[uptown]

if they're stuck somewhere they want to be for a little longer than expected what's the hardship?

I bet being stuck somewhere for an extra week, costing you an extra week's accomodation (booked short notice no doubt at a premium), and extra week's leave from work, and missing god knows what at home must be a barrel of laughs, especially if you're on a tight budget. I'm guessing no-ones travel insurance will cough up.

utg and Dave in non-agreement shocker. Read that word in bold Dave, your scenario suggests the fictitious party doesn't want to be there. JB's right - it's a sad state of affairs when flying is the cheapest travel option available.

[SA Chris]

Snow fell in Aberdeen this morning, wonder if it's related?

[Jim]

Dave and JB are both right.
Public transport is shit and overpriced. no wonder everyman and his dog has a car, its cheaper to run than getting the bus/train etc...

[dave]

if they're stuck somewhere they want to be for a little longer than expected what's the hardship?

I bet being stuck somewhere for an extra week, costing you an extra week's accomodation (booked short notice no doubt at a premium), and extra week's leave from work, and missing god knows what at home must be a barrel of laughs, especially if you're on a tight budget. I'm guessing no-ones travel insurance will cough up.

utg and Dave in non-agreement shocker. Read that word in bold Dave, your scenario suggests the fictitious party doesn't want to be there. JB's right - it's a sad state of affairs when flying is the cheapest travel option available.

Do you recon loads of people will want the cost of their holiday ballooning wildly, want their kids to miss a week of school etc? For those with nothing to rush back to and plenty of cash I'm sure its not a hardship.

[Johnny Brown]

Oh n00o0o my holiday's been extended! And I've got the perfect excuse! What will I do00o0!? Get a grip Dave.

[dave]

Grip this girlfriend.

[Stu Littlefair]

If you fly with an EU airline, then the airline has a legal responsibility to provide you with food and accommodation until a replacement flight has been organised.

Those people desperately stranded on climbing holidays will be able to claim expenses back for their food and hotel etc, directly from their airline. Their insurance shouldn't come into it.

Good luck with Ryanair mind, just go straight to suing the fuckers

[dave]

I thought they had some getout on natural disasters though? Obviously ryanair are so tight they're probably docking their staffs wages while they can't fly.

[grumpycrumpy]

Its suprising to find out how much we all fly really. This week was to be the first time I've ever flown for a short business trip, I didn't feel it was justified and am pretty glad its been cancelled. The empty skies over the weekend were great. Personally I'd love this to go on for a few months and give us all a lesson in just how unnecessary a lot of air travel is.

Utg and JB in agreement shocker! 
Jim - people shouldn't be flying somewhere they don't want to be - if they're stuck somewhere they want to be for a little longer than expected what's the hardship?

And if they're stuck somewhere they don't want to be ? ...... Because they flew there for work and are now stuck in a place where the beer is £7.50 a pint and gives you the sharts ...... What then ? .....   

[Johnny Brown]

I'm sure if you're there for work you'll get recompensed. If there's a real need to get back, fly to southern France then hop on a train, bus or hire a car. Then consider a job that doesn't involve flying.

[Stubbs]

Some guy on the radio said he dropped 2.5g's on a taxi from Barcelona to Calais to get back to Glasgow, surely that's only a decision that can make sense in a chemically altered state?!

[slackline]

Well I've not set off for Devon/Cornwall yet as I'm sat at my parents travel agents in Sunningdale whilst they try and help people find alternatives.

If you fly with an EU airline, then the airline has a legal responsibility to provide you with food and accommodation until a replacement flight has been organised.

Those people desperately stranded on climbing holidays will be able to claim expenses back for their food and hotel etc, directly from their airline. Their insurance shouldn't come into it.

This legal repsonsibility only kicks in once you've checked in, if you haven't checked in, you're on your own, so only people affected in the first few hours will have this to fall back on.

If you've not left the country on a holiday you'll likely be able to get most of your flight costs back as the airlines have been unable to provide a flight that you had booked on.

If you have "travel insurance" companies have a clause which means that natural disasters (or as they call them "Acts of God"  ) aren't covered by the policies.  So you'll likely loose out on your car-hire, accommodation and so forth.  Which really sucks as to my mind such unforseen circumstances are one of the reasons why you take out an insurance policy policies in the first place (the other being injuries and such like).

To rub it all in the UK body of insurance companies had a meeting a few days ago, just to reassure themselves that they're not going to be paying out, err, well I'd have been amazed if they'd have changed their minds, what was the point in meeting.

People might not want to have to stay wherever it is that they've been holidaying (or at work) and incur extra expense, but realistically what is the alternative?  Trains are pretty much all booked, although the SNCF have announced 80000 extra (and more importantly cheap/reasonably priced) seats between Paris and London (read earlier on the BBC).  There simply aren't alternative flights.  There is no one responsible for a volcano erupting, that might be hard for people to grasp in the blame culture/sofiety that seems to prevade these days, but I'm sure the same people would be suing the arse off the airlines and government agencies if they had permitted flights when it was known that the ash cloud has the potential to fuck things

What really sucks is the hike in prices that public transport and hoteliers seem to think is ok (some of my parents clients can afford this, but others in their hotel in Egypt can't and, get this, they've been evicted by the police  ).

Some guy on the radio said he dropped 2.5g's on a taxi from Barcelona to Calais to get back to Glasgow, surely that's only a decision that can make sense in a chemically altered state?!

Hope the poor taxi drivers doesn't get searched at border patrol on the way back.


Now, time to see if I can watch the snooker online.

[slackline]

Not to worry, the navy are going to help get people back

In the meantime you can console yourself with an ode...

from the poet laureate

And in no uncertain terms should airline companies get get bailed out by tax payers.  They can go bleating to their insurers who will tell them the same thing as tourists get told.

[bobkatebob]

Well it all can't be that bad regards getting over the channel.

Work know I have a ticket going spare on the Eurostar tonight, posted on here as well, nobody interested at all.

it's not like I was asking for mega bucks either, just didn't want to see it going to waste.

I also booked my Eurotunnel on Friday evening for Saturday afternoon. the price was actually cheaper than I expected for travelling on a Saturday booking the day before.

I could have booked the Ferry, they were having no problems as long as it was for a car and not foot passenger.

[Stubbs]

I could have booked the Ferry, they were having no problems as long as it was for a car and not foot passenger.

I guess that's because people don't generally take their car with them when they fly to places?

[JohnM]

Never tell people at your place of work that you own a car.  Now a professor in my university department wants me to pick him and some other stranded colleagues up from Portsmouth and drive them back to Liverpool !  Although I reckon the compensation will be generous so it might not be all bad.  Apparently there are no hire cars available in the country!

[slackline]

There is at least one good thing to come out of the disruption 

Apparently twitter and facebook have popular car-pooling trends/groups going.

@JohnM : WTF do these people not have any family to help them out.  On a Profs salary they could no doubt easily afford a few nights in Portsmouth.

[grumpycrumpy]

I'm sure if you're there for work you'll get recompensed. If there's a real need to get back, fly to southern France then hop on a train, bus or hire a car. Then consider a job that doesn't involve flying.

You make it sound so simple ......  my arse off .......

[Johnny Brown]

Its really not such a big deal though is it? People just can't cope without a concrete itinerary. Big deal, wait it out, do something different. Europe is not such a big place; nor a week a long time.  We didn't fuckin have planes not so long ago!

[JohnM]

I can't believe the first thing Aled asked Moyles in that recorded conversation was "what are you going to do about clean clothes and socks" and he said "I think I might have to get them laundered in my hotel"!  What a nightmare!  FFS what is wrong with some people?

[SA Chris]

Its really not such a big deal though is it? People just can't cope without a concrete itinerary. Big deal, wait it out, do something different. Europe is not such a big place; nor a week a long time.

Easy to say when the situation is not really affecting you in any big way.

For example, a colleague's brother just flew to NZ to attend a wedding, and the bride and groom are both stuck in the UK. Big deal? To them it probably is.

[slackline]

It sucks, but they'll get married somewhen else, and will have a good day (see above, wedding I was at Saturday had several people missing who bride and groom would have liked to have been there, including the grooms youngest brother who was to e an usher).

Yet to hear a viable alternative to just putting up with it.  And as there isn't one, there's no point moaning/bitching about it.

[Johnny Brown]

A pain in the arse? Yes. A BIG DEAL? No.

[SA Chris]

Having a few people missing from a wedding is one thing, having bride and groom missing is another.

They are accepting it, but saying it's not a big deal from the comfort of your own home / office / Iphone at your local crag is easy to say.

[SA Chris]

So what do you define as a BIG DEAL? A dying relative for example?