Just goes to show (Never trust the luck of the Irish) bring back B O A C or B E A

We first flew to Malta with British Caledonian, BCal those were the days

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Caledonian

I think under certain circumstances all airlines can fail miserably. When we were flying home from Malta last week ( with Thomsonfly..on time, both ways for a change!!)..there were some poor unfortuante souls travelling to Exeter with Air Malta who had a delay of over 9 hours..and even then I don't know how long their final delay was as we left for Donny well before their estimated departure time..in fact we were back home before then!!
Having said that, i agree, you get what you pay for...cheap does not always mean cheerful!

We have just returned with GB (British Airways) The good thing with them is that you can check-in on-line. However their 'fast bag' drop off desk at Manchester airport can be just the opposite
The seating is not too bad and I would reccommend that if you are wanting to buy their 'breakfast' £5.00. then make sure that you check yourself in seats that are either close to the front or back of the aircraft as they always start the trolly run from the front and back heading toward the middle and they always run out of breakfast before making the middle of the aircraft. You would think that a departure time of 07:15 that they would ensure that they would have enough breakfasts but alas no! They also attempt to show an upto date film but again their quality control may ensure that you have no sound system.

The visit that we made in June we flew with Air Malta. We flew from Liverpool and the aircraft was half empty. This of course was the reason that they decided to divert via Vienna to pick up some stranded passengers They did not inform us of this until everyone had boarded the plane (a legal hijack). It meant that a three hour journey turned into 6 hours So my advice to anyone who they try this trick on again is to refuse and insist on leaving the aircraft. Ask for compensation as it will not be offered and as we have now found out their offer of a half price flight in the future isn't worth the paper it was printed on. Whoever you fly with, it is no longer a pleasant experience.

m&n welcome home, I trust you enjoyed your stay i was just reading your post and it struck me , what a coincidence i was on that diverted flight in June you must remember me i was sat with my wife and two children near the front of the plane, I have a Brian May/ Kevin Keegan type perm and buck teeth, what a drag that day was.

Hello all, a lot can be said about any of the airlines they are for the most part all the same, in that most people can tell of a least one time when they have been delayed for some reason or another. I do agree that those so called cheap air lines do tend to leave people in the lerch if things do go wrong, but we must have been lucky with Easyjet the three times we have used them they have been fine with no probles at all.
We went to Cyprus once with Thomson holidays and had a 5 hour delay and we have had a 9 hour delay with First Choice, plus lots of 1 hour delays over the years, but we still go back for more as it is the holiday not the flight we are going for.
But the best one ever was on the way home from Malta we boarded the plane as you do, of we set and with Mt Vesuvius to our right through the plane window on came the captain to say we have to turn back to Malta with a fault. Well if you have heard the saying deathly silence well thats what it was, he made light of it and of we set back to Malta I told the wife it can't be that bad or he would have gone for the nearest airport, after dumping fuel in the Med we landed for the second time in Malta much to the releaf of most people on the plane, but they made us sit on the plane for over a hour untill they fixed it even filling it back with fuel before setting of again. To give the captain his do, he did give us all a free stiff drink to calm us down, and yes the airline was Air Malta.
Dave

PS I would never fly with Ryan Air even if it was free or they payed me

Hello vee dee,
Sorry but although you have described yourself as unforgetable! I can't really say that I noticed you. However we did make good use of the free drinks that they reluctantly provided. We were sat at the Emergency Exit seat over the port wing. If they were ever to try that trick again I would refuse and insist that they allow me to leave the aircraft and also return my luggage which will cause a delay.
Unless of course they offered a more realistic offer of compensation. They knew exactly what they were doing before we boarded and chose not to inform the passengers until it was too late for us all to do anything about it. Have you tried to book their offer of a half price flight yet? Don't bother as by the time you get to speak to anyone in customer services the cost of the phone calls would ensure that it would have been cheaper just to go on-line and pay the full fare. Remember taxes and surcharges are extra!

m&n shame you didnt remember me but still, I did not try for anything in the way of compensation because Vienna was a place I always wanted to see ever since the eighties hit by Ultravox, I must say i was not dissapointed at what i saw you must agree, Or maybe you did not have a window seat. Better luck next time.

HMMMM! Vee Dee,

You puzzle me? we landed in Vienna in the dark during a vicious downpour........what exactly did you see

m&n i recollect seeing quite a bit must have been what i was on.

Well I never knew that, I always thought Midge Ure had written that song because he either had a fondness for a particlar kind of bread roll, or at least because he fancied Rigsby's cat in Rising Damp.

thanks sleima2 your comments ruin my image of one of the most powerful songs of the eighties by Ultravox. Midge Ure what kind of a name is that. only joking