I have a complaint about a travel agency.

Posted By irene lebow on May 7, 2007, 7:24 PM

re: Eurofly

BUYER BEWARE!

At least in the past few days, they are either having a proportionately large number of mechanical problems with their planes and are routinely delaying flights by a day or more - cause enough to be wary - OR they are boldfaced lying about the reasons the flights are being delayed.

Today is Saturday, June 9th. Over the past few days, they have had a number of flights delayed due to "mechanical failure."

I was due out on GJ941 to Naples, which was supposed to leave at 10:35pm on 6/8/07. The flight to Rome (which was to leave at 9:45pm, same night) was held in our gate for a VIP passenger for over an hour.

The passenger(s) finally arrived, but the gate manager told us that since they had held the Rome plane, the NAPLES flight had lost their slot for takeoff... but that our plane was there, checked out, and ready to go, if we could get a slot to take off.

Then, magically, a "mechanical problem" appears and we are told our flight will not take off until "sometime around 8pm on 6/9" but that we should arrive about 3PM to wait and see if it would take off and when. We were also told that there was a possibility it might not take off TODAY.

All hotels in the vicinity were supposedly booked, so they offered to put people up an hour and a half away... but only after they told us that there were NO hotels, period...that we would have to get our luggage and make other arrangements.

Their customer service line in the US is only open 9-5pm MONDAY-FRIDAY and there is NO ONE to help you in the US outside of those hours.

The poor Eurofly employees seemed just as frustrated as we all were.

There was a mini-riot going on in both Italian AND English.

I have no idea if my flight will actually leave tonight or not, but since I came back into NYC, I will have to pay ANOTHER $60 (added to the $60 I paid to get home last night) to go BACK to the airport and pray that they actually take off... and, if the "mechanical failures" are real - which I doubt - but, if they ARE, pray our plane doesn't develop ANOTHER one mid-air on the way to Naples and give us a lovely vacation on the island of "Lost."

Furious.

Posted By Hicks on June 9, 2007, 1:39 PM

As a livery/limo driver between Connecticut and NYC airports, last month i picked up a group of 10 people returning from Italy whose comment about Eurofly is This the first and last time we will fly this airline. Sometimes you get what you pay for.

Posted By Richard Roach on September 24, 2007, 1:47 PM

Enlightening comments. My worry would be, among others, that Eurofly's vacations of 4 days cannot be extended. If there are delays and loss of a day or more then you don't have much of a trip left. Too iffy for me to give them a shot.

Posted By Joe Fusco on September 24, 2007, 2:52 PM

Is Budget travel giving Eurofly an edorsement or not ? You seem to endorse them by the first article. Then all I read was negative comments. It doesn't make me want to try them.

Posted By Hauzinger on September 24, 2007, 5:39 PM

We are with American Airlines from DFW. What Travel industry discounts do you offer. Thank you....

Posted By James L Knowles on September 24, 2007, 5:47 PM

Dear Hauzinger,
Some people are willing to trade off conveniences for a cheap flight. Others have a minimum level of standards they find acceptable. It's in the eye of the beholder.

Regards,
Sean
Blog editor

Posted By Blog Editor on September 24, 2007, 5:48 PM

Unable to access 14 questions about Italy, What's going on??? Get instead info. about airline.
Get it together!!!!

Posted By dawn conrad on September 24, 2007, 6:52 PM

"Some people are willing to trade off conveniences for a cheap flight. Others have a minimum level of standards they find acceptable. It's in the eye of the beholder."

That is a poor excuse for failing to give both sides to your story and has me considering my subscription.

If Budget Travel considers itself an impartial source and has any journalist standards it is your responsibly serve both parties - give the good and the bad. If an abnormally high number of their flights never leave the ground that should be reported.

Now if you are just a shill for start-ups willing to pay you a buck for story placement, I'll look at every story in a different light. The creditability of your magazine is at stake, tread lightly.

Posted By Ed Pete on September 24, 2007, 7:19 PM

Dear Dawn,
Instead of clicking the words 14 Questions About Italy, you've clicked the words (link) about an airline called Eurofly. You'll find the article you're looking for here:
http://budgettravel.com/bt-dyn/content/article/2007/05/30/AR2007053001644.html
I hope you find it of interest.

Dear Ed,
I agree with you that a journalist has to give the good and the bad. And I can assure you that I am not on the take from Eurofly or any other company.

The company has an excellent safety record, which is always the first consideration, and the one that can be verified with government records. The airliens also has relatively low airfares for its nonstop flights between New York City and various airports in Italy.

There is one comment above from an angry Eurofly passenger, and another comment from a person who is passing along a comment they overheard from another person about Eurofly.

The first person, Hicks, has commented that their flight experienced a series of delays. Unfortunately, neither the Department of Transportation nor the Federal Aviation Administration collect statistics on mechanical delays. Even if they did, this flight departing out of Italy would not be in counted. And the Italian government--as best as I can make out--does not count these delays and publish them. So I have no way of independently verifying what the commenter Hicks has said. I assume that what he said is true. But other readers have flown this airline and they've had happy experiences, and I have to take what they say as true, too. (The magazine has mentioned Eurofly on at least four occasions over the past couple of years.)

There have been other airlines where there has been a clear consensus among readers that the airline offers a consistently bad experience. For example, FlyGlobespan. I would not suggest that airline as a reasonable option for travelers because of an overwhelming number of complaints. As evidence, see my previous post here:
http://current.newsweek.com/budgettravel/2007/07/the_7_day_flight_delay.html

Returning to Eurofly, I mentioned in the email newsletter you subsubscribe to that Eurofly is an airline that can't be found in Expedia, Orbitz, etc. I mentioned it because people wouldn't necessarily come across the airline otherwise, and it might be an option they want to consider. And I noted that Eurofly has its drawbacks.

For example, in the section called "The Fine Print" in which I wrote about the Eurofly vacation deal, I wrote the following:
The Fine Print Hotel taxes, breakfast daily, and fuel surcharges (which can easily top $150) are included. Additional airport taxes and fees are $81 per person. Based on double occupancy; single supplement $199 (for Villa Glori Hotel, and possibly less or more for stays at the Grand Hotel Beverly Hills, depending on the time of year).
There's no option to extend your stay. Airport transfers are not included; you can purchase transfers for $50 per person prior to departure. If your flight is canceled between November 13 and April 5, you may experience a multiday delay because Eurofly will only place you on the next Eurofly plane, and Eurofly planes depart New York City only on Fridays and Sundays. Read these guidelines [you'll see link to guidelines on actual page] before you book any Real Deal.

You can find this here:
http://www.budgettravel.com/bt-dyn/content/article/2007/09/14/AR2007091401678.html

I really don't think that a random survey of people would read the above and think I'm just being a shill for the airline. I mentioned the problem of what would happen if a flight is delayed, due to the infrequent number of departures, which anticipated one of the problems that one of the commenters had above.

This risk is part of the tradeoff you must make to receive a lower fare for a nonstop flight on this airline. For some people, that's a worthwhile tradeoff. For others, it's not. I can't make that decision for individuals.
Respectfully,
Sean
Blog editor

Posted By Blog Editor on September 24, 2007, 8:22 PM

Defintely beware. Our 9:45pm 9/20/07 flight to Rome said canceled on the monitor when in fact it ended up being combined with the Palermo flight (we assumed due to flights not being full) which left around midnight. We were told about the combined flights from people in line who heard it as rumour which ended up to be true. Eurofly's 800# staff did not even know of the combined flights. The crew ran out of wine going to Rome and on our return and did not have enough pillows/blankets to give to everyone who wanted them. On a positive note, the check in staff at JFK were as kind as they could be given all the confusion.

Posted By Kelly on September 30, 2007, 7:38 AM

They can't be any worse than Alitalia. I spent 3 weeks in Europe this summer with no luggage. The day before my trip was over, Alitalia finally "found" it in time for me to bring home all my unused clothes in addition to another suitcase full of new clothes for which I still haven't been reimbursed one dime, 8 weeks later. Alitalia is running out of control. If they maintain the jet engines the way they maintain luggage, then we are in trouble. I'll gladly try a different airline if I ever return to Italy.

Posted By Ray on October 4, 2007, 3:53 PM

i totally agree with first comment above. eurofly is a joke. they boldface lie about "mechanical problems" only to cancel flights and reroute you 1-3 days later. i made the mistake of trying to utilize a voucher after they did this with my first flight from JFK to Italy, and on the make-up flight the same thing happened, causing me and my traveling partner to have to purchase day-of tickets at the airport for about $1000 each way (which eurofly never refunded) in order to salvage our long planned trip.

word to the wise -- NEVER FLY ON EUROFLY. pay the extra $100-$200 or take the stopover and fly on American Airlines. i must repeat, NEVER NEVER NEVER FLY ON EUROFLY.

Posted By dylan on November 22, 2008, 12:53 PM

My son & his wife were supposed to fly from Rome to JFK 4/5/09 on EuroFly. When they arrived at the airport they found their flight canceled. Earliest flight back is 4/9/09. European regulations require that EuroFly give them a written notice of their rights to have EuroFly pay for their hotel and meals while they wait the 4 days to the next flight. They didn't. When we contacted the airline about getting either vouchers or reimbursement for these costs we were told we have to contact their office. Contacted their USA office and were told we must contact their Italy office. Contacted Italy office and were told we have to fax or e-mail their complaints department (they will not take phone calls). E-mail and faxes go unanswered. I only hope they can actually get on the plane 4/9/09 rather than it being canceled again. As for being reimbursed for these expenses, I wouldn't hold my breath.

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