yes Sanji
If you lived where I do you probably wouldn't fly abroad at all. The biggest laugh I got was someone asking, as we were entering the terminal building in Aberdeen, if we knew which luggage reclaim belt we were going to- there is only one!

Sanji, I've just had to remind myself that you are on holiday now - and hopefully enjoying it! Let this go and get out into the sunshine and, if you must, pray that you never have to use one of the Scottish regional airports :-) Though as Fiona has pointed out - if you do you won't ever have to wonder which carousel you'll find your luggage on!

SM

Sanji, I've just had to remind myself that you are on holiday now - and hopefully enjoying it! Let this go and get out into the sunshine

Hiya Sma
Thanks, I am enjoying my holiday although it did take us 2 days to get over last Friday.
I usually just pop in here while the hubby is either asleep or having his last drink of the day.(I don't drink and there's only so much pop, water and coffee I can drink)
Let it go? yes I agree you have to let it go because even I can't turn the clock back, what's done, is done, but I was extremely angry and to some degree I still am.
But I'll only let it go until I get back to England and then the poo will hit the fan and I intend to take this all the way.
Coventry Airport just was the last straw.

Saludos
Sanji

Yodays news was Thomson and First Choice amalgamating. Will this mean better service? I wonder. CBG

Yodays news was Thomson and First Choice amalgamating. Will this mean better service?

At Coventry Airport specifically, or in general ? For general discussion about the TUI/First Choice merger reported in our Tour Operator's forum in March, please click here.

David

Coventry Airport Terminal Planning Permission Refused

Guess great news for some, bad news for others.

Can't see Thomson stickin around, looks like we'll all be back to brum!

I was sat in a bar last night and an elderly woman and her teenage grandaughter came and sat with us.....
the conversation went the usual holiday way...
How long you here for.? where are you staying.? have you been here before ? Where do you live and where did you fly from?

The episode of Coventry Airport was to become the focus of the discussion and this lady lives about 10 miles from the airport, but refuses to fly from there.
She was telling me that many years ago it was just used for freight and transporting live animals, consequently the animal activists were always down there demonstrating.

Nothing new there I said then, Thomson are still dumping people there and treating them like live cargo....
It's a poo hole I said....and she completely agreed.....that made me feel a whole lot better if a person who lives in Coventry thinks the same as me.

She did explain the same as Bagand96 that Warwick Council have had this on the agenda for years and in the local rag every now and then, they read the planning permission is refused time after time.....

Sanjiiiiiiiiiiiii

Hi all
My sister lives down the road from Coventry Airport. She has lived there a long time. They fly really low by her house, they almost look as if they are going to land on the end of her road, you can actually hear the tyres skid on the runway as they land. She says the noise doesn't bother her at all, and because she is used to them she doesn't hear them. She actually enjoys watching them. I have talked to her regarding the increase of air traffic and she says it would not bother her at all. She is actually flying from the airport in August and is looking forward to going up the road, about a mile, checking in, and because there is not much of a terminal building, she will just nip around the corner to the local pub.

I live roughly 12 miles away and am hoping to use it next year. I am not a Coventarian (or a Coventry kid) myself and the lady who agreed with you may not be a "Coventry person" either as she lives 10 miles away.

Dawnie-Rob

P.S. Regarding the activists. One got killed lying in the road in front of a lorry.

Thomson to stop flying from Coventry Airport
http://www.thomson.co.uk/editorial/travel-news/travelling-from-coventry-airport.html

Sorry for all of you who like Coventry, but as I was bussed down there from Doncaster Airport, at least it won't happen again if there is a problem in December at Donny.
Made my day

Sanji

I wondered if something was in the pipeline, we had booked a flight from Coventry to Alicante with them depart 9th Nov to 16th. booked it in May,in July we got an e-mail saying this flight was cancelled. The cheeky sods only offered us a flight for 11th to 15th for the same money also from Coventry, not bad eh 3 days less for same cost, just aswell we didn`t take this as this would have been cancelled now too

I notice that Wizzair have also stopped operating out of Coventry. So no passenger services at all now.

Just seen the Thomson website concerning the ceasing of Thomson flights.
We have 2 holidays booked flying from here, and would like to be prepared when they contact us.
I have looked at the possible alternative flights they are lkely to offer, and these are unsuitable.
Will we be able to cancel and have the deposit refunded if I refuse to accept the alternative flights.

Thanks...Caz

cazB,

You'll normally be offered an alternative holiday / flights or be given the option of a refund if these options are suitable.

Darren

This might help CazB

http://www.coventryairport.co.uk/passenger_information/2008/10/15/important_notice_for_thomsonfly_passengers

Sanjiiiiiiiiiiii

I had to laugh at Coventry Airport MD's statement, it is particularly the last paragragh - you have to admire the mans ability to talk up a dire situation. The airport has no passenger services left at all, but still he is convinced the airport has a bright future

I know there are other options such as Cargo and Private aircraft etc, but still.......

http://www.coventryairport.co.uk/news/2008/10/15/response_to_thomsonfly_announcement

Shame for those that are booked up but that is in my mind more the fault of Thomson for taking the bookings and given such short notice of the cancellation of services.

It seems to be the norm for airlines to do this now and I guess the current economic downturn has given them the perfect excuse to get rid of any route they want at the drop of a hat.

Mark

Hi Mark
I don't think that Thomson wanted to drop the Coventry route, there's been some good flights/holidays at the right price going from there and of course when there are problems at Doncaster Airport, (where Thomson are running the show) Coventry was a good "get out of jail" card for them because the landing fees at Doncaster are crippling anyone who wants to go in there.
When I search for a holiday the Thomson search facility sometimes throws Coventry up, as well as Doncaster, and the difference in holidays between the two airports is quite a substantial amount.
I think Coventry has been the victim of not having the investment and the planning permission to bring the facilities into the 21st century.

I don't know a lot about the situation, but it appears (I think) that Warwickshire council have their fingers in the pie of nearby Birmingham Airport and there's a conflict of interests.
I think when the planning permission was refused in the high court last week, Thomson saw that the future was none existent for Coventry with no planning permission and no investment being put into the place, and boy did that place need some serious money spending on it ...so they got out....I don't think it had anything to do with the cost of fuel as has been reported by the BBC, infact I'm getting bl**dy sick and tired of Airlines blaming everything on the price of a barrel of oil, which has fallen back to $68 a barrel, and Thomson have an hedging policy anyway....so will they be buying aviation fuel while its at it lowest sine 2007 and still passing the high prices off, on this.?

I also read somewhere that there was a Government white paper that was putting forward the plans to build a massive airport on the scale of Heathrow in the countryside near Rugby...and then both Birmingham and Coventry would close.
This was because Birmingham Airport is reaching its capacity, however a couple of villages would have to go and investment in the surrounding roads made, obviously there is/was a lot of objections by the people who live in these villages and the environmentalists.
One good argument for Coventry was that given the right amount of investment, Coventry could take the "over-spill" and relieve the pressure on Birmingham International Airport.

I feel sorry for anyone who is booked from there and anybody who likes the convenience of the airport, but I'm not going to deny that IMO it's a poo hole and my opinion is not clouded by the fact I was bussed down there by Thomson from Doncaster and suffered a 9 hour delay.

I have several small airports near me, Leeds/Bradford,Humberside and Doncaster Airport, the latter two are literally stuck in a field, but Doncaster was purpose built because it already had one of the longest runways in situ from the RAF days of Finningley, so, forgetting Doncaster because it's only 3 years old.

Humberside airport is a palace compared to the facilities at Coventry.
There's small and modern and then there's small and antiquated, Coventry is just a tacky snack bar in a oversize garden shed and then you come outside to cross over the path and enter an oversized portacabin with rows of basic plastic chairs and another corner shop counter flogging drinks at rip-off prices.
And do you know what struck me the most about this place.? It was the fact that it wasn't even clean and with the air tainted with human body odour and food in the giant portacabin......it made me feel like puking before I even stepped on a plane.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/coventry_warwickshire/7673791.stm

Sanji

Thanks for reply Darren and Sanji,

Very interesting reading Sanji, maybe they have done me a favour!, never flown from Coventry before but its only 40mins up the motorway so booked for that reason and as you say prices were quite a lot cheaper.
I'm expecting them to offer me Doncaster airport but it would take longer to get there than fly to Spain!!!

Regards....Caz

Could be wrong but don't think Warwickshire CC have anything to do with Birmingham Airport which USED to have some financial involvement from Solihull Council where it is technically situated and is still reliant on for planning issues etc.

There have been all sorts of ATC issues regarding the expansion of Coventry due to conflicts with the Birmingham control area which have been an additional factor...... I also wonder how much Thomsons decision to quit is tied up with the FCA merger

Hi TAH

I'm not sure who owns BIA now, but certainly in the past and up to last September the shareholders included the seven West Midlands district councils (49%), one of which is/was Coventry Council.
http://www.bhx.co.uk/page.aspx?type=T0NaZj9WNoU=&id=xy/isP8dUlg=
I can't see how Coventry would interfere with Birmingham, seeing as both airports have to get clearance/slots from ATC London
I think Thomson can't be for real when they say passengers can use within easy reach Birmingham, East Midlands, Doncaster, Luton and Stansted >>>>>>>>>>>>
Doncaster nearby/easy reach ???????

http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/2008/10/17/coventry-airport-save-our-flights-92746-22056305/

Sanjiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii