Mrs B. and I have a trip to Malta planned in April and we are quite excited about visiting a country that neither of us has ever been to.
But nothing is ever plain sailing, or rather plane flying in this instance!
Our flights were booked months ago, but the airline ‘rescheduled’ the flights a week or so ago.
Here’s the detail shared - “We regret to inform you that your flight has been rescheduled by the airline.”
Instead of flying in and out of Gatwick, here was the alternative offered:
Outbound
London Heathrow (LHR) – Malta (MLA)
KM Malta Airlines
Inbound
Malta (MLA) – London Gatwick (LGW)
KM Malta Airlines
So the solution offered by the airline was to fly us out from one airport and back into another. How ridiculous is that? Totally, and intentionally, unhelpful!
The option for getting a refund was offered, and that was quite clearly the option that suited the airline.
It was the only sensible option for us, so we took it and had to rebook our flights at a higher cost with British Airways (BA) instead. The important thing is that we still have a holiday.
We haven’t actually got the refund yet, so the new flight costs have put another dent on the credit card. I hope that we aren’t messed around in that regard too.
The news is full of woe about fuel pricing in light of the US/Israeli war with Iran. I guess that the airline, like many others, is making decisions that suit its bottom line rather than taking care of its customers.
I was miffed that we were treated so poorly; corporates have all the power and can decide to shaft customers at will and face no consequences.
Amusingly, we had chosen KM Malta Airlines to fly with because that allowed us to avoid Ryanair (an airline that we both hate). Ryanair is well known for viewing customers as necessary evils - flying with that carrier has never been an enjoyable experience for us. Maybe Ryanair's Air Malta would have been better!
I have always viewed flying with British Airways as a bit of a treat. The BA experience is just better than any of the budget carriers.
BA is better at forward planning too. In the news last week was the proof. Here’s a link to an article that shows that BA has not hiked its fairs or started cancelling/rescheduling its flights. It had funded its fuel into the future and, so far, has avoided the price shocks that affect the budget carriers.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c87w4x0n3j0o
We haven’t made it to Malta yet, so things could still go wrong for us, but I am hopeful that BA will have been the saviour of our Maltese break.
In knocking KM Malta Airlines, I balance the negativity with a bit of flag waving for BA, our flag carrying carrier. I may be a bit naive, but I trust BA a lot more than KM Malta Airlines.
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But nothing is ever plain sailing, or rather plane flying in this instance!
Our flights were booked months ago, but the airline ‘rescheduled’ the flights a week or so ago.
Here’s the detail shared - “We regret to inform you that your flight has been rescheduled by the airline.”
Instead of flying in and out of Gatwick, here was the alternative offered:
Outbound
London Heathrow (LHR) – Malta (MLA)
KM Malta Airlines
Inbound
Malta (MLA) – London Gatwick (LGW)
KM Malta Airlines
So the solution offered by the airline was to fly us out from one airport and back into another. How ridiculous is that? Totally, and intentionally, unhelpful!
The option for getting a refund was offered, and that was quite clearly the option that suited the airline.
It was the only sensible option for us, so we took it and had to rebook our flights at a higher cost with British Airways (BA) instead. The important thing is that we still have a holiday.
We haven’t actually got the refund yet, so the new flight costs have put another dent on the credit card. I hope that we aren’t messed around in that regard too.
The news is full of woe about fuel pricing in light of the US/Israeli war with Iran. I guess that the airline, like many others, is making decisions that suit its bottom line rather than taking care of its customers.
I was miffed that we were treated so poorly; corporates have all the power and can decide to shaft customers at will and face no consequences.
Amusingly, we had chosen KM Malta Airlines to fly with because that allowed us to avoid Ryanair (an airline that we both hate). Ryanair is well known for viewing customers as necessary evils - flying with that carrier has never been an enjoyable experience for us. Maybe Ryanair's Air Malta would have been better!
I have always viewed flying with British Airways as a bit of a treat. The BA experience is just better than any of the budget carriers.
BA is better at forward planning too. In the news last week was the proof. Here’s a link to an article that shows that BA has not hiked its fairs or started cancelling/rescheduling its flights. It had funded its fuel into the future and, so far, has avoided the price shocks that affect the budget carriers.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c87w4x0n3j0o
We haven’t made it to Malta yet, so things could still go wrong for us, but I am hopeful that BA will have been the saviour of our Maltese break.
In knocking KM Malta Airlines, I balance the negativity with a bit of flag waving for BA, our flag carrying carrier. I may be a bit naive, but I trust BA a lot more than KM Malta Airlines.
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