Flight delay from Barbados - Oceana Calypso Isles

[chubbycheeks66]

Can anyone tell me why the flight TXC086L from Barbados is delayed expected 0710hrs GMT on 25/11/06 now expected 1305hrs GMT on 25/11/06?! 6 hours late! :confused:

[alibail]

TCX086L delayed due to late inbound aircraft apparently, which could mean anything.

[chubbycheeks66]

I wondered how Thomas Cook airlines work their aircraft - the outbound flight from Manchester took off on time - do they use the same aircraft for the return or use an aircraft from another region eg Glasgow? The last 2 return flights to Manchester from Barbados have been delayed, could this be due to poor scheduling? rather than late departures? Do P&O allow you to remain on board if the flight is delayed and how do we go about paying for drinks etc once the onboard credit has been settled? Will they take cash?

[iamwhatiamnot]

I wondered how Thomas Cook airlines work their aircraft - the outbound flight from Manchester took off on time - do they use the same aircraft for the return or use an aircraft from another region eg Glasgow? The last 2 return flights to Manchester from Barbados have been delayed, could this be due to poor scheduling? rather than late departures? Do P&O allow you to remain on board if the flight is delayed and how do we go about paying for drinks etc once the onboard credit has been settled? Will they take cash?

 

Hi ChubbyCheeks

 

We came back from Barbados last week not on a TC flight but Monach. Ours was delayed by 8 hrs and yes they let you stay on board but once your account has been closed which is first thing in the morning and you have left your cabin at 9am you can buy anything on board with Sterling.

 

Kind regards

 

Iamwhatiamnot

[daiB]

Hi ChubbyCheeks,

 

We were on J625 and from our experience and talking to others P & O do not take you to the airport until 3 hrs before the flight is due off. You clear your rooms by 0900 and you can use all the facilities of the ship until it is time for your leave.

 

Your on board credit is stopped at 0100 after which you have to pay cash for drinks etc.

 

Our return flight was delayed by 20 hrs. We had not gone to the airport and from the time of the announcement at about 1700 we had a Free Bar, until we got off the ship the next day.

 

However even their best plans go astray when they have to deal with 3rd parties and one group from our cruise had an extra 3hrs wait in Barbados airport, totalling five and a half hours.

 

We had a great cruise hope you have one as well, when it comes.

[Globaliser]

The last 2 return flights to Manchester from Barbados have been delayed, could this be due to poor scheduling? rather than late departures?

In general, charter airlines work on notoriously tight margins to make the economics of their operations make sense. For example, the airline may fly a 10-hour sector from the UK to a Caribbean island, allow a 90 minute turnaround and fly back again. In contrast, a scheduled airline like BA or Virgin might have the aircraft waiting at the turn point for 4 to 6 hours (or more) before the return flight. In part, this soaks up any delay that may have occurred on the outbound. But if the charter airline has no slack in the schedule, the instant there is a delay anywhere in the aircraft's schedule, every subsequent flight is at risk of a knock-on delay. And because of factors like having to have all the right equipment and personnel in place at the right time, duty time limits and so on, there is actually a tendency for delays to snowball rather than reduce over time. Once things start going pear-shaped, they tend to continue doing so.

 

A few years ago I went to the Maldives on a package. The primary air travel offer was a Monarch charter. Because there was no more premium space left on the aircraft, I refused to fly on it, so we all went on a connecting Emirates itinerary via Dubai instead. When we arrived in the Maldives, the Monarch was late (it ended up being about 7 hours late). The local rep said that that was just par for the course; nobody, she said, ever flew on the Monarch to the Maldives a second time.

[chubbycheeks66]

Hi ChubbyCheeks,

 

We were on J625 and from our experience and talking to others P & O do not take you to the airport until 3 hrs before the flight is due off. You clear your rooms by 0900 and you can use all the facilities of the ship until it is time for your leave.

 

Your on board credit is stopped at 0100 after which you have to pay cash for drinks etc.

 

Our return flight was delayed by 20 hrs. We had not gone to the airport and from the time of the announcement at about 1700 we had a Free Bar, until we got off the ship the next day.

 

However even their best plans go astray when they have to deal with 3rd parties and one group from our cruise had an extra 3hrs wait in Barbados airport, totalling five and a half hours.

 

We had a great cruise hope you have one as well, when it comes.

 

Hi

Thanks for the info, we are due to fly out on the 8 December! Can't wait!You mention you were delayed for 20 hours did P&O provide a cabin for you to sleep in etc or did you have to settle on the furniture in the lounges?

Many thanks

 

Chubbycheeks