Following on from earlier posts, there is some media coverage about Flyglobespan's loss of ETOPS here:

BBC News
Ocean FM News
Irish Independent

David

Nivsy,

allowing for land to be within 90 mins of reaching

I beleive non-ETOPS flights require an airport within 400 nautical miles rather than a specific flight time.

Darren

As I have said i was told by Globespans customer service that they hopd to use predominately their own aircraft on the GLA-SFD route along with the leased Neos, has anyone else heard this.

The only people who really know what aircraft they will be using on what routes next summer are FlyGlobespan, and I very much doubt even they have it finalised yet (judging by this year).

As it stands at the moment leased Neos and Icelandair aircraft can still operate ETOPS for Globespan as they are operated by those airlines under their ETOPS certificates.

However, I woudn't worry yourself i'm sure it will all be sorted by September 2008. Apparently Globespan will be meeting the CAA this week to discuss the issues further and see where it will go. ETOPS is very long process to get, however Globespan did get it i the first place. As long as they can prove issues have been ironed out, and have a plan for the future then it will be reinstated, and monitored by the CAA.

The worst thing is that they lost it in the first place. And the fact they are blaming it on subcontractors in the press has no relevance. It's YOUR ETOPS certificate, YOUR aircraft, YOUR procedures. YOU choose to use subcontractors, YOU have the responsibility to ensure their work complies with ETOPS regulations; if not you loose YOUR ETOPS certification. End of.

I totally agree with bagand96. Its really also a shame that FlyGlobespan had procured 2 perfectly (allegedly) good 767's from Air New Zealand and consequently leased them out. This is nothing to do with ETOPS but worth noting on how management within GSM work.

So many want people want GSM to be succesful - and that includes me (mentioned in many of my previous GSM reports) - I just sincerely hope that the move to transatlantic ops and the adverse publicity do not result in a down turn of GSM support.

We report on holiday truths quite a few "exclusives" before it reaches the press however I hope most readers do understand that GSM are in the scheme of things are a reliable carrier and it will be interesting to see what the CAA make of ETOPS situation - and no doubt we shall report outcomes before you read in the press.

Nivsy

I also hope that all this is ironed out quickly as people forget that Globespan are operating what we in Scotland have been crying out for for so long, that is a genuine low cost operator with a large selection of detinations that does not burden the consumer with unneccessarily high flight supplements from a Scottish airport. I have used them often on short haul routes and found them to meet my needs exactly, I am also (hopefully) using them to fly to Orlando next year and once again found the price, flight times, frequency to meet my requirements exactly, something that perhaps the people down south take for granted. The demise or downgrading of Globespan would be a big loss to us Scottish travellers.

I agree Flem - we've always previously flown from Manchester to Orlando and always moaned about how much cheaper it would be from one of the London airports etc. And that drive back from Manchester to Scotland after a 9 hour flight is always dreaded!!

It was absolutely perfect this year to go from Glasgow straight to Orlando at a nice decent price
I just wish globespan would bring back their own aircraft so people get what they are paying for. Neos aircrafts are a bit shabby inside.

Hi Folks,

Going out Monday 12th Nov NCL - LPA, TCX191K back a week later TCX191L. Not really looking forward to being packed into the 757 but hey, it's a means to an end. I was wondering if there was any IFE and what it might be. I have checked the airlines web site but it only mentions long haul.

Thanks in advance for any replies

humanist,

I think you posted this on the wrong thread by mistake! TCX have ceiling mounted screens on older aircraft and overhead LCD's on the newer ones. The 757 is a great aicraft. I'm not sure what they are showing, probably Spiderman 3 and the usual BBC repeats on one of the flights.

Darren

It does appear, although I emphasis not yet confirmed or reported, Fly Globespans ETOPS (see previous forum posts) has been re-instated with immediate effect.

Confirmation to follow.

Nivsy

Have heard this also, phew, can't have been that much of a problem to have it reinstated aso soon after its withdrawel (relatively of course)

Also heard Gloespan's ETOPS has been reinstated.

can't have been that much of a problem to have it reinstated aso soon after its withdrawel

Don't underestimate the fact that it was withdrawn in the first place. The fact that it was withdrawn means it was a big problem. The CAA don't just go round withdrawing licenses, there are many steps they can take before that, such as monitoring, slaps on wrists etc.

That said, I am definately not trying to scaremonger or say Globespan are unsafe/unreliable, not by any means. It is very good news that it has been reinstated, and of course this wouldn't have been done unless Globespan met the high ETOPS requirements.

ETOPS covers a whole range of requirements including crewing, maintenance, aircraft equipement among many many others. This problem was probably isolated to one specific area, so as long as Globespan can prove they have rectifies, and have taken steps to ensure full compliance going forward in that area, then the licence gets reinstated.

Flyglobespan is reported today as the worst budget airline in Scotland for delays ... click here for full story.

David

Of course GMS have had troubled delayed this year and more often than not do appear in the scottish tabloids. However I think its worth noting that they are really the main budget or LCC operator out of Scotland and have considerably more flights per week than any other carrier to european/holiday destinations (at least from EDI or GLA). I think the article does need to be considered with an open mind.

Nivsy

I know what you mean Nivsy but GSM have had a horrible year with delays and technical issues. It's no excuse. They tried to do too much too soon and there reputation and business is suffering because of it.

Darren

Sensationalist journalism like this can seriously damage the airlines reputation, leading to less people booking and the cancellation of services, as Nivesy said anyone can massage figures to read how you want them to read (I make a living out of it), can the Sunday Mail not see that this exageration and doom and gloom scenario could result in a negative effect on Scotlands only real low cost carrier and the loss of jobs, I find it strange that given the number of times I have used Globespan that I never face any of these difficulties. Rant over

By this time on Tuesday FG will have paid off half of their Scottish cabin crew.
They do not want to give the girls and boys full time contracts.

They should not be allowed to mess people about

*Admin edit to remove potentially libellous comments - Glynis*

I can only say that I must be really lucky. I have flown numerous times to lots of different destinations with Globespan and have never experienced a delay other that the plane being in a queue to take off. I appreciate others may have diiferent experiences of them, but I have found them to be just fine.

I would be interested if someone could dig out punctuality data for the following routes this year from Edinburgh . This will show just how bad they have been .
Edinburgh/Nice ' Edinburgh/Rome @ Edinburgh/Pula @ Edinburgh/Barcelona .
Thing is , most of these are just due to unrealistic timetabling .

I would assume air head that Globespan like any other carrier that rely's on holiday makers for a significant share of its buisness will have less demand for staff during the quieter winter period and therefore like these other mainly charter airlines have to reduce staffing numbers accordingly during winter, it is simple economics.