Flyglobespan - experience?

I dont see this has been posted before. Flyglobespan - a cheapo European carrier AT LONG LAST ! - just started servicing BOSTON's Logan Airport (BOS) in late May. I see they've been in Canada some time already. Any Cdns (or others) have good experiences & suggestions to get those sweet deals we've been reading about for years?

They now fly BOS to Ireland (GREAT for the Irish in some place called West Knock) and GLASGOW, Scotland. From GLA to the various random places - Ibiza, anyone? - that were/are awkward or expensive to get to, from here...

Beyond making the Fringe more attractive to New Englanders, whats anyone's experience using the Glasgow hub to get elsewhere? (No offense to Glasgow, but Boston is grey, damp or FREEZING from late Oct - early May. We dont need a change of accents, we need a change of climates!)

Just priced the Boston-Glasgow R/T in mid August, and it was over USD$ 750.- 825. Adding a R/T to Ibiza from GLA could push your total above $1,000. easily. Not exactly "low-cost," but thats August. Iberia has similar prices, but takes longer and requires 2 stops : so you just save time & 'connection hassle' not money.

Any ideas to get the most out of our brand-new Flyglobespan option? Thanks!

Thanks for pointing out Skyauction: wow, talk about caveat emptor!!

Say you want to go to Kiev from Boston R/T, just after Labor Day, and you bid on that auction:

Add for 'Kiev' = $355.
Taxes= $275.
Summer rate= $345.

$975., before the bid price is added ... say, "$200"... for a whopping $1175. 'bargain' LOL

FareCompare has one-stop (excellent connections) for under $700., almost $500. cheaper! (Or, the SkyAuction final price would be almost 70% more!) Maybe thats a bad example? Sheesh, I hope so. The Winner's Curse is usually only a 25% premium ...

I would be very very wary of Skyauction, given my understanding that "winners" are more often losers in that regard. Thanks for the heads-up tho!

User reviews of SkyAuction are mixed-to-poor. Some have reported hellish problems (no availability, difficult resolution, scotched travel plans) and a consensus of industry reviews gives almost no recognition to SkyAuction. Risk bungling travel plans, to maybe save $50. on an $800 ticket??
Fuggeddaboutit.

I am happy to see specific fares from Boston lower than JFK, for a change. A new discounter might be the reason? Early in June, the Boston Globe reported popular transatlantic fares are up %4. It will be interesting to see what happens this Fall, when prices drop ...

JFK does get some good news too : Zoom transatlantic flights should start in late June.

Ryannair cannot be far behind ...

Metem, that's great news for western upstate NY folks (esp. Rochester & Buffalo.) By car, Boston, MA. is 10 hrs from Hamilton, ON.

I'd bet that TF Green "PVD" (Providence RI) will get Ryanair flights by mid 2008, if not earlier. Or maybe Manchester "MHT"? OUR Manchester NH - or will that be too confusing? Funny story if you're not the poor Brit!

I flew Flyglobespan from Hamilton to Stansted & return. It was the worst travel experience I have ever had. Our may 10th flight was delayed 2 hrs, then rescheduled another 12 hrs into the NEXT day, and when we arrived on the 11th, the flight was delayed yet again. (We later found out in Stansted via FGS staff, the delay was due to the lack of a spare engine part, something you might need if you want to operate an airlplane or airline) After the part arrived from the USA & once in the air we learned that FGS changed our direct flight to suit their schedule, connecting now through Belfast, which put us into a desolate Stansted airport, in the middle of the night ( no FGS staff to be found anywhere ). This made connection (or any alternate) impossible until the NEXT day yet again, at great cost.

We never saw a FGS employee in Hamilton as they use contracted help. The crew in the air were also contracted. Day old food was still served (the container holding the meals was date stamped), which resulted in, ahem, very long lineups & waits at the toilets.

While FGS pays out compensation in EU countries for such delays, the response to my letter to FGS was answered essentially, sorry about your luck. Regarding safety, it was in the news weeks later that 2 more Flyglobespan flights leaving Hamilton, (within weeks of each other), both made emergency landings right after take off, due to severe engine problems (3 loud bangs or explosions(?) from the engines) resulting in long delays.

Flyglobespan ended up costing me time, far more of my hard earned ($$$) money than I ever hoped to save, and was a third world-high seas safety gamble of life & limb, with a faceless corporation that just doesn't care.

Check out Flyglobespan at Skytrax to further discover what the "F" on their tail really stands for. Fly anyone else.
( http://www.airlinequality.com/Forum/flygspan.htm )

Honestly the savings would have been modest at best, and AirTransat actually had a lower rate (sometimes a phone works better) and Lufthansa near the same. A few bucks in our pockets would have been nice, but we picked em to support the new local guy/airline in the city, and avoid Toronto.

I have flown numerous times on many airlines, and having checked the net, sure I knew I wasn't getting the red carpet with a discount airline, but while not expecting a 2nd backup plane, surely a back up spare part would have been a solid choice on the to-do list for even a new discount airline trying to get off the ground. I think these guys are in way over their heads. Having spoken with their contract staff in Stansted & recent local news confirmed it for me. Are they are a carrier in the true sense, or just 2nd rate air charter brokers, lacking their own mechanical personel & the service standards of real discount airlines, say like AC's Jazz, Ryanair & Aer Lingus & Westjet?

Judge for yourself. "We’d just started to climb when there was three bangs ... the noise was terrible and there seemed to be blue and yellow flashes on the side.. I was very, very affraid" quoted from a recent article on the 2 emergency landings within 2 weeks posted June 13th in the local paper, The Spectator: www.thespec.com/News/BreakingNews/article/207274<BR><BR>If ya wanna play, ya gotta pay, and listen while the band plays. Yes, in my opinion if you don't mind shoddy engine repairs or gambling
with your flying safety (or perhaps your little ones), have lots of time to spare in your travels, and have no other connections to make that day, Flyglobespan is a solid cheap choice (if they last - remember they couldn't cut in Toronto with a population of 3 million to draw from).

Hey they can be beat. There are other real discount airlines safely flying more frequently out of Hamilton(or TO or JFK ), that will actually answer their phone, and also casino's nearby if you really have that urge to gamble with your loved ones in your travels.
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Money is but a slide to China

LOL - brilliant, 10and1atatime. And a BIG thanks for that LINK, its a real eye-opener. Ugly. As I found, the flyglobespan flights were NOT that cheap, just 'apparently more direct' ... I would now SERIOUSLY DOUBT that, given the horrid tales of delays & cancellations & re-routing and poor communication described by so many on the airlinequality forum. Lord help those making connections: its a crap shoot.

Same price on Iberia? Or any other legitimate airline? No comparison: go with the real carrier who can & will fix basic problems that may arise ...

Well yes Metem - and to be fair, ANY forum rating a service might just have a bias to the worst experiences. Whinging about not getting enough legroom on a discount airline DOES seem ridiculous to me, too. But cancelled flights and routine delays of days not hours doesnt seem a trifle either.

I have an issue with the bogus "only $99" garbage - hasnt RyanAir come clean and started reporting FULL cost of ticket? And if Canadians got sweetheart deals, great - I'd love to see that from BOSTON too. We dont, now.

Maybe we will, maybe we wont ...

First, the $99 lost leader launch promo is way long over, and is now only the stuff of folklore. Second, Flyglobespan as a business offered and represented a service. LOL I never thought they were a 1st class service (but what of those slobs in 1st class ?). I paid for a no frills flight (flight the operative word) expecting to arrive within 4-5 hours of the time represented, not an optional "maybe within a day or two" (which as it turns out is common for them). That is bottom feeder misrepresentation.

Go to McDonalds for a Big Mac, & you know what you are going to get, without waiting 2-3 hours for it. If you find hair or other objects in it, they are good sports & will offer a refund or vouchers for more. Likewise a no frills flight means nothing fancy, not flight kinda optional. Complaining when you pay for a service ( even a bargain one ) and don't receive isn't pathetic.

Good companies like Ryanair understand airplanes & airlines & have built a formidable company in deregulation times, & yes have problems too, but ratios, if you read the stats & other sites you'll see Flyglobespan sadly has way way more boo boos.

My experience part II: Return flight from Stansted; sat in the airport over 1 hr delayed again, then at the connection in Sheffield, delayed almost 2 hours more hrs. As people boarded, we wait & wait for a new pilot & crew, while at the same time it seems FGS has overbooked,
and there were 4-5 poor souls sheepishly standing at the back of the plane, left alone to try and figure out where to sit for aout 20-30 minutes, while the stewardesses hide up front, shooting the breeze, pretending not to notice, til one exasperated passenger comes to
fish one out. All the while someone with a walkie talkie comes & goes while the same luggage is unloaded, then reloaded out of the side of the plane. Eventually these poor folks are dealt with, and they moved one man (with an infant), rather tried to move him, 3 times until he blew a gasket. Everyone was just shaking their heads / like none of them knew what they were doing. It would have been funny if it wasn't so sad. Maybe they get one or two right along the way, but for me it was brown sauce twice in a row. These guys are losers.

Maybe it's not a tv show, but seeing the look on the faces of real people, a dear young family of 4 from Belfast, (who came for a big family vacation on a budget to see Niagara Falls & The CN "my god it was expensive" Tower), seeing them have to sleep on chairs, overnight at Hamilton airport, why in God's name not warn other good working class folks, (who may ever only fly once or twice - a trip of a lifetime ) before they meet with the common disaster known as Flyglobespan?

hey E, you guys just landed a great coach 4 the Bruins.

I would like to amend what I wrote in the OP:
<blockquote>Quote
<hr>Iberia has similar prices, but takes longer and requires 2 stops : so you just save time & 'connection hassle' not money.<hr></blockquote>
My presumption was entirely mistaken. I would not expect, nor want anyone to infer, that flyglobespan would 'get you there faster.' After all I've read, I doubt that would happen ... so FGS (for Boston) now costs the same & probably takes longer than a reputable major carrier, with a strong likelihood of major hassles thrown into the mix.

Bargain? No thanks!

off topic, I know Canadians complain about it, but I think Air Canada is a great airline (compared to almost any other N.American carrier.) They have always treated me well, delivered exactly as promised, and resolved any prob w/o fuss or excuse. They EARN brand loyalty, and I will always pay $50.-75. more on a ticket to go with a reliable & reputable airline. That's just my two cents.

Absolutely, as long as one gets what has really been represented,
(which of course is where we come in Met - you did, I didn't) nuff said.

Ya know..while, a litre/gallon of gas, bottle of coke, a box of cereal, a can
of soup, & cars have all about doubled in price over the last 5-10 years,
no one says a peep. (sigh... the joys of tinsel & a monopoly). But the airlines
amazingly find away to make the gravity machine work backwards (they smart),
and the village goes moo moo for cheap airfare... (woops did I say that out loud?
Sorry I mean't baaah baaah) ...

Say, this internet thing really is the cats pajamas eh?

:)

The Scots have invaded! LOL I saw the strangest looking fellow, 100% geeky hiptster from the waist up, 100% Braveheart from the waist down, walking through my neighborhood ... I had to ask if he was uncomfortable in all that wool , and he replied in a nearly impenetrable brogue (a word unfamiliar to him!) and my next question was "Did you flyglobespan?" and he said yes, and that its the cheapest way for him (from Edinburgh) to get around - he went to Toronto last year. Had some difficulty understanding him, but he was a big fan of the discount airline. "If you have time and are flexible, its the best deal for your money." fwiw.

I asked about delays, and he said his flight to Boston was delayed 5 hrs. Of course, he added that was due to a flaming Jeep Cherokee - we cannot really blame flyglobespan, can we? He insisted that the RT $705 fare he'd found "at the last minute, and that's the way to do it" was far better than any other deals there. In a way, this kid was like a walking advertisement, without any effort : flyglobespan should print up cool tshirts and give them to anyone wearing a kilt & sporin boarding their flights, LOL (I was at a party later that night, and several people had seen this same kid walking around Boston too.)

Must admit, looking at cheapest flights on their website, I see a departure Jul 9 and return Jul 23 for about USD 575., incl taxes. And that's only about $100. more expensive than the Delta Shuttle Boston - New York, so yes that's CHEAP. (JetBlue is cheaper, BOS-JFK : $210 RT.)

It is a safe bet to say that flyglobespan now offers the cheapest flights from BOS to Europe, provided you book last minute. Frugal Yankees, take note! Predictably, we'll be seeing alot more Scots visiting Beantown and Bostonians in Glasgow too.

I'm still not convinced that adding legs (to get somewhere else in Europe) would be cheaper than booking the full R/T on an established carrier.

Ach wee indeed I'm with you on the R/T est carrier. Hey Ryanair says transatlantic is next.

Say goodnight Flyglobespan ...woops... more 3 day delays (welcome JFK) , fuel splilling out of wings in Spain,
engines hit by multipul lightning strikes...unless these cats have one really bad plane they keep trying to hide
(I don't they have that many flights to speak of), i'd guess that their planes might be someone else's rejects
or surpluss junk??? Achh weeeee ..... ahemmmm ... a bargain indeed...I wouldn't wanna be the sooner or later.

http://scot.altermedia.info/<BR><a href="http://www.irishabroad.com/news/irish-voice/news/ChaosatJFKforStrandedPassengers030307.aspx">more 12 + hour delays</a>fuel from wing in spain3 day delay in jfk