To be honest, I dont think it will work. Are there not enough charter airlines running the UK/Canada route, as well as the likes of BA/AC that go direct??
aidoair From United Kingdom, joined Aug 2006, 241 posts, RR: 0 Reply 1, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 3 days 22 hours ago) and read 7143 times:
Well the website could start with a make-over as the use of other airlines media photos doesn't look that professional. Also various other parts of it have a similar style to that of Viking airlines website such as the extras, timetable and booking process. Could there be a link here or just same website company?
YVRLTN From Canada, joined Oct 2006, 2086 posts, RR: 0 Reply 2, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 3 days 20 hours ago) and read 6937 times:
Quoting lhr380 (Thread starter): Are there not enough charter airlines running the UK/Canada route
Not as many as there used to be, Zoom and Globespan have gone. I found this July that Canadian Affair (operated by TS / Thomas Cook) was more expensive than it has ever been and about $350 more than I paid 13 months before. They are the only leisure carrier to the UK now. ZB did some YYC flights, but I have found it impossible to locate them and book on them.
Of course, there was a reason why Z4 & GSM went pop, though I dont know they were connected to the Candian leisure market per se, but I think things are slowly picking up and I know Zoom at least were always pretty full.
At the end of the day, if the price is cheap, I would probably fly them and Im sure many others would too if it was advertized correctly for the public to know about the flights - personally I may be somewhat swayed just to get on a 743...
Of course they have the business pax tied up, and those wanting the Star / OW / aeroplan / whatever miles etc, but for the cost conscious leisure traveller they are almost unaffordable - this summer AC were $800 more than Canadian Affair and BA a further $200 again.
With a larger aircraft than the 767 with better CASM, I think there is certainly room. Whether a 747 300 is that aircraft however is doubtful. A330 300 would be the ideal machine.
Bureaucromancer From Canada, joined Feb 2010, 163 posts, RR: 0 Reply 3, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 3 days 20 hours ago) and read 6931 times:
Without looking at the details of this specific company I suspect that there is room for another discount transatlantic operator from Canada. Transat/Cook really are pretty heavily focussed on charter, and aren't at all popular in any case. Frankly I think someone like Zoom, with a real focus on scheduled service has a place - in fact, my impression was that they were doing alright until an over ambitious expansion plan sank them. Actually, all in all, what I really see is a place for Westjet to move into this market, although I suspect that they would be more comfortable teaming with another carrier at this point; although what I do dream of is a post 737 WestJet with two types, something a bit smaller (E-Jet or C-Series) and a smaller widebody (the 787 really seems the obvious choice right now).
ferengi80 From United Kingdom, joined Mar 2007, 667 posts, RR: 0 Reply 4, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 3 days 6 hours ago) and read 6403 times:
I'm dubious whether this is a real start up or just a prank - they state that the aircraft are Boeing 747-300, yet the picture clearly shows a 747-200. Now come on, at least get the aircraft right. It's not rocket science.
AF1981 LHR-CDG A380-800 10 July 2010 / AF1980 CDG-LHR A380-800 11 July 2010
Fly2yyz From Canada, joined Jan 2006, 964 posts, RR: 2 Reply 5, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 3 days 6 hours ago) and read 6378 times:
Quoting ferengi80 (Reply 4): I'm dubious whether this is a real start up or just a prank - they state that the aircraft are Boeing 747-300, yet the picture clearly shows a 747-200. Now come on, at least get the aircraft right. It's not rocket science.
I think the last thing on this mind is having the correct photos up. If you want to talk about photos though, there are seats that are not Air Atlanta Iceland seats, some of the call centre pics are indeed generic and have been used on other websites. Who knows if this is a legit tour operator that has actually chartered out the 743s but I know I won't be putting my money on them .
Vasu From United Kingdom, joined Apr 2005, 3761 posts, RR: 0 Reply 6, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 3 days 4 hours ago) and read 6093 times:
Name hasn't got much of a ring to it... sounds a tad "awkward" (if that makes sense). Having said, it would be great if we ended up seeing more 743s in the UK so I'd be very happy if they take to the skies!
elmothehobo From United States of America, joined Aug 2006, 1515 posts, RR: 1 Reply 9, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 3 days 4 hours ago) and read 6041 times:
Quoting Fly2yyz (Reply 5): I think the last thing on this mind is having the correct photos up. If you want to talk about photos though, there are seats that are not Air Atlanta Iceland seats, some of the call centre pics are indeed generic and have been used on other websites. Who knows if this is a legit tour operator that has actually chartered out the 743s but I know I won't be putting my money on them .
The blonde call center girl they use is the same as AA Vacation's call center girl.
iclcy From United Kingdom, joined Jun 2006, 256 posts, RR: 0 Reply 10, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 3 days 3 hours ago) and read 5949 times:
It seems a big jump going from selling Holidays to Italy to leasing a 747 for Canadian flights.
The Google ad which has appeared on a couple of pages on a.net is advertising £199 o/w all in LGW -YVR bookings can be made with £50 deposit. I wouldn't hand over any money to any airline that isn't flying now, let alone in a years time.
British people don't use the term 'entree' to describe main courses. Seems like a total cut & paste job from a bunch of different websites.
pnwtraveler From Canada, joined Jun 2007, 2046 posts, RR: 12 Reply 11, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 3 days 3 hours ago) and read 5936 times:
This also happened not too long ago with another transportation forum. Someone came across a new Ferry Service that would sail between Vancouver and Vancouver Island in British Columbia. The pictures were as well an amalgamation of sources. Turned out to be some student project and not a bona fide company.
BritishWorld From United Kingdom, joined Jan 2010, 16 posts, RR: 0 Reply 14, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 3 days 1 hour ago) and read 5626 times:
I wouldn't get too excited about that fact. A quick web search of "925 Finchley Road" shows that there are many, many companies registered to that address; it's probably just a solicitors' office, or an office belonging to one of those proxy agencies that sets up registered companies.
In fact, this seems to be the company in question - http://www.laiholidays.co.uk/about-us - and at the bottom of that page, you'll see that the 925 Finchley Road address is just the company registered office (i.e. the administrative address that they must register with the UK Companies House body), while their actual operating premises are elsewhere.
Looks like nothing more than a travel agency with pie-in-the-sky dreams. What's especially confusing is that they market themselves as Italian holiday specialists, so who knows where this whole Canadian link has come from!
Birdwatching From United States of America, joined Sep 2003, 3573 posts, RR: 52 Reply 15, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 3 days 1 hour ago) and read 5603 times:
Wait, could this be the same 747-300 that... no it can't be... or can it?
(Anybody remember this? Lol that was great!)
Soren
All the things you probably hate about travelling are warm reminders that I'm home
Jean Leloup From Canada, joined Apr 2001, 2106 posts, RR: 23 Reply 17, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 3 days ago) and read 5442 times:
I dunno. I know it's the cool thing to be as sceptical as possible on this site (lots of legtimate ideas have been 'debunked' along with fake ones over the years). But it seems to me that, while the website is not of high quality, it doesn't exactly scream 'fake' either.
To me, the fact that flights appear to be fully bookable, and that they directly indicate that the flights are operated by Air Atlanta Icelandic, and that they have an ATOL number registered with the CAA, suggest that this is a legitimate operation. Possibly a poorly managed, destined-for-failure, kind of operation, but legitimate all the same.
The one thing that has me scratching my head is that there doesn't seem to have been a press release or anything. One would think that if they were going to be offering this service, they would want to get the word out there. Perhaps they lack the funds even to publicize it, which wouldn't be a great sign. Or maybe they're waiting for something.
jmc757 From United Kingdom, joined Mar 2000, 1296 posts, RR: 8 Reply 18, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 3 days ago) and read 5251 times:
This isn't an airline. Its a tour operator selling seats to Canada on flights it has chartered. Flights are chartered from Air Atlanta - who are no stranger to the UK charter market. They even appear ATOL protected, which is a big bonus, although it depends what the actual ATOL bond is.
There probably is room in the market for another operator UK-Canada. Traditionally has been a big market with a good number of airlines and operators over the years. The last few years, with the tough trading and consolodation has basically left Canadian Affair with the charter market wrapped up, and the usual BA/AC scheduled services. (out of interest, are Canadian Affair using Monarch next summer?)
However, lets see if it actually happens, and if it does how long for. As discussed above there seem to be some irregularities with it. Unprofessional website? Payments to Cyprus? Booking engine comparable to Viking (may be an off-the-shelf software product, but massive alarm bells if the connections run deeper). Hmmm
Airport From United States of America, joined Aug 2009, 1395 posts, RR: 9 Reply 19, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 2 days 23 hours ago) and read 4651 times:
Quoting Birdwatching (Reply 15): Wait, could this be the same 747-300 that... no it can't be... or can it?
Ironically, it appears the logo on the tail of the Metis 747 and the logo for CanadaExtra bear similarities -- note the 3 swooshy thingys.
Pe@rson From United Kingdom, joined Jan 2001, 18830 posts, RR: 54 Reply 20, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 2 days 10 hours ago) and read 3476 times:
The way I see it, Canada Extra is simply like Canadian Affair - a tour operator chartering aircraft. And, yes, the latter offers the opportunity of paying a deposit (£100) beyond 10 weeks before departure.
"Everyone writing for the Telegraph knows that the way to grab eyeballs is with Ryanair and/or sex."
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