Originally Posted by
Badenoch
Canada's low-cost vacation airline Sunwing ran into a technical glitch yesterday and my news feeds were replete with sad tales of woe from travellers stranded in various locations. There was the usual fury directed at the airline, the whining about lack of communication and the teary-eyed pleas for an immediate solution.
I have no sympathy. The term "stranded" means to be stuck somewhere with no means of getting anywhere else. Unless socked in by weather and everything is grounded the only people who are "stranded" are those who aren't prepared for the occasional flight disruption. Sensible travellers therefore are never "stranded" but are merely "delayed."
i have full sympathy (and ZERO EMPATHY) for these ULCC pax because they usually have a limited holiday budget that doesn’t factor IRROPS. Like us US3 fliers, nobody reads the fine microprint on the COC. the majority of these pax are not prepared to spend money on hotel due to IRROPS with plans for reimbursement. Most of these people aren’t prepared to pay $50 for a wash/fold laundry service when they’re delayed a week or two for their ULCC to get them home.
i have zero empathy because I don’t fly ULCC and like others in ft, I can just buy a full fare flight to get home in order to reduce inconvenience or I can taxi to a money-burning hotel instead of awaiting a budget hotel voucher plus food vouchers plus shuttle voucher. I don’t know what it’s like to have used up my travel budget for the year. I’ve endured delayed luggage which taught me to carry extra clothing in my carryon during travel.
it’s not a pretty picture for most of these ULCC pax. I just hope that these IRROPS don’t impede their ability to fondly remember the other 7-14 days of their fabulous vacation. I’ve had my own flight issues for flights back home that I won’t forget since I also won’t forget all the joyful memories of trips. Ok. I will eventually forget since that’s normal for humans. :-)
but utter sympathy. Nobody likes IRROPS. That’s why we have FlyerTalk. And we all hate IRROPS in life, outside of travel.
Which news feeds exist that allow you to learn about Sunwings? Today is the first day that I’ve heard of it. I definitely don’t read any news feeds about travel outside of FlyerTalk and nytimes.