 Poster: A snowHead
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Booked ages ago for Manchester > Friedrichshafen, 10-17 January 2015....but have just had an e mail to say Monarch have cancelled the flight. They are kindly offering either a refund or re-booking onto another Monarch flight.
What the ****?!
We have already booked:
- Airport hotel.
- Airport parking.
- Digs in Bezau, Bregenzerwald (deposit paid).
And my brother and his missus, who will be in Austria at the same time, have booked digs at Bezau for a couple of nights so they can come and ski with us on Mrs MA's birthday....
To say I am annoyed  would be to put it mildly. First - and last - booking with Monarch - the ****ing b*******. The only silver lining to the cloud is that I hadn't booked car hire yet.
What now?? Alternative travel arrangements needed. Are Monarch liable for any of the above??
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Mon 27-10-14 21:14; edited 1 time in total
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Suspect they'll be outside the window for compensation. Travel insurance?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Got travel insurance - but don't know whether we'd be covered for incidentals relating to flight cancellation. Also suspect that any claim would be negated by the per person excess....
Still planning on staying in Bezau but it's the inconvenience that has really got my goat. Have already checked out easyjet to find (oddly for low season in Jan) no flights to Munich on our dates from Manchester or Stansted...
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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That's terrible. I see they are still showing flights the following week to suit Admin's Livigno bash but can you trust them not to cancel. The alternative to go from Gatwick is not attractive from up North.
I am not sure if they have any other legal liability beyond what they have offered as it is not a package holiday.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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mountainaddict, probably not convenient, but BA seem to have flights from Gatwick to Friedrichshafen on those dates.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Lufthansa have a choice of flights Manchester to Munich or Swissair Manchester to Zurich at reasonable price.
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Thanks for the initial post. Have a flight booked back from Verona in April. Have not had an email from Monarch but flight no longer appears to be scheduled. Suggest people check their flights still exist.....Will have to work up a plan B tomorrow.
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Cheers all!
We will make the best of it; will make alternative arrangements; and the extra expense and inconvenience won't kill us....but the question remains...JUST HOW ARE THEY ALLOWED TO PUT 2 FINGERS UP TO PASSENGERS WHO BOOKED 5 MONTHS AGO??
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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mountainaddict, look at KLM. Can get pretty much anywhere in Europe via Schipol, certainly Munich, possibly even closer, from northern airports like Newcastle or even DTV. Sorry I can't answer your real question -suspect it boils down to Monarch effectively having unfair terms & conditions, just like the rest of the holiday/charter companies. Has anyone really read the cancellation conditions on their package deal? Effectively you can't cancel without significant penalty, they can cancel up to 6 weeks beforehand and give you your money back (iirc, some companies may differ)
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Because if it's outside the window in which they have to pay compensation there is nothing to deter them. It's just a chance you take booking a way out presumably to get a cheaper fare. If course even that!s a double edged sword- too many people holding off booking will increase the chances that algorithm says cancel the route.
There's no real answer, as we know TOs aren't beyind the switcheroo. Best chance is a big airline on a popular route.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Don't know how much Monarch was, or if this helps, but KLM is £250 pp return from DTV to Munich 10-17 Jan 2015
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Completely infuriating. For future reference I would always leave airport hotels, parking, transfers etc to last minute- there may be many reasons why your plans could change. Even minor things like flight time changes- not uncommon that closer to the time airlines change flight times and you no longer need that hotel or the transfer you booked doesn't work anymore. It's always worth bearing in mind any airline can change or cancel and nothing you can do except collect your refund.
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You know it makes sense.
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@mountainaddict, not sure if you can do Memmingen with sleazey or RyanAir from Manchester, it is closer than Munich. otherwise one of the flights to Munich sounds like your best bet.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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P&O cancelled my ferry a few weeks ago, apparently simply due to lack of demand. Certainly not a weather issue. No prior warning, no apology, classic Gallic shrug. It completely trashed other arrangements I'd made and cost me £££ to sort alternatives. I won't ever travel with P&O again given a choice.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Germanwings do flights from Manchester > Friedrichshafen, but they only fly out 1 day earlier (Fri), & return 1 day later on the Sunday. Their prices are quite good though, £60 outward, & £70 inward. Could you alter your hotel & parking bookings rather than cancel them & have the positive outcome of 2 extra days skiing?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@mountainaddict, I really sympathize - Monarch did the same thing to us last year, cancelling our Luton-Munich return flight for the 3rd week in January in early December. Whilst we able to get another flight, it was from a less convenient departure airport and cost us significantly more as we had to re-book the flight with only a few weeks before travel (as opposed to months, when we'd booked with Monarch).
It's really put me off booking with Monarch again.
I hope you get it sorted without too much added cost/inconvenience.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I've had flights cancelled by Monarch also. Haven't bothered looking at their schedule since. Lufthansa MAN to MUC is probably your best bet, it's a daily route, includes luggage and ski carriage, and if you book ahead enough you can get return flights for under £150.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@mountainaddict, tell us how that works out - their customer service has an opportunity to make things good.
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There seem to be a lot of uncertainty with flights in January to that area of the world.
Back in the spring I booked early morning flights for the 17/1 from Heathrow to Munich with Lufthansa (as theyr were cheapest).. that flight got cancelled... Luckily it was refunded and I booked the same trip at roughly the sme time with BA.. a few weeks later that flight was pushed back over 2 hrs which has meant re-adjusting transfer... and recently flight times were adjusted again although only by a few minutes so not big deal..
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Flight time changes are not uncommon - cancellation a bit less frequent, thankfully, and exceptionally annoying - sympathies, mountainaddict. But have to agree with peanuthead that ancillary bookings are best left to the last minute. I've had several BA flight times changed enough to make a difference to parking and transfer arrangements, had I had any. And at least one Snowhead has reported arriving at the airport to be bumped off a long-booked flight by BA. None of the airlines is perfect.
Monarch have been in the news - cutting loads of jobs and laying up some of their fleet.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| mountainaddict wrote: |
Booked ages ago for Manchester > Friedrichshafen, 10-17 January 2015....but have just had an e mail to say Monarch have cancelled the flight. They are kindly offering either a refund or re-booking onto another Monarch flight.
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We had exactly the same thing with Monarch last year, albeit Gatwick to Friedrichshafen. For us actually it worked out better as there are other options from Gatwick and we went EJ to Innsbruck, but the sign of a rubbish airline all the same, I wouldn't even consider them now......
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@mountainaddict, What @lechjohn, says above, I never use anyone else but Lufthansa (MUC) and if I have to Swiss (ZHR) - Monarch/ Jet 2/and to a lesser extent EJ market themselves as skiers airline but really havent got a clue! I dont even consider Ryanair, rip-off mercants. We are sadly short of options from the north, I suggest Lufthansa, great service and car hire/ train options. Further to drive but at least you know you'll be going! Good luck with it, Monarch do this loads of times, avoid them is my advice, many do that's why they can't fill their planes in winter.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Of all the airlines I've flown with, including Ryanair, Monarch is my least favourite. Poor service, grotty old planes and poor "food". Worst airline by far.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| Quote: |
PreBBWUW3 and from the S11BB
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@Lechbob, Wassat....?!
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You know it makes sense.
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Yip - they cancelled the programmed from Leeds from mid Feb - had to change flights. Last year they changed my times then moved the flights to Sat from Sun and then moved my return flight from Leeds to Manchester. I took them to task and eventually got a voucher which paid for this year - which then had to be changed. they are clearly in a mess and doing nothing to build customer loyalty just at a time when they need it. I will still use them at the last minute - but I certainly wouldn't book next years dream holiday with them!!
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Flew once with Monarch, one too many times - 5 hour delay, tried to fob us off with poor excuses.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I don't think that this experience would apply to, say, BA or EasyJ (on a programmed basis, obviously sometimes individual flights get binned).
So booking, say, EasyJ flights as soon as they are released is a perfectly reasonable idea.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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| Markymark29 wrote: |
| Quote: |
PreBBWUW3 and from the S11BB
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@Lechbob, Wassat....?! |
over 3500 posts & you haven't come across the pre Birthday Bash warm up week #3 and the Snowhead's 11th Birthday Bash 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@Lechbob, No. Not heard of that, have seen EOSB in VT but not the others.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@mountainaddict, it's a common occourance, if they don't get the volume they reschedule or worse as you've found out cancel. We've paid for summer flights to Palma with them, offot check now to see if there still selling that flight. We have used them on a number of occasions to Palma and found them to be OK, no better or worse than any other carrier offering cheap flights.
Thanks for the heads up and glad your sorting things out.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Had an Easyjet Birmingham - Toulouse flight cancelled last year when we were booked in for a long weekend in Andorra. I think they canned the whole route not just our flight.
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Swiss air to Zurich is a good flight and there is an express coach service from the airport to the Arlberg resorts. Don't know if it'll pass through Bezau but it might be worth checking out the Arlberg Express. Or if you decide to go via Munich then check Singapore Airlines for prices. They stop off in Munich on the way to Singapore, so as a big long haul flight I think (hope!) they'll be less prone to random cancellations.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@mountainaddict, I used a Quidco link to book the Radisson at Stansted last time we flew from there. Couldn't be more convenient and parking was included.
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FAQ
and 90 minutes by direct rail link from airport to Bregenz. (but no sausage and good beer 
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