Primera Air

[Seasider]

Why are we talking about Primera on the BHX thread when the info is about other airports?

 

[finchy168]

Hardly a glowing endorsement.

http://uk.businessinsider.com/prime...-before-our-flight-we-still-werent-boarding-2

 

[Creguk]

I'm still surprised that there isn't a higher power that can or has stepped in yet and maybe grounded them. Obviously I don't know on what grounds, but surely this many cancellations and refunds etc... It can't be good for anyone.

 

[Jerry]

I'm still surprised that there isn't a higher power that can or has stepped in yet and maybe grounded them. Obviously I don't know on what grounds, but surely this many cancellations and refunds etc... It can't be good for anyone.

They can only really ground them on safety grounds I'd have thought. The odd delayed or cancelled flight or bad customer services wouldn't be a reason I'd have thought.

 

[JENNYJET]

Only the laws of economics can see off any business, sadly one can recall Monarch. Customers or the lack of shall decide the fate of this particular outfit in due course.

 

[58terminus]

Only the laws of economics can see off any business, sadly one can recall Monarch. Customers or the lack of shall decide the fate of this particular outfit in due course.

I think we all no their fate but ironically Monarch were well respected for customer service,punctuality and indeed did not seem short of customers.As you say economics will decide it.

 

[Ray Finkle]

Palma ends tomorrow and along with that a based Primera aircraft. Malaga continues until the end of October but looks like it's on a STN based.

Interesting article below, 20 people on a flight from Palma to Stansted in June is abysmal.

https://onemileatatime.com/primera-air-transatlantic/?utm_sourcemedium=Twitter

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Palma ends tomorrow and along with that a based Primera aircraft. Malaga continues until the end of October but looks like it's on a STN based.

Interesting article below, 20 people on a flight from Palma to Stansted in June is abysmal.

https://onemileatatime.com/primera-air-transatlantic/?utm_sourcemedium=Twitter

I suppose it's possible for this airline to eventually finish up with an acceptable and reliable transatlantic network but I would not bet on it if I was a gambler. As the article suggests, their business plan seems a mishmash of conflicting ideas and any strategy they might have appears to be made up as they go along.

 

[richard winterbourn]

How often have we heard the expression 'give a dog a bad name'?

Well this tale relates to something that occurred at Birmingham Airport on August 24 but as i was travelling to Faro and have only just returned to the UK, i was not able to post it out there.

With a couple of hours to kill before my flight i wandered down to the Primera Air desk to see how many were checking in for their flight to, i think, Palma. What caught my attention was a family clearly upset at the desk. I watched and waited and when they moved away to go to the airport help desk i asked one of them what was the problem. I was told that they were a party of 10 and that Primera Air claimed they were not booked on the flight and they were now trying to find a way of speaking to their customer service line.

I commiserated with the man and said the airline had received a lot of bad press through cancelled flights, poor service and difficulties in re-imbursing passengers. He agreed and said he wished he had never booked with them.

At this point i wished him good luck and made my own way to check-in.

An hour later in the departures lounge i saw the same man and went to speak to him asking how he had got on with Primera Air. And this is what he told me.

It was not Primera Air's fault. His daughter had booked and paid for all 10 seats but she had got the day wrong, their flight was booked for the day before.... Horror struck at her own mistake she immediately re-booked all 10 seats on her credit card on the spot and at a cost running into four figures....

Fortunately Primera Air did have 10 space seats for that flight on August 24 so the family did get away.

But as i said at the beginning 'give a dog a bad name' and it sticks - unfortunately in this case....

 

[jfy1999]

GetJet 737-400 LY-PGC is operating Malaga today.

Whatever else might be said about Primera they have at least provided us with several specimens of classic old aircraft (including an MD-82) which we never would have seen otherwise

 

[Creguk]

Sounds a bit crazy but it's quite sad it didn't work out. Especially the promise of shiny new neo's and now nothing.

 

[smithy108]

Primera not stopping their expansion, now launched programme from Frankfurt , 3 daily services using 737 MAX 9 : New York and Toronto DAILY : Boston x4 weekly and Montreal x3
Starting June and July 2019

 

[Coathanger16]

I must say if Primera manage to pull all of this off they may very well be up at Norwegian's level in a few years.

Considering the European markets they're expanding into, its amazing they ever considered BHX. If two years ago someone had said an airline would be flying TATL from:

Stansted
Paris CDG
Brussels
Berlin
Frankfurt
And one other airport in the UK...would any of us really have guessed it to be BHX?

It does make me wonder if this rapid expansion is an attempt to get on board a lot of new customers so they can dismiss the current criticisms? If they can get successful operations with good reviews from 5 other airports, it would be very easy for them to shift the blame for what happened at BHX off of themselves...

 

[Creguk]

Does anyone conceivably believe they may return to BHX long haul as per their past statement?

 

[Ianbutty]

Does anyone conceivably believe they may return to BHX long haul as per their past statement?

No. It is so odd that every announcement is New York, Boston and Toronto. I think they are just sending spam emails out.

 

[paully]

No. It is so odd that every announcement is New York, Boston and Toronto. I think they are just sending spam emails out.

I still don`t think they have a real clue what they`re doing..

 

[Brum X]

Does anyone conceivably believe they may return to BHX long haul as per their past statement?

No

 

[58terminus]

Whatever else might be said about Primera they have at least provided us with several specimens of classic old aircraft (including an MD-82)

You are making some of us feel very old jfy1999. MD-82 now considered an old classic?

 

[58terminus]

If two years ago someone had said an airline would be flying TATL from:

Stansted
Paris CDG
Brussels
Berlin
Frankfurt

Lets just wait until this time next year and see how that list works looks then.

 

[Ray Finkle]

Does anyone conceivably believe they may return to BHX long haul as per their past statement?

In this game I'd never say never but there would be a hell of a lot of bridge building to be done should they decide give it a go. Mind you a bit of clever PR and some low prices could attract those who may be oblivious to what has happened this year.

When the first round of cancellations came I felt sorry for them being let down by delivery delays, then the second round came and the third and it turned in to a total shambles. For me the worst thing about the whole sorry saga is the way that many look to have been treated, their customer service appears to be a total disaster. The battering they are receiving on social media is horrendous and I get the impression that things may be getting worse rather than better.

It's a shame as the A321's are getting good reviews and if their approach had been just a little different they could have been on to a real winner.

Que sera, sera.