Flights

[muriman]

Angie, I don't think anybody will have used Viking to get to Rhodes from Bristol in 2009 because there weren't any BRI-RHO morning flights in 2009. Viking seem to be scheduling BRI-RHO morning flights next year. This could be tempting for us in the "West Country" (including the likes of Lisa in Devon?). It's a tricky decision, as Viking has largely been formed by the people who operated XL, and as you say there are a lot of negative comments elsewhere in internet blogs about delays etc in their 2009 operations, and it is also difficult to know their financial stability. All I can suggest is (1) if an airline whose main customer base is the holiday industry is going to fold, this tends to happen towards the end of the peak season in September when cash flow can start to be more of a problem than earlier in the year; (2) an 0830 flight from BRI should allow time for delays of say 2 or even nearly 3 hours and still enable pax to catch the later of the normal two Wednesday ferries from Kamira Skala.

[carol]

That is a very valid point Muriman, we and a lot others were caught up in the XL debacle, will think twice about this as we are September visitors but the chance of going from a local( ish ) airport is tempting ;D

[Deleted]

Let me toss in a few comments. Muriman is correct about Viking. There were no Viking Bristol~Rhodes flights this year. They are offering flights next year.
The Directors of XL Leisure Group which collapsed last year leaving thousands of passengers stranded and many of their staff unpaid, emerged in 2009 as the backers of Viking Airlines. Not even six months after the XL founder - Phil Wyatt - was seen crying on TV, midst debts of more than £100m, his new business took a 50% stake in Viking. With him is another Xl director (their finance director) - Magnus Stephensen. They have done this through their Icelandic operation, BPI Iceland Ltd. They struck a deal with Meridian Aviation to carry British holidaymakers to continental destinations. Meridian is run by Jim Wyatt, brother of the above mentioned Phil. Meridian also signed a deal to provide seats for Kiss Flights, run by Paul Moss, a former director of Freedom Flights, a subsidiary of XL!! Within the industry, although they had done nothing wrong, the fact that they emerged at the heart of the industry less than six months after the failure of XL, left many feeling uneasy.
People are still struggling to get their money back from the failed XL.
Possibly we have seen all this before. Peach Air, Goldcrest etc.
It has been reported that the early operation of Viking in 2009 was seen to be full of holes and many tour operators shied away. It all seems somewhat immoral.
Someone once said - "A rat is always a rat".
Having said all that, If Bristol suited me and the flights were clearly operating AND at the price their website states, I might be very tempted to give it a whirl but I would always be a trifle uneasy about my return flight. We shall see when the new year dawns.

[muriman]

Just to expand on my reference to negative comments, some of the stories on www.airlinequality.com/Forum/viking are pretty horrific.

[Deleted]

That did not make good bedtime reading. Think I'll stick to my usual habit and fly to Athens.

[tesrod]

I could not find the 08.30 flight on the Bristol airport website, nor the Viking website but it is listed on www.airflights.co.uk. Has anyone actually booked on this elusive flight?

[Deleted]

Me neither. Shows departure on a Saturday at 16.35. That is not great for Halki. Means a night lurking somewhere like KS and the Sunday am boat over. Getting back not much cop either!

[muriman]

Mysterious. There was an 0830 BRI-RHO Wed flight around on the electronic ether a while ago but it now seems to have disappeared - except, as you say, from the Airflights website, from where I suspect it will disappear soon.

[carol]

Look at Travel Republic, it is on their site leaving at 08.30 but after reading all these comments I doubt we will be booking with them ;D

[muriman]

An interesting point, Carol. Another curious point is that if one were to assume the flight is real, from the Airflights and Travelrepublic websites the flight (VIK 245) is timed as taking a normal 4 hours outbound, arriving at 1430, then departing immediately at 1430 and arriving back 5 hours later (VIK 246). Even assuming the flight plan is really intended, the timing is wrong as the departure must be 1530 with a 4 hour flight time, not 1430 with a 5 hour flight time.

[Deleted]

An interesting little exercise for those of you who like trawling through the www looking to save a penny or two on your charter flights. The Flight Centre have a wheeze running now - if you can find a cheaper fare than they offer on the same date, to the same destination and in the same cabin - you travel free. Hmmm!

[angie]

HI Carole

Viking are advertising a flights from Bristol - Rhodes on a Weds, departing Bristol at 8.30am arriving Rhodes at 14.30. Departing Rhodes on the following week at 14.30, arriving at 17.30.

Both outward and inward flight times are good for connections to Halki.

Have phoned to find out how "certain" flight times are for next year, but response was the usual "no guarantee" and "could be subject to change" etc.

Have tried to find record of outward bound flights for Viking during the 2009 season, but unable to find (yet).

Regards. Angie

[muriman]

But (and this is a big "but"), Angie, I think you will find that the BRI-RHO flights from Bristol operated by Viking next year (assuming they happen) will turn out to be on Saturdays in the evening which is no better timing for a connection to Halki than other operators. Outbound seems planned to be 1635 departure, arriving 2255 on Saturdays (VIK 961); inbound 2345 departure, arriving 0215 (VIK 962). (From past experience, the 50 minute turn-round in Rhodes also appears optimistic, but that's a detail.)

[Deleted]

Sadly, what I have been hinting at in previous posts here may be on the point of becoming reality and I hope nobody on this forum suffers.
Today, Kiss Flights, Vikings retail arm have ceased trading.
As mentioned earlier, the charlatans behind Viking have plagued the industry (specially in Sweden) for years. They have reinvented themselves in many guises as the latest gift to holiday travel with seemingly cutting edge operations. However, poor funding,infrastructure and a scarcity of aircraft have painted a different picture. Their track record is lamentable and we are probably about to see more stranded holiday makers and jobs lost.
Viking are currently stating they have healthy finances and that normal UK operations will be maintained. For the sake of many with holidays booked, I hope they can prove this.

[Deleted]

In the interests of accuracy, Kiss were not the retail arm of Viking as firstly reported and currently Viking DO appear to be solvent. I hope, in the interests of the travelling public this remains the case. Some of the aviation media have seemingly been a bit hasty in their negative reporting.