Couldn't resist it.I know I should be dedicating myself to the weighty matters of State that will be playing out in the Oireachtas tomorrow, but when I saw this piece in today's Irish Daily Mail, I had to comment on it. I'm conscious of the day that's in it, but given that a similar piece appeared in the Irish Times yesterday (Subscription required), I'm assuming that there's more than a grain of truth in it.
The UK budget airline Flybe.com is loading up planes with models and temp workers for a return flight from Norwich to Dublin in order to fill a contractual obligation set by Norwich Airport. The contract specifies a minimum for the passenger numbers each year. The terms of the deal state the airport will impose a €352,000 penalty if Flybe did not carry 15,000 passengers on the Norwich to Dublin route during the 2007-2008 financial year.
My advice is to cut and paste the email addresses below and send a clear message along the lines of what I've written to both the airline and the airport saying that this will not exactly endear you to giving them your custom.
Here's what I sent...
"Dear Madam / Sir,
Just a quick note to say I'm dissapointed at your actions that encourage the filling of flights with people in order to fill a contractual arrangement. This must be one of the worst carbon crimes. I'll be suggesting to anyone I know that flies via Norwich or that uses Flybe to move to another airline and airport.
Best regards,
Ciarán Cuffe TD"
And here's the email addresses...
pressoffice@flybe.com, corporate@flybe.com, businessexpress@flybe.com, Customeraccounts@flybe.com, groups@flybe.com, internetsupport@flybe.com, Rewards4all@flybe.com, enquiries@travelnorwichairport.co.uk, enquiries@
travelnorwichairport.co.uk
