The only info I can find is that this is a proposed venture by the Czech airline called `Travel service` who to be fair have been around a long time.They are proposing to base themselves as a new spanish start up airline in the Canaries and the latest name they are going to use is Air Class.

The fleet is supposed to be a mix of Boeing 737 800 and 400 variants either borrowed from the parent company or leased in.However their website is now down and no further info seems to be available,although some similar info is being asked for on airliners.net so will keep you posted.

Funny isnt it that its always British Tour operators that jump in using untried and tested airlines as long as they are cheap.Not something the germans seem to do though.

Hi, I can't give you too much information about this but I'll try. European Aircharter have been in and out of financial difficulty for a number of years. I had heard that this year they are closing their BHX base, but it seemed strange that they still had a programme of flights for Cosmos and others. However, from your info, it seems they are pulling out of BHX.

If your worried about tin cans, well European were the kings of that anyway! I flew BHX-Palma with Cosmos in 2004. European operate a very old fleet of Boeing 737-200's around 30 years old. To be fair, the flight was fine, yes the aircraft was old, service was average, but I got to Palma and back no problems which is all you want really.

Ok, the new operator. I've dug around a bit, and have managed to find some information. It starts with an airline called Travel Service, who are a big charter airline in the Czech republic. A few years back they launched a Spanish subsidiary called Travel Service Visig. I don't know where the Visig comes from or what it means, perhaps it was a joint venture between Travel Service and Visig?

It basically seems that the airline is being relaunched as Airclass Airways. I did find a page in Spanish, which seems to be saying that Travel Service have pulled out and the airline been sold to a company in Mallorca, and will be relaunched as Airclass Airways using Boeing 737-800s and -400s (which are newer than European's!)

I wouldn't worry about it, Spanish charter airlines are generally as good, mostly better than British ones. I'm sure you'll have no problems.

Thanks Guys! You sure beat Google and Jeeves!!

I would be grateful for any information about this company . Direct have just changed me to them for my flight to corfu next monday, but information is very scarce.

Hi - i just wondered if now that the summer season has kicked in, does anyone have any more info about Airclass and/or VISIG flying from Birmingham to Palma...or the airline in general?????? many thanks

I have just discovered that Direct Holidays are using VISIG airlines for some of their flights to Majorca from Liverpool this year. Has anyone travelled with them yet? What are they like - are they any good? I know it's only a short flight but I went with Air Europa last year and was quite impressed with them.

Thanks

we are travelling b'ham to majorca with them at the end of june, i asked a few questions on this and the airlines forum a while ago and i think they are pretty much a new spanish company that are also known as Airclass Airways - i tried contacting their UK office (number from cosmos) to pre book seats and to say they were unhelpful doesnt come close, so other i'm not too hopeful of the on board service i'm afraid.....although if anyone can add any first hand experience that'd be great.

Returned this morning using visig air. The journey out was on a mcdonald douglas super 80, very old and dilapidated aircraft. Basic breakfast served no entertainment and no further inflight service. The actual aircraft was owned by Hola airlines and operated by adriatic air. The return journey (10 Hours delayed) was with first choice on lease to visig. It seems that this company either do not own or have very few aircraft. Other travellers using them were flown on excel. So it seems you pay your money and take your chance. One last point is that they operate a free seating policy no allocated seats on some flights and only some allocated on others which leads to great fun when you discover that someone has claimed the seat you had been allocated. I will be giving them a wide berth in the future.

My original flight was with European Air Charter, but was changed to VISIG, an airline no-one seems to know much about. The flght was not posted on the departures board at Birmingham Airport and we were not told about the hours delay. When we eventually boarded the (old) plane, it was very smelly and obviously had not been cleaned after the last flight. There was a garbled version of a safety demonstration and no mention of turning off mobile phones. The biggest shock was the so-called meal - a paper bag containing a plastic dish of water, two biscuits and EITHER a cold sausage sandwich or a jelly!!! A paper hat would not have gone amiss. A thin plastic spatula was all that was provided to eat the jelly with, so it was difficult not to end up flicking it at the person sitting next to you. The return flight was better - at least we did get a better safety demo and a reasonable snack and TWO cold drinks were offered this time. No tea or coffee, even though we were given sugar, creamer and a spoon. My holiday was booked through Panorama, but other passengers were from Airtours and Direct Holidays. I think the "My Travel" Group will have lost many future customers after this episode. On a more cheerful note - I stayed at the Continental Hotel in Sorrento - excellent and the staff were so friendly and helpful.

We were on the Air Class flight from Birmingham to Palma and back (31st May to 6th June) We have never flown on such a tatty, old plane before! I was nervous about it to start with as no one seemed to know a great deal about the company.
We were delayed by 90 minutes on the journey out (something to do with catering apparantly!) When we boarded the plane The intercom didn't work and it was just generally old and dirty looking.
They gave food out to everyone who wanted it, which must have annoyed the people who had paid £10 for theirs! It was a very strange meal, I was glad I declined mine!
The flight back was as bad, the same old plane (do they only have one?)
The change of flight time (an hour later) was annoying as we had no information. Some of the Reps we asked at the airport hadn't heard of the Company! They removed the flight number from the board eventually as so many people were going to the information desk trying to find out what was happening. When we eventually got to the plane there was a fire engine next to it mopping up a fuel spillage. (didn't do much to calm the nerves!) During the flight one of the overhead lockers stopped shutting and the hostesses spent ages trying to get it to work. They eventually had to remove the bags from it and they were scattered around the plane.
The meal was another strange concoction!
I think we were probably delayed about 90 minutes in all on the flight back. The lack of information was very off putting and frustrating and this along side the general poor state of the plane means that we won't be flying with Air Class again!

We have just been informed that Monarch have shifted us to Visig for our flight from Birmingham to Corfu in July. Given all the comments we will probably cancel and take the hit of losing 50%. How can airlines get away with this? Shouldn't we all be doing something about it if we are being put onto probably unsafe and certainly poorly performing airlines? I am furious and will be complaining. Anyone want to join in?

Latest info from this months edition of Airliner World describes this one man band thus.....Its a single aircraft Airline which started business in May of this year and formed from Travel Service Espana ,which was itself placed under new ownership earlier this year.......

Companies like this dont usually stay on the scene long.The reason they get a foorhold in the door is that us Brits `Love Cheap`..We seem to think its a bargain but in reality it isnt.The Germans pay a lot more for their `jollies`but they rarely fly at night,have more leg room and dont fly in heaps like this....

Just a thought...

Hi martinje,
Yep, I quite agree we shouldn't put up with this. We booked with a travel company over the internet and the Airline was European Air Charter at the time. When the tickets arrived it had changed to Visig. I think we paid about £140 each for our flights which as far as I am aware isn't overly cheap? I would definately pay more to avoid travelling with them again!
I have emailed the Travel Company but they haven't bothered to reply yet!

Just an update. My Travel Company have just emailed to say they will be getting in touch with Avro and will be investigating my complaint. It may take 28 days though!

I've just flown on Airclass Airways from Manchester to Kefalonia and back. I have to say that I was very nervous about flying on this airline due to it being a new set up with only one plane.
However, my concerns were unfounded.
The plane, a Boeing 737-300, was clean and wasn't a "heap" as previously described in this forum.

Given the heaps that MyTravel were flying around until recently this plane was much better. Don't even get me started on Astreaus, in which their 737-300 I flew on last year was not only filthy, but bits of trim were hanging off the ceiling!!

So AirClass in summary - OK for a charter flight. Don't pay extra for the inflight catering as it's very poor. Soft drinks were free of charge which is a refreshing change on a package holiday flight. Crew are frienly - always smiling. Flights were on time. Better than Astreaus which is a much bigger, UK Charter Airline.

Overall no complaints.

Just came back from Majorca to Liverpool using VISIG - booked with Airtours as a package. On the way out (25th July) had 1 hour delay - plane was badged Airclass Airways and was very clean and didn't look old. No in-flight entertainment but at 2 hrs 15 mins this wasn't a problem. Free soft drinks which was good but food absolutely awful. Stewardesses friendly and altogether not a bad experience. On the way back had 10 hour delay. Should have flown at 12.30hrs on 1st August but actually flew just after 22.30hrs. Airtours flew out another plane (an MD-80 from French - "B-line" airline or something similar) as the original plane had "technical problems". Airtours actually bussed us all from Palma Airport to a 4* hotel in Magaluf whilst we waited for the new plane where we had an evening meal.
I don't know whether other large carriers able to respond to technical difficulties better (ie in less than 10 hours) than this - I was kind of expecting delays with such a small outfit and my fears were realised. However, based on the outgoing flight with Airclass Airways all the worries about an old untidy plane were not realised.
I have never experienced such delays in the past and will be wary of travelling with a very small airline in the future. Airtours response to the delay in terms of meals and taking people to a hotel was pretty good and involved about 4 reps who all reflected well on their company

It appears that there is much speculation as to who VISIG are and moreso the air-worthiness of their aircraft. Having worked with VISIG for nearly 6 months, I am a tour manager based in Italy, I cannot really fault their efforts to be punctual and efficient.
I have read in this forum about disappointments of flights being 1 - 10 hour delays, old aircraft etc. We can all moan about a delay but let us be realistic...we are talking air travel here. It still amazes me how many people think the aircraft that carries them to a destination sits on the tarmac to await their return. In the 6 months that I have had dealings with VISIG/AIR CLASS I have experienced no delay over 2 hours. TWO hours I hear some call...outrageous!. May I pint out that I waited 3 hours for a delayed train at Gatwick and the ticket to travel to Southampton cost more than my flight. A 2 hour delay may be a little disappointing when going on holiday but it is not the end of the world. There is no need to allow this small inconvenience to ruin your holiday.
I read in this forum that it is the "British Tour Operators" fault for using low cost airlines!!!!. The same letter states that the Germans do not have this problem. QUITE RIGHT! However, is this the fault of the "British Tour Operators"?. I think that is more the fault of the British Tourist who want everything on the cheap!. Brochure booked holidays are a thing of the past...the average British tourist wants "last minute" and "cheap". The reason the Germans do not have this is due to the simple fact that the Germans pay 3 times more for their holiday. Hence they get the best deal from airlines/ hotels etc. Ther is a famous British saying "you get what you pay for"...Remember the cost of your flight is only a percentage of your holiday cost and NOT the full value. Too many tourists from the UK think that each part of their holiday has to be the total value of their holiday. A holiday costing £500.00 has to be £500.00 worth of food, £500.00 worth of flight, £500.00 worth of hotel room etc. It is this "Champagne for the price of a lemonade" expectation that put the British tourist down. people now arrive at destinations with a "COMPENSATION" sticker attached to their head. How can a tour operator win when people arrive with the intention of complaining?.
An old aircraft some say! looked shabby!....a well painted plane does not fly any better than a less well painted plane. The elegance of their livery does not mean that the aircraft is better in its performance. I always adopt a "policy of thought" and that is "If the pilot is happy to fly it then I am happy to board it". I really doubt any pilot will board an aircfaft that is not flight worthy. Please GET REAL !.
A small snack onboard!!!!....MY MY where have you been? Most airlines now do not give food onboard as an inclusive. You either have to pre-book or purchase onboard. Since when have charter airline meals been described as "wonderful"?. If you want the chine plates and the lobster then spend the money and get that service!!! IT IS AVAILABLE but NOT FOR NOTHING.
In my opinion, VISIG are as good as any of the charter airlines available in todays "CHEAPER" market and are being unfairly treated by those who have EXPEXTATIONS ABOVE WHAT THEY ARE WILLING TO SPEND.

ACJ

Your loyalty to your company does you credit.However with regard to my earlier post you appear to have missed the sublety of my remarks in the last paragraph. I actually agree with you, the British tour operators do `cheap` because thats what the market here demands.The Germans demand quality and are prepared to pay for it, we for the most part are not.As for compensation,you are right.Many have become conditioned by greedy lawyers to demand something for nothing.Sadly I cant see any changes on the horizon.

Best of luck to your company.

I am sorry for having missed the last part of your letter. I stand corrected. I do not actually work for VISIG/AIRCLASS but the compant I do work for uses this airline. We operate with a minimum of 5 different airlines each week and I can honestly say that VISIG is certainly not the least punctual....that trophy goes to good old BA.