Jump to content

XL Leisure Group - In receivership


Poshie72
 Share

Recommended Posts

They were taking bookings right up to last night,knowing full well the situation they were in.

Disgraceful imo.

 

But on the bright side, I would love to see a West ham fan in his XL sponsored shirt turn up at the airport to find out his holiday is cancelled.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have had the same thing happen to me. We as a family were stranded in Florida in 1981 when Freddie Laker went bust. It was a nightmare, we had an extra week in the States mind you but there was no set time for us to leave as they were trying to cram any passengers on return flights home.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good they are the worst company i have ever flied with in my life.

 

We said the same thing, but my dad decided to try them again this time :confused:

I have had the same thing happen to me. We as a family were stranded in Florida in 1981 when Freddie Laker went bust. It was a nightmare, we had an extra week in the States mind you but there was no set time for us to leave as they were trying to cram any passengers on return flights home.

 

We were booked to fly to Spain with Laker when they went bust, but had plenty of time to rebook

 

My dad isn't covered by ATOL but luckily paid by credit card so should get his money back from them

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good they are the worst company i have ever flied with in my life.

 

Flew with them to Malta just over a year ago. Was thoroughly unpleasant. Delayed for 6 hours going out there, aircraft was in a dreadful state and the staff where apathetic to say the least.

 

Went with Air Malta this year, the difference was astonishing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Flew with them to Malta just over a year ago. Was thoroughly unpleasant. Delayed for 6 hours going out there, aircraft was in a dreadful state and the staff where apathetic to say the least.

 

Went with Air Malta this year, the difference was astonishing.

 

I flew with them to Lanzarote, arrived at gatwick at the correct gate, then they decided to change it without telling anyone. Made me pay £30 to change my name on a ticket because they spelt it wrong, when i went to collect the new ticket the women said "you didnt need to pay for that" and changed it with a pen.

The plane was a state, tv's didnt work, was late.

I can see why they were so cheap.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Spent a week in Greece with Kozmar, one of their compnaies, about ten years ago. The flight was bad, the accommodation was filthy (they even expected us to use the bedding left by the previous occupier and seemed genuinely shocked that we demanded to have it changed.) Ant and ****raoch investation, plumbing that only worked every other day. I swore I would never go with one thier outfits again and I haven't. Now it looks like I never will. Good riddance to them (although I do have sympathy for those holiday makers who have lost out even if they are West Ham supporters).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ah the never ending Brit obsession with getting everything as cheap as possible and never mind the quality has been exposed again.

 

It's one big change I've noticed over the years - a sort of inverse snobbery - letting everyone know how you managed to get something 10 quid cheaper but not really noticing that in fact what you got was a piece of sh*t.

 

It's a horrible shame for all those who are stuck or have lost out, but sooner or later the concept of the law of diminishing returns, scarce resources and just poor management always comes together and Joe Public gets screwed.

 

And the worst thing is that it is ALWAYS the people who needed to save that 10 quid who get screwed, not those who wanted to pay a bit more for quality of service or reliability. Unfortunately, there is a reason why it is cheaper to fly to say Orlando with XL than with say a "proper" airline, but people tend to forget that when they can boast that they saved money compared to the fools who went on a proper plane.....

 

I once flew Air Atlantic or something to Austria skiing, it saved me 25 quid. The next time I spent the 25 quid and reckon it added 2 years to my life in return for the lack of hassle, stress, queuing, squashed seating, awful re-processed garbage classed as food and general worry that the 30 year old plane would fall out of the sky.

 

Mind you, those complaining about XL's service and aircraft - think yourselves lucky, could have been on a proper Airline like Alitalia = yikes or even worse = Biman Bangladesh Airways.........

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Flew with them to Malta just over a year ago. Was thoroughly unpleasant. Delayed for 6 hours going out there, aircraft was in a dreadful state and the staff where apathetic to say the least.

 

Went with Air Malta this year, the difference was astonishing.

 

Their fleet is pretty modern, 2000 and newer aircraft in the main. They're worked hard but should be alright. Some good cheap bargains for other airlines from the receiver eventually no doubt.

 

http://www.airfleets.net/flottecie/XL%20Airways-active-b737ng.htm

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mind you, those complaining about XL's service and aircraft - think yourselves lucky, could have been on a proper Airline like Alitalia = yikes or even worse = Biman Bangladesh Airways.........

 

I actually flew with them to Italy and back over the weekend. On time, service was good and a simple plane. Although it did have a unique colouring scheme.

 

However flight was only 2 hours long, so maybe I was lucky. Yes would have saved £60 flying with Ryanair from Stansted but sod that and paying stupid amounts on hold lugguage!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Their fleet is pretty modern, 2000 and newer aircraft in the main. They're worked hard but should be alright. Some good cheap bargains for other airlines from the receiver eventually no doubt.

 

http://www.airfleets.net/flottecie/XL%20Airways-active-b737ng.htm

 

Ah ha = the return of tommac.

He WILL be busy with all those "one careful owner" second hand airplanes hanging around looking for someone to sell them:-)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Went on holiday to Florida using Travel City Direct so XL airlines this summer. Outbound flight to Sanford was delayed by 5 hours as the plane experience a technical fault in Sanford. On the way back from Sanford we again had a delay for 2 hours as again the plane had had a technical fault.

The plane was poor, probably due to its age. The service wasn't great and the plane wasn't particulary clean and very tight for room. The air hostesses were friendly but what there was to offer was rubbish. Was probably something more suitable for travelling shorter distance to somewhere like Spain as it was a very uncomfortable journey.

The airport driver who transported us to and from Gatwick seemed to know alot about planes and airlines and said when we had got back to Gatwick that XL were an accident waiting to happen.

Just glad it's not happened to me, feel sorry for the people it has.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They won't be the last airline to go bust this year. Word is that British Midland are in the **** as well.

 

I expect to see at least five more European airlines go down by the end of the year. Many of them have not felt the full effect of pricier kerosene yet as they hedged against cost increases earlier in the year which has protected them until now but those deals are running out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Drama queen pikeys.

 

It's not the end of the world for those who haven't travelled on their holidays or who have to waste a few hours working out how to get home. In fact, it almost makes me laugh to see such pathetic people crying - get a grip, it's not so bad. They'll probably get their money back and be able to book another crappy package holiday anywhere else anyway. They're unlikely to have been going on a dream honeymoon/holiday on the lash in Tenerife or whatever other gyppo places they're travelling to. Most will have been slightly inconvenienced at the worst.

 

Much worse for the people who have unexpectedly lost their jobs and have a mortgage and bills to pay next month etc... who do have my sympathy. Put it into perspective, if you can you cackers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeh, those people who tooil away in low paid jobs providing you with a service just so they can have a few days in the sun away from the grind really had it coming to them. Serves them right.

 

It hopefully will get sorted for them, but they may have to change leave arrangements, school arrangements, stay elsewhere, but hey, they're cackers so it is OK, and if it almost makes you laugh, then that will make things a bit better for them..

 

It is worse for the people who have lost their jobs of course, but it is all relative.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeh, those people who tooil away in low paid jobs providing you with a service just so they can have a few days in the sun away from the grind really had it coming to them. Serves them right.

 

It hopefully will get sorted for them, but they may have to change leave arrangements, school arrangements, stay elsewhere, but hey, they're cackers so it is OK, and if it almost makes you laugh, then that will make things a bit better for them..

 

It is worse for the people who have lost their jobs of course, but it is all relative.

 

Well put, some people go for the low cost option as it is the only option they have for this kind of holiday.

 

I hope their poor employees pull through, and the unfortunates who got caught out by XL's poor business plan get back home as smooth as possible.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Drama queen pikeys.

 

It's not the end of the world for those who haven't travelled on their holidays or who have to waste a few hours working out how to get home. In fact, it almost makes me laugh to see such pathetic people crying - get a grip, it's not so bad. They'll probably get their money back and be able to book another crappy package holiday anywhere else anyway. They're unlikely to have been going on a dream honeymoon/holiday on the lash in Tenerife or whatever other gyppo places they're travelling to. Most will have been slightly inconvenienced at the worst.

 

Much worse for the people who have unexpectedly lost their jobs and have a mortgage and bills to pay next month etc... who do have my sympathy. Put it into perspective, if you can you cackers.

 

People like you make me sick. Obviously you are so well paid that you can fly first class with the best airlines and stay in first class hotels everywhere. My parents, both pensioners, saved hard to go on this holiday, and have been really looking forward to going. To find out 10 days before they fly that their dreams have been shattered is indescribable. Hearing my mum cry over the phone was awful. Luckily my sister and I have been able to get another flight on the same day and that was only because we acted quickly and could cover the cost between us. Yes my dad paid by credit card so should get his money back eventually although the credit card company do not seem that willing to help.

 

Of course I feel sorry for all the employees of the company. Where their future lies no one knows. They are probably all owed wages as well and most will have families to support. This is no more their fault than it is the customers fault. I have heard one story of someones daughter who worked as a rep, is now stranded with no money, no acccomodation, no flight home and also has to deal with angry holidaymakers. They have my sympathy of course they do. Their future is pretty bleak. As colin said it is all relative. At the end of the day it is how this kind of thing affects you personally

 

But the reason I put this post up was not to gain anyones sympathy/pity, it was to inform everyone who uses this site incase they too are affected, so they can begin trying to reclaim any money lost asap and maybe able to rearrange their holidays quickly before everything gets booked up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

People like you make me sick. Obviously you are so well paid that you can fly first class with the best airlines and stay in first class hotels everywhere. My parents, both pensioners, saved hard to go on this holiday, and have been really looking forward to going. To find out 10 days before they fly that their dreams have been shattered is indescribable. Hearing my mum cry over the phone was awful. Luckily my sister and I have been able to get another flight on the same day and that was only because we acted quickly and could cover the cost between us. Yes my dad paid by credit card so should get his money back eventually although the credit card company do not seem that willing to help.

 

"Dreams have been shattered" "Indescribable" etc... This proves my point - drama queen pikeys. A bit of inconvenience is all that has happened here isn't it? Holiday still happening yes? This is nothing compared to those who lost their jobs. Your dream week away in Turkey was in danger of being moved to another week (which in actual fact it hasn't)? Whoop de doo.

 

Also, I guess it does help to be able to fly first class and stay in top notch hotels anywhere, thanks for reminding me, but please do get a grip and wake up to reality.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"Dreams have been shattered" "Indescribable" etc... This proves my point - drama queen pikeys. A bit of inconvenience is all that has happened here isn't it? Holiday still happening yes? This is nothing compared to those who lost their jobs. Your dream week away in Turkey was in danger of being moved to another week (which in actual fact it hasn't)? Whoop de doo.

 

Also, I guess it does help to be able to fly first class and stay in top notch hotels anywhere, thanks for reminding me, but please do get a grip and wake up to reality.

 

That's the point, for many people who have had to push things to go on holiday in the first place NO! Holidays and trips like this ARE dream trips for them! They are not regular occurances and thousands of people who do not have a spare 1-2k to get new flights will have no other choice but to cancel their holidays, not everyone is insured against these kind of losses.

 

Get off of your pedestal and smell the f*cking coffee.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh do shut up Colin. Poshie's dream holiday is still happening, don't take that comment out of context.

 

More generally, not going away for a week is not the end of the world, it really isn't.

 

End of the world, no? But a lot of people don't have that much to look forward to in their lives. And small mercies like a weeks get away can make one hell of a lot of difference to people. Especially when you support Saints!

 

And no, I won't shut up you pretentious ****. It's a forum of free speech and I happen to find your viewpoint highly patronising and lacking perspective, so I will express that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

End of the world, no? But a lot of people don't have that much to look forward to in their lives. And small mercies like a weeks get away can make one hell of a lot of difference to people. Especially when you support Saints!

 

And no, I won't shut up you pretentious ****. It's a forum of free speech and I happen to find your viewpoint highly patronising and lacking perspective, so I will express that.

sorry, but that is rubbish..

 

dont tell me these people who can afford to go on a week in the sun can barely afford to eat, live off hand me down clothes and draw the social...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

sorry, but that is rubbish..

 

dont tell me these people who can afford to go on a week in the sun can barely afford to eat, live off hand me down clothes and draw the social...

 

No, but they will have made sacrifices to afford it, to the detriment of other things.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't disagree with that Colin, it is merely the scale of disappointment that amazes me. I can understand disappointment, and indeed I too would be disappointed, but crying about it and saying dreams have been shattered (even though most will get their money back and be able to rebook at a later date) etc.. I don't understand that at all and find it rather pathetic.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't disagree with that Colin, it is merely the scale of disappointment that amazes me. I can understand disappointment, and indeed I too would be disappointed, but crying about it and saying dreams have been shattered (even though most will get their money back and be able to rebook at a later date) etc.. I don't understand that at all and find it rather pathetic.

 

Well, if you are in a more financially stable/privilaged position then the scale of dissapointment may not be something you can relate to.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am merely trying to make these pikeys feel better and am somewhat surprised I am not being thanked for making them realise it isn't so bad after all.

 

As Colin has said this is a forum of free speech and you are entitled to your opinion, just a shame that you have to be patronising and insulting when you do it. To call people who cant afford the luxuries in life 'pikeys' is an insult. The fact they are, or most of them are, hard working and some miss out on things that others take for granted for the chance of a week away from it all seems to be beyond anything you can comprehend.

 

If you want people to aim your insults at then do it to the owners of the company that were still taking innocent peoples money at 3am yesterday morning, still allowing the pilots and cabin crew to fly out of the UK knowing full well that they would be stranded, left employees who worked for them abroad with no accomodation, allowed people to go home on Thursday evening believing that they had a job to wake for on Friday morning. Also you could also aim it at the other airlines that doubled/trebled their prices because they knew that people would have to pay it to get home. Just dont do it to the victims of this collapse no matter how pathetic you think that they are behaving. Until you know each and everyone, who has been affected by this, their personal circumstances, I do not believe you are in a position to be labelling them.

 

I think it is you that needs to wake up and get a grip and realise that everyone is different and will react to situations in different ways whether you agree with them or not.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Dark Sotonic Mills
Poshie hun - just put him on 'ignore'.

 

I did, ages ago, but unfortunately I still see his invective to all and sundry when he's quoted.

 

You're a nice person - he's not.

 

HTH

 

I can't put anyone on 'Ignore', I have to read all the invective and bile spouted by those too stupid to realise how the world really is. I know people who have saved up for years to afford a holiday and they would be devastated if this happened to them. Not everyone has the protection of using a credit card to buy their flights or being able to afford stupid insurance prices as well.

It would have upset me if I were in that position but I guess I'm lucky enough to be able to afford comprehensive insurance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7614336.stm

 

Alitalia in the poop now though no doubt the Italian government will bail them out as a state airline. Believe me, there's more to come with failed airlines very soon. If I was going on hols I'd be very careful right now about the flight provider involved, forget the cheapie deals unless it is a robust stand alone company such as Easyjet. Steer clear of charter airlines that get involved with package hols unless you have checked them out financially. Last two months have Silverjet, Zoom and XL in administration, all UK based.

Edited by TopGun
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Alitalia has 3 major problems.

 

1) A very large short haul fleet of aging, thirsty MD-80s.

2) A very small long haul fleet (by nation airline standards)

3) Ryanair are taking them to the cleaners on a lot of European routes.

 

It's the MD-80s that are killing them. They're about 15% more expensive on fuel and upkeep than the modern short haul planes flown by the likes of Ryanair & Easyjet. Their longer haul stuff is ok by comparison. But Air France-KLM have also just pulled out of a merger deal with Alitalia anyway which has nailed the coffin for them with the bankers. Big trouble in little Rome.

Edited by TopGun
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Poshie hun - just put him on 'ignore'.

 

I did, ages ago, but unfortunately I still see his invective to all and sundry when he's quoted.

 

You're a nice person - he's not.

 

HTH

 

Forgot about that facility. Thanks BTF.

 

Unfortuantly, like others, I think that there will be a few more go under before next summer. Because this was such a big company, and as hit the headlines more than others like zoom, people will be more aware of how unstable the industry is right now. I don't think I would want to be an employee in this business right now, not knowing if the company they work for is going to be next

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Hacienda
I can't put anyone on 'Ignore', I have to read all the invective and bile spouted by those too stupid to realise how the world really is. I know people who have saved up for years to afford a holiday and they would be devastated if this happened to them. Not everyone has the protection of using a credit card to buy their flights or being able to afford stupid insurance prices as well.

It would have upset me if I were in that position but I guess I'm lucky enough to be able to afford comprehensive insurance.

 

If people can't afford or be bothered to pay travel insurance then I have little sympathy for them. It's hardly expensive.

 

Family of 5 comprehensive annual travel, excluding North America, can be had for less than £50.

 

My sympathy is for those on low incomes, who have squirled away a few quid here and there to pay for a holiday and booked direct and will get nothing back.

 

The other real victims are the employees.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Hacienda
Alitalia has 3 major problems.

 

1) A very large short haul fleet of aging, thirsty MD-80s.

2) A very small long haul fleet (by nation airline standards)

3) Ryanair are taking them to the cleaners on a lot of European routes.

 

4) Way to expensive.

5) Crap hubs.

6) Terrible customer service.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If people can't afford or be bothered to pay travel insurance then I have little sympathy for them. It's hardly expensive.

 

Family of 5 comprehensive annual travel, excluding North America, can be had for less than £50.

 

My sympathy is for those on low incomes, who have squirled away a few quid here and there to pay for a holiday and booked direct and will get nothing back.

 

The other real victims are the employees.

 

The problem is nowadays that like alot of things, it is not necessarily an automatic part of your policy. Alot of people don't realise this or not prepared to pay the stupid amount the insurance companies want you to pay. This is why travel insurance has become so cheap these days.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...