Monarch Airlines are taking the mickey with their administration charges for flights

[Balcony]

We booked flights several months ago to spend Christmas/New Year in Tenerife. We were prepared for air fares to be high prices - over £1000 for 2 seats.

As we sold our apartment and really didn't fancy paying rip off prices at hotels etc. So we decided to alter our tickets to change our flights to go to Tenerife for the sale completion. We don't usually haven't any cause to alter our tickets, but this change was to cost £140...oh yes, plus tax. We had to swallow it, but what pees me off is the fact that Monarch (and other airlines) do next to nothing in this process - it's me what does the work!

We already knew that there is no refund on our tickets, though satisfied that we could at least alter flight times.

However, I get to the end of the process and there is my extra cost for 'administration' - over £308, plus the somewhat surprising revealation that the stated flight costs early December were the same as over the Christmas period. My wife, ever hopeful, checked prices from her office computer to find the flights for this changed period to be £411 for 2.

So it's a call to Monarch at 10p a minute and spending 5 minutes (or 50p) listening to some long-winded tape giving me my 'options' and then a confused young lady trying to figure what was wrong. "You're trying to rip me off" that's whats wrong. There was a mysterious extra, unexplained £41+ per person per leg added. Anyway 20 minutes later (that'd be £2) and she decided we'd been overcharged. "Damn right!"

"We'll arrange the refund".....er and that is when? Certainly not immediately.

Well MONARCH AIRLINES joins Ryanir in my dustbin.

[candy2411]

Yes its annoying when the airlines charge so much to change flights, but if it was cheap and readily available then everybody would be doing it for the flimsiest of reasons and that would be chaos!

On the plus side, you must be delighted to have sold your property in this current climate so maybe be thankful for that:)

[kiwiphil]

I think people need a more balanced view on the crappy airlines we have now.

If Easyjet, Ryanair, Monarch etc abandoned Tenerife we'd all be paying ALOT more to get anywhere. Sure they have alot of rules and gotcha's, but overall we're paying less than the alternatives. They budget fo make money on date changes, long call hold times etc. They operate on such tight margins that they have to make it up somewhere. We should be pleased that they can turn a profit and don't go bust on us. If they stop making money then we should all be very worried, as they will cut routes that are not profitable without concern.

If we all prefer to pay more for fares that we can easily change then these airlines wouldn't exist. The trouble is we all like paying less, we just get upset at the consequences of it. So what do we really want - regular, cheap flights, from lots of places, or nice airlines, that give us free numbers to call, charge nice re-booking fees, give us lots of legroom?

Be careful of what you wish for.

[kathml]

I get annoyed at the continual carping about flight prices most of us are paying less for flights esp from regional airports than we paid 25 years ago

[delderek]

I get annoyed at the continual carping about flight prices most of us are paying less for flights esp from regional airports than we paid 25 years ago

Mmmm, not sure about regional airports, but that's definitely not the case from Gatwick. I could get a last minute return on some charters for 40 quid. and even on BA. 75 to 85 quid was not unusual.

[Dan747]

I get annoyed at the continual carping about flight prices most of us are paying less for flights esp from regional airports than we paid 25 years ago

Given the average prices just 10 years ago were over £200 per person I completely agree, I remember the first time we came to Tenerife in Feb 2003 and the cheapest flights we could find from Manchester were just over £250 each with Monarch, fast forward to recent times and you hear people moaning if they can't get tickets for under £100 return!

Given the cost of oil has quadrupled in that time, in theory we should be paying more and not less! When you can fly to Tenerife for less than a train ticket costs from Manchester to London, you really shouldn't moan.

As said, airlines like Monarch and Ryanair rely on the revenue from charges for flight and name changes etc to make a profit, it is either keep them and keep fares lower, or remove them and pay more.

[cheery]

We travelled to Tenerife in January '97 with Monarch, 2 weeks, £500 for 3 of us. We came back last week having stayed a week for 2 of us and paid £540 with Easyjet. Not bad value 15 years apart.

Now, the bone of contention with me and others is all the add ons. When i book a ticket I just want to know the cost overall, not a cost for this and a cost for that. Tell us it is £267 per person, not £12 for APDT, £16 per bag per way. Incidentally, apart from owners returning abroad most people need cases. I am not going on holiday with Ray Mears living in the clothes I am wearing for a fortnight. Easyjet have started offering tickets how they used to be and how they should be. No rugby scrum at the gate, bags included. Civilisation returns. I don't suppose the thieving leprechaun will be changing his procedures anytime soon.

On the subject of numbers of flights, that is dictated by demand not price. Tenerife and the Canaries have one thing in their favour. Year round climate. Lots of people go to the Balearics, SoF, Ionians in summer. In winter it is a different story because of weather. Do you want to sit in Menorca, Corfu or St.Tropez in February?

[tfs1]

I don't suppose the thieving leprechaun will be changing his procedures anytime soon.

yes Ecky - I know this isnt a Ryanair thread but couldnt resist it. I'm reminded on one of MOL quotes regarding Ryanair passengers :

MOL on Ryanair passengers: "Do we carry rich people on our flights? Yes, I flew on one this morning and I'm very rich."

[kathml]

Mmmm, not sure about regional airports, but that's definitely not the case from Gatwick. I could get a last minute return on some charters for 40 quid. and even on BA. 75 to 85 quid was not unusual.

yes these were the days when the only places to get flights were gatwick and manchester if you could get one from other regional airports you faced large surcharges and they were few and far between of course that was when the big companies controlled the flightmarket

so ryanair easyjet and the other low cost airlines have made a great difference to us out in the sticks

[andy pandy]

We are travelling with Jet2 on the 27th April for 4 weeks from Glasgow and for the 2 of us INCLUDING extra legroom seats/express check in/22kgs baggage each it has cost us £505. We have travelled with other companies but we found Jet 2 to be really reasonable and we were well cared for when we came to Tenerife a few months ago. We priced the "cheaper ones" and found that they weren't cheap!:wave:

[tfs1]

andy pandy,

good luck to you for getting good deals with Jet2, sadly our experience of Jet2 prices is the exact opposite - even with addons etc.

Chris

[Balcony]

I can see I'm gonna have to move further north so I might get some of these cheap tickets.

[fixer]

Just cost me £225 to change my Jet 2 flights they wanted over £500 to change from March to april rip off. david

[marbro8]

my friend rang me this morning from tenerife, he got there yesterday after a long delay with monarch, he paid £2000 for him his wife and his 2 kids last year, if he had booked them a few weeks ago it would have cost him £500 more, but the plane was more than half empty???, why do they persist in overcharging for these flights in the 6 weeks kids break??? surely they are not doing the island tourism any favours by flying half empty planes,they would be much better filling the plane and making the same money,that way everyone is happy,the passengers because they get a fair price flight,the island tourism board because they have double the holidaymakers spending on hotels food and drink and the airline because they haven't lost anything,maybe if the airlines were offered some sort of incentive by the tourist board to stop this bloody minded flying half empty but making the same money attitude then things would be better all round;)