Originally Posted by
MSPeconomist
This happened on Saturday; it wasn't a repatriation flight. I wonder whether the real problem was that Thomas Cook couldn't afford to fill the fuel tanks enough to carry the luggage too.
Originally Posted by
iflyjetz
I'd tend to believe that the plane was at maximum weight and wasn't able to take additional luggage.
The Greek island airports are notorious for being at the limit for modern large narrowbodies. Unlike the 757, those weren't designed to rocket off from a marginal runway, rather to take off lazily from a large airport runway, and fly far.
Still, they make good enough sense into the smaller islands (a good bit from their maximum ranges) so that they are used there. However, it's quite common that a single hiccup in weather (wind in a wrong direction, too hot...) sends them on limits, and then the choice is, do you take the luggage, and stop for fuel on the way, or do you take the fuel to get home and let the luggage arrive later.
If you are an airline running enough flights in the airport, it usually makes sense to leave the bags, and load them on another flight leaving later - that would likely have better weather, i.e. flying at a colder night rather than hot day.
Also a risk, if you have already fueled up, you can't just give the fuel back, so if the weather turns worse between fuel order and departure, bags off is the only way.
Originally Posted by
irishguy28
Then I would advise you, as a reasonable person, to go and look.
You will find that, unlike its parent and former owner, it is a profitable business. With Thomas Cook's collapse - taking Condor's profit with it - Condor finds itself with the rug pulled from under its feet, and would struggle to survive the lean winter period. Many airlines - particularly those that are highly seasonal, such as holiday charters - make their profit in the high (summer) season.
To condemn Condor to face the winter alone, having had its circumstances so brutally altered just now, through no fault of its own, just as it faces into the tough part of the year, appears quite vindictive. That Condor, like many other airlines, has a seasonal business model is not one that means it is inherently unprofitable. That it should now, with its profit-making season just completed - and those profits ripped away - somehow be expected to survive the lean winter months, unaided, is not something that appears fair.
Should all businesses that seek credit be denied and then pushed to failure?
Note that Thomas Cook was in the same boat last week - but no-one was prepared to stump up the credit there, as it was clear that it would not be enough to get them through the winter.
No point in sending a good airline after a bad one!
What I would be worried here, is the loss of Neckermann business by Condor.
Originally Posted by
notquiteaff
Based on my one post-TC-liquidation DE flight the other day (which was fairly full despite not carrying any TC customers), I am almost certain that Condor is viable on its own.
Also here I'm wondering - how much of this is Neckermann passengers just getting back from holidays they managed to fly out on before the crash?
Now ATOL is well publicised, but I don't know how German law does it - perhaps it has people fly back on the same flights they were supposed to, and the insurance pays for the costs of suppliers not yet paid?
Originally Posted by
irishguy28
Condor made a €43 million profit for 2018, with expectations for 2019 to beat that.
TC announced a £1.5 billion half-year loss last May. That's why they looked again at selling various assets - but it became clear that offloading the divisions that actually made money was unsustainable and would have hastened the end of the parent.
Cutting them free from the sinking TC corpse would have been the right thing to do; TCUK would have gone under before the summer, so at least hundreds of thousands of Brits managed to get their last TC summer holiday.
One thing I have not seen really reported much on is how healthy was
Thomas Cook Airlines? As opposed to the group as a whole. Although granted, with the loss of the majority customer, there would be little point in keeping them alive, I am afraid.