldn’t be travelling independently.

In our case there was no Easyjet flight back to Edinburgh for 3 days - and there were several elderly passengers, at least one with mobility issues stranded and abandoned in Amsterdam.

I think there may have been a family with young children (not in our party) who were in a similar position.

So yes, it can be very difficult in certain circumstances.

"if you need someone to do that for you then you probably shouldn’t be travelling independently."

I first flew abroad in 1958 (and countless times since) so I do understand the potential pitfalls of travelling, independently or otherwise.

No one was sranded or abandoned. Theres many airlines operatimg out of Schipol and lots of ways to get to Edingburgh. The tickets sold have clear terms and conditions of whats inclued and what isnt in case of delay / cancellation , if elderly people and families you need looking after then flight only tickets are the wrong type of travel

dont_use_vistaprint

Doshwaster said:

dont_use_vistaprint said:

Grumpy_chap said:

dont_use_vistaprint said:

35 years of travelling 150+ countries, I’ve never once taken travel insurance.

I, too, have travelled many times booking flights and hotels separately and arranging all ancillaries (transfers and such like) locally.

I am not so sure that I'd go for the "no travel insurance" approach, though.  I do agree there are a lot of things that you can carry the risk / self insure but the big part anyone (IMO) really needs to have travel insurance for is health cover.  Anyone can fall ill at any time with no notice or reason, or anyone can suffer an accident.  Health costs can spiral very rapidly.  There is also the "comfort" factor that if you are unable to locate suitable health facility easily, the insurer's 24-hour contact centre might well have health facilities that they can get you booked into more swiftly.

I’ve been ill twice abroad in 30+ years if travel where I needed more than a paracetamol and rest - in Turkey I got tonsillitis and had to have antibiotic injections daily. It cost me about £150 in total, I got malaria in Nigeria, I had to go to the hospital, get hydrated and a course of tablets That cost me about $25 in total.

You should insure the things that concern and worry you and you think you will need to claim. 

I'm not worried about paying for a few stitches or antibiotics out of my own pocket - cost is going to be less than the insurance excess anyway and I wouldn't be that upset about losing a suitcase full of clothes. 

What does worry me is having a serious accident abroad, spending several days in hospital and needing a specialist medical evacuation back to the UK.  Of course the chances are very remote which is why travel insurance is cheap.

Too often you see people without any insurance resorting to GoFundMe pages in order to get themselves or their family home. 

Yeah it wiuldnt be fun.

I tend not to focus on worse case scanarios, If i did I'd probably stay on my sofa ! But agreed , f it is that concerning then just about any cheap travel insurance should pick up medical costs. I do take out an annual excess waiver for car hire and its saved me thousands over the kast 20 years.  

NoodleDoodleMan

"No one was sranded or abandoned."

Of course you were there to witness what occurred ?

I can assure you that's exactly what Easyjet did, no ifs, buts or maybes.

zagfles

dont_use_vistaprint said:

NoodleDoodleMan said:

dont_use_vistaprint said:

NoodleDoodleMan said:

comeandgo said:

NoodleDoodleMan said:

heatherw_01 said:

I have booked flight and hotel separate for hundreds of trips over 20 years.
No issues.
I use reputable companies and have travel insurance that covers the things you mentioned, for all trips.

Presumably you've never had a flight cancelled with late notice and subsequently abandoned by the airline ?

At the moment I’m on a 9 week self arranged holiday to three different countries, this is the fifth one I’ve organised. In the past  I have had flights cancelled at late notice  or delayed but never been abandoned by the airline.  We make sure there is plenty time allowance if changing planes at an airport .  Always book directly with airline.  Also, be aware if not in Europe there may be no requirement for an airline to arrange anything for you or any compensation if flight late or cancelled.

We've been effectively abandoned after short notice cancellation - Easyjet at Amsterdam airport this July.

Many Easyjet passengers in similar circumstances.

Aeroplanes are not your mum. When you travel independently, you often have to sort out your own stuff and solve your own problems

 it really isn’t very difficult to get on a bus or taxi from an airport and go and sit in a restaurant for a few hours or put yourself into an Airbnb or budget hotel/hostel until the next flight is it?  Keep ALL your receipts and you’ll probably get the lot back

if you need someone to do that for you then you probably shouldn’t be travelling independently.

In our case there was no Easyjet flight back to Edinburgh for 3 days - and there were several elderly passengers, at least one with mobility issues stranded and abandoned in Amsterdam.

I think there may have been a family with young children (not in our party) who were in a similar position.

So yes, it can be very difficult in certain circumstances.

"if you need someone to do that for you then you probably shouldn’t be travelling independently."

I first flew abroad in 1958 (and countless times since) so I do understand the potential pitfalls of travelling, independently or otherwise.

No one was sranded or abandoned. Theres many airlines operatimg out of Schipol and lots of ways to get to Edingburgh. The tickets sold have clear terms and conditions of whats inclued and what isnt in case of delay / cancellation , if elderly people and families you need looking after then flight only tickets are the wrong type of travel

Yup. I've been on probably over a hundred budget airline flights over the last couple of decades usually paying well under £50, sometimes as little as £5, for that sort of price I don't expect a concierge service, I fully envisage having to sort any problems out myself.

I know I run a slight risk of making my own arrangements and then not being reimbursed in full. But it's never happened over 2 decades of frequent travel, and even if it did and it cost me £1000 to get home, and even if the travel insurance didn't cover it, I've probably saved 20 times that by doing "DIY" holidays over the years rather than packages. 

CKhalvashi

NoodleDoodleMan said:

"UK and EU airlines won't leave you abandoned"

I beg to differ.

Easyjet did just that to us (and all the other passengers) on a flight from Amsterdam to Edinburgh on Monday 15th July 2024.

I can go into detail if needed.

There is a Facebook site dedicated to complaints against the airline.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/192989321777

And yet following a recent diversion due to weather, OH spent about an hour ensuring passengers had bus transport down to the original airport and any required information once it became clear the aircraft wasn't going back that evening.

She had to stay overnight with the aircraft to take it down but the cabin crew went down with the passengers.

Easyjet are a major operation, it's inevitable that a few people will have problems. The majority of passengers don't have any issues.

FWIW, we travel independently often, the only package we've taken in a very long time was in 2020 as we couldn't get the flights without it.

zagfles

CKhalvashi said:

NoodleDoodleMan said:

"UK and EU airlines won't leave you abandoned"

I beg to differ.

Easyjet did just that to us (and all the other passengers) on a flight from Amsterdam to Edinburgh on Monday 15th July 2024.

I can go into detail if needed.

There is a Facebook site dedicated to complaints against the airline.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/192989321777

And yet following a recent diversion due to weather, OH spent about an hour ensuring passengers had bus transport down to the original airport and any required information once it became clear the aircraft wasn't going back that evening.

She had to stay overnight with the aircraft to take it down but the cabin crew went down with the passengers.

Easyjet are a major operation, it's inevitable that a few people will have problems. The majority of passengers don't have any issues.

FWIW, we travel independently often, the only package we've taken in a very long time was in 2020 as we couldn't get the flights without it.

Sometimes packages are a good deal, can be cheaper than "DIY", eg going off peak to bog standard holiday destinations (Spanish/Greek resorts etc). Packages off the beaten track are usually far more expensive than DIY 

CKhalvashi

zagfles said:

CKhalvashi said:

NoodleDoodleMan said:

"UK and EU airlines won't leave you abandoned"

I beg to differ.

Easyjet did just that to us (and all the other passengers) on a flight from Amsterdam to Edinburgh on Monday 15th July 2024.

I can go into detail if needed.

There is a Facebook site dedicated to complaints against the airline.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/192989321777

And yet following a recent diversion due to weather, OH spent about an hour ensuring passengers had bus transport down to the original airport and any required information once it became clear the aircraft wasn't going back that evening.

She had to stay overnight with the aircraft to take it down but the cabin crew went down with the passengers.

Easyjet are a major operation, it's inevitable that a few people will have problems. The majority of passengers don't have any issues.

FWIW, we travel independently often, the only package we've taken in a very long time was in 2020 as we couldn't get the flights without it.

Sometimes packages are a good deal, can be cheaper than "DIY", eg going off peak to bog standard holiday destinations (Spanish/Greek resorts etc). Packages off the beaten track are usually far more expensive than DIY 

Completely agreed!

I'm not sure there are many packages, even from the specialist companies, that would actually offer what we want to do on holiday. 

Note that we don't go to Spanish/Greek resorts etc.

It's extremely difficult to scale many destinations with reasonable margins and reasonable prices. The costs come down gradually, however.

NoodleDoodleMan

"Yup. I've been on probably over a hundred budget airline flights over the last couple of decades usually paying well under £50, sometimes as little as £5, for that sort of price I don't expect a concierge service, I fully envisage having to sort any problems out myself."

For the record,our fares from AMS to EDI (one way) were £165.90 each, before luggage.

Had we payed anywhere between £5-£50 I might have felt less inclined to be so critical of Easyjet - just a modicum of basic customer service would have been sufficient satisfaction.