travelswithhusband,

Im mobile at the moment so I cant check on things, but I'd give it a day or two and try again. Things may be being updated so not everything is showing at the moment.

Darren

travelswithhusband,

There was a thread on TA about the same thing happening with flights from Manchester to Puerto Plata. Schedule shows them going but no availability for packages or flight only.

Cheers Dazbo/Sunaddict.

Will wait until after the new year and give Thomson a call

evening,
i have just talked to thomson reference our premier flights lgw-azs-lgw( tom 048/049) 19th jan/ 2nd feb, we have been told that the a/c out has 5 rows and 9 on return in this class. this seems strange as these seats are sold as returns, have worked out that its tom out and fc back. is this common or are they still trying to catch up from the snow ?

gooner1970,

It's not common, but aircraft are substituted from time to time at short notice for operational reasons. For example maintenance, technical problems or cover for delays. This is one of the disadvantages of operating a mixed configuration fleet. If an aircraft is substituted, it's not necassarily the same config so causes logistical problems.

Darren

cheers dazbo

gooner1970, what Thomson SHOULD DO(!!) is only sell the equivalent of 5 rows of Premium for both flights then offer people the opportunity to upgrade on the return - what they will ACTUALLY DO is sell 9 rows of Premium both ways,get the cash,then leave the poor s*ds who are bounced into standard on the outward flight, to claim weeks after they return to UK!!

brewerdave,

That's fine if aircraft changes were a regular thing, but they aren't. The vast majority of flights operate as scheduled. I know aircraft changes shouldn't occur, but it's inevitable some changes will occur throughout the year for the reasons mentioned above. Aircraft changes are as much a nightmare for the airline as they are for passengers! You can't please everyone all of the time. If only 31 premium seats were sold per flight out of 63 in case an aircraft is changed, it would be a struggle to sell them all at last minute, especially because seating is pre-allocated to speed-up despatch and check-in. Imagine the size of the queue if up to 32 passengers started to change their bookings, sent to another desk to pay the extra etc. It wouldn't work.

The other issue is aircraft capacity, there's a big difference. There are 283 (31Y+ / 252Y) seats on the ex-TOM 76W's, but only 258 on the ex-FCA 76W's (63Y+ / 195Y). It would mean you'd either overbook on one aircraft, or underbook on the other. With the different seating capacities, as you can imagine, you don't want to be in a situation where you plan for a 283 seat aircraft and have to bring in a 258. It's not too bad the other way around, at least everyone gets a seat, just unfortunatley not the ones they may have booked. Airlines need to be sending out full aircraft, hence they are planned to use a particular one well in advance and don't want to be changing them unless it's absolutely necassary. Things aren't always as simple as they seem.

The real answer is aircraft commonality, ie have them all in the ex-FCA or ex-TOM then you can swap and change as much as you want. But again, it's not that simple as some routes demand more premium seats, some more economy seats, hence the mixed configurations.

Darren

brewerdave,
i agree but it seems strange that they know 2 1/2 weeks before it leaves.

Dazbo. I understand what you are saying.....but it seems lately that the aircraft changes have all been to the detriment of the passengers - Thomson appear to have still been selling Premium seats up to departure when they must have known that it wasn't going to be available.

brewerdave wrote:

aircraft changes have all been to the detriment of the passengers

That's always going to be the case when the change is to an aircraft will less premium seats. There isn't a lot that can be done about it. I know it's no consolation to those effected by the changes, but what would passengers prefer; an economy seat or a 24 hour+ delay and the loss of a days holiday? I know what i'd choose.

brewerdave wrote:

Thomson appear to have still been selling Premium seats up to departure when they must have known that it wasn't going to be available

I can't comment on that but I would find it surprising if that's the case.

Darren

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