Poster: A snowHead
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Shock horror it can't be true you say, but it is. After the huge thread on Crystals performance over the holiday period, I felt if would be good to offer praise where due to balance the negatives.
We experienced a 7.5 hour delay yesterday leaving VDI due to bad weather, which is of course unavoidable
But we were treated really well, en route to the airport it was very obvious there were going to be problems landing and taking off due to the heavy still falling snow and fog. 15 mins before arrival at CMF the rep (Ski Total sister co to Esprit) on the bus advised there were problems, our flight to MAN was still going to be from CMF and the BHX flight ( bus was 50/50 for each flight) had been moved to GNB. We offloaded and were met inside the terminal by Jet2 staff who told us there was an indefinite delay, apologised for the delay which was beyond their control and asked us to check in, then get a voucher for food and drink whilst they waited for an update.
We did both within 20 mins and went to the Esprit family room upstairs. There were 10 or so Esprit staff there helping to entertain the kids - excellent service. We were given regular verbal updates by Esprit staff, and Jet2 staff plus 2 printed ones from Jet2. A second set of food vouchers were made available about 2pm, with plenty of food being available which can as a welcome surprise, and it was handed out by pleasant staff serving even though the airport was full of people waiting to go home. We were eventually given a departure time, and advised to go though security once our inbound plane had landed due to limited space airside. As soon as a Jet2 plane did land, Jet2 staff came round the building and confirmed it was the MAN flight and to go through security. We cleared security and boarded, Jet2 captain apologised and made sure everyone was settled quickly to make sure we didn't loose our take off slot. A smooth 1hr 40 flight and we landed at MAN, tired but very happy to be back. All in all an excellent example of great customer service from both companies, and credit should be given to all involved.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@geoffknight, nice one good to hear.
I suspect our Esprit days are now over (youngest 6 and older 2 now out of ski school) but we always found their staff to be excellent (only bad point ever was the hot water supply at the Sapiniere in Chamonix- but that is long forgiven) and extremely kind to our kids.
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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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That is good to read. We are going with them in April and are on the verge of confirming our booking for next season.
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@ed123, As the OP said Total are part of the same group - Esprit is another of their brands that focus on young families. I suspect they have the same offices in the UK (almost certain) so the service would be the same. Jet2 on this occasion would be a charter but they do seem to have a good rep for pulling out the stops for getting people home. As they do not work their aircraft that hard (their business model is based on less 'new; aircraft) they have a lot of flexibility compared with some of the buy 'em new and flog 'em hard airlines.
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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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Strange. Total only fly from London airports............. Or am I wrong (it's getting late)
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kiteman69 wrote: |
Strange. Total only fly from London airports............. Or am I wrong (it's getting late) |
You are wrong. Ski Total have packages from a number of UK airports.
And BTW, they obviously are the same company as Esprit - Same offices in Godalming, and same registered company number and ABTA number.
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alex_heney wrote: |
kiteman69 wrote: |
Strange. Total only fly from London airports............. Or am I wrong (it's getting late) |
You are wrong. Ski Total have packages from a number of UK airports.
And BTW, they obviously are the same company as Esprit - Same offices in Godalming, and same registered company number and ABTA number. |
Our rep (as opposed to the Chalet staff) in Val d'Isere last year had a triple branded jacket - Esprit, Total and Inghams. All 3 brands are owned by the Swiss company, Hotelplan.
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An alternative tale....
Our YSE coach left VDI at 8.45 on Sunday. The transfer to GNB took 75 minutes longer than the way up, mainly due to French drivers using chains inappropriately and then obstructing the road removing them.
GNB was pretty chaotic when we arrived. Mr YS apologised in person, the baggage belt had broken and Chambery flights had predictably been redirected. YSE's own Thompson charter was waiting for us and once the chaos of check in was cleared, we were away about 30 minutes late. No need for vouchers.
Not wishing to be smug, but if you use a company that flies to Chambery and shares buses, you're asking for trouble.
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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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@Val Desire, I knew the frailties of CMB when we booked, it's our 8th time flying in and out, and the first time we've had any issues. My son is a good traveller, but tends to be sick on the buses going up or down the hairpins, to tell him it's a 3 hour journey would stress him even more.
Also if it wasn't threre, the flights it does handle would need to be absorbed by other airports putting pressure on them.
Not wishing to be smug, by stating that you became smug, et al no offence etc.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@FiFi_Trixibell, very good, you'll be on mastermind yet! The one you passed on, tour operator YSE, is named after their key personnel (john) yates-smith and (fiona) easdale. Good company that we used many times before buying an apartment. Very reliable travel arrangements, great food from chefs with decent budgets to work from, and lovely chalets. They don't tend to compete on price so not the cheapest but you definitely get what you pay for. The other guests were usually nice too, so lots to like!!!
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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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@andy1234, Ahhh... cool. I definitely wouldn't have figured that out by myself! Just googled and found this. http://www.yseski.co.uk/ Looks nice!
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It was my first time with YSE. I like the chalet concept, but had tired of antisocial flight times, disinterested, grubby staff and poor quality food. Solved in a stroke!
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You know it makes sense.
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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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Quote: |
Not wishing to be smug, but if you use a company that flies to Chambery and shares buses, you're asking for trouble.
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Maybe - but Grenoble has had its fair share of criticism this season. Some of its down to luck and some to what you can afford.
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Poster: A snowHead
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@Val Desire, just looked at YSE site, looks nice more expensive that Esprit, but child discounts aren't great and make it very expensive with kids. Saw their staff in resort quite a lot last week.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@FiFi_Trixibell, Chambery is CMF in fact, just to be more confusing. Everybody .... if you're going to show off what seasoned travellers you are by using international airport codes, do try to get them right.
Assistance here: http://www.world-airport-codes.com
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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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chocksaway wrote: |
Quote: |
Not wishing to be smug, but if you use a company that flies to Chambery and shares buses, you're asking for trouble.
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Maybe - but Grenoble has had its fair share of criticism this season. Some of its down to luck and some to what you can afford. |
Let's be honest, pretty much all of the Alpine airports have their own significant downfalls when it comes to busier times.
Chambery is a total shambles with both check in and baggage reclaim, totally unfit for purpose in anything but quiet times. But it si in a decent location.
Grenoble is pretty bad for check in at busy times, and the queues to get through security are more often than not much longer than they should be. Baggage reclaim is hardly great either.
Geneva charter terminal is ok for incoming flights, but not great for outbound. Better than the rest I'd say. The scheduled terminal is ok (if rather pricey in the shops).
And Lyon is just a whacking great big shed with pretty limited facilities and big queues getting through security.
As travellers we often underestimate how good the UK airports are. Gatwick is huge but really quite efficient for its size, some of the regional airports (I use Southampton and Bournemouth fairly regualrly) are excellent in that they are quiet, plenty big enough to accommodate all travellers comfortably, and thus they are typically relatively stress free.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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We've been using Chambery for 5 years now, and we've been lucky enough not to have had too many issues, a few delays, pack of pushy Russians and the resident evil that is the karzi down by baggage reclaim. But going with Espirit gets us access to their area upstairs for waiting, and the location knocking hours off transfer times is key when you've got kids.
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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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Richard_Sideways wrote: |
We've been using Chambery for 5 years now, and we've been lucky enough not to have had too many issues, a few delays, pack of pushy Russians and the resident evil that is the karzi down by baggage reclaim. But going with Espirit gets us access to their area upstairs for waiting, and the location knocking hours off transfer times is key when you've got kids. |
Pretty much the same view here, been using it most years since 1998 with only one significant delay. Sure the facilities aren't great and the baggage handlers are almost comical. (I have video somewhere of them throwing the bags onto the trolley and at least half a dozen were thrown and fell immediately off the other side).
Will be just leaving the airport for the transfer to Courchevel in 10 days time, fingers crossed for no fog over the lake.....
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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@Lizzard, Ooops ! Started off correct in the OP but failed on 2nd. Slapped wrists for me, should know better I used to work for DHL and all their offices (known as stations by DHL internally just in case anyone tries to correct me !) are based on airport codes around the world.
@Richard_Sideways, +1
@Dav, Manchester baggage recovery is poor, on Sunday we had a man standing at the end of the feed to the carousel manually moving the bags as other staff were loading them on to the conveyor too close together and jamming up, all done with the finesse of a well trained gorilla
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