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Small Planet Airlines Discussion
Go to an airports online departure board (birmingham/gatwick etc) and have a browse. You can see all the flights that are leaving over that period and if they are checking in/boarding etc. flightradar24 dot com is very good fun as well as it shows the turn round of the aircraft- there is no way your planes going to leave on time if its halfway home somewhere across across germany!
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Where are you getting this information about the flight departures from - I'm on this flight (Gatwick to Kos) iin a few weeks time and want to keep an eye on whats going on! :) Thanks.
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Where are you getting this information about the flight departures from - I'm on this flight in a few weeks time and want to keep an eye on whats going on! :) Thanks.
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So today's flight to Zakynthos departed B'Ham at 1.16pm. That's 3 and 3/4 hours late! So will watch what time it returns tonight. I am NOT relishing tomorrow's journey to Skiathos at all. Hanging around in airports is mind numbing and Olympic have known this problem has existed since early June and still they left it carry on!
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Hhhmmm not impressed. We have a flight due with SPA from Gatwick to Skiathos and needed to check baggage details (was charged extra £ to get to 20kg then we get that for free??!!) and whilst researching thought I'd get feedback on SPA. Wish I hadn't. I've been looking at the flight from Bham this morning and I really don't want to be in those passengers situation when we go- 3 hours after the flight was due to go and they are still hanging around..... I rang Olympic and expressed my concerns, they are aware of 'the problems' and stated that the carriers may change but the flight number does not. TBH I'm not bothered who gets us there as long as we don't have a silly delay. I've flown with all sorts of weird airlines and as long as the plae stays in the air (when it should) then I'm not too fussed (I've watched rivets rattling in prop plane wings and that was unnerving!) Good luck to all who are due to fly SPA this summer, this thread could run and run and run and run and...
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Oh here we go! So the SPA flight to Zakynthos from B'Ham today 18 July.......supposed to depart at 9.30am......now showing 11.25am departure.....no check in sign yet though! So it goes on!!! I will prepare myself for a long wait tomorrow to go to Skiathos! and in the meantime keep a watch on what happens with this flight today!
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Likewise I am watching SPA flight from B'Ham to Zakynthos this morning! An hour ago there were 2 flights shown with the same flight number - SPA and ENTER AIR. Now only SPA is showing and the flight isn't even showing 'check-in' and its due to depart within the hour! I shall monitor its return tonight with interest I am due to go to Skiathos tomorrow with SPA from B'Ham. Since discovering all these problems 2 weeks ago I have been monitoring ALL SPA flights into and out of BHX and its not good! So definitely NOT looking forward to what we may find tomorrow. Not the way to start a holiday at all! Will NEVER book an Olympic holiday again.....
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Their flight spa7497 from LGW to Kos left just a few minutes late this morning. I'm on this in a couple of weeks so are watching with interest.
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We were also on the same flight delayed for 13 hours on 30th June to kephalonia . Plane was old and cramped, and our "complimentory drinks and food" consisted of soft drinks and a small box with a tiny Kit Kat small piece of cheese, bicuits and pate. We have started to try to claim for compensation, wondered if any one else was also claiming?
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We were also on the same flight delayed for 13 hours on 30th June. Plane was old and cramped, and our "complimentory drinks and food" consisted of soft drinks and a small box with a tiny Kit Kat small piece of cheese, bicuits and pate. We have started to try to claim for compensation, wondered if any one else was also claiming?
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Guest : Flying to Kefalonia on 30th June, booked in 3:30 am only to be told there was going to be a 12 hour delay!!! Seems that they chose to redirect our plane to pick up passengers in France and takle to Poland. Then you see they are an Eastern European outfit.! After 14 hours wait a substitute plane arrived that was the most cramped plane I have ever been on. All in all they were a disaster and will never fly with them again. Also there seems something strange about the way they operate. You cannot get their flight stats up like other carriers. There website appears to be virus ridden. Be careful.
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I am really concerned!! I purchased flights only to Kefalonia from Gatwick in May for me and my husband - due to fly on Sun 8th Sep and return Sun 15th Sep. Husband has now suffered dislocated hip (NOT covered on insurance as had hip replacement last year). So my only option is to try and change his ticket to my daughter to travel with me...but with all the terrible reviews on various Trip Advisor forums and speculation today that as the Rhodes flight is cancelled Small Planet may have even gone bust, do I throw another £200 odd pounds at them to pay the charges to change the ticket from my husband, OR do I just take the £600 hit that I've paid for the original ticket and re-book with another more reliable airline? Any opinions welcome before I make a decision???
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samantha : Matthew : P7482 due into LGW at 19.20 from Rhodes is showing as 'Cancelled'. Don't know what happened to the outbound flight... My daughter is waiting for the 20.10 from LGW to Rhodes just been told airline gone bust and will now be flying at 12.15 waiting to hear who with -not sure if you're plane was the turn around flight - have u any news? Ther is a sky europe due Gat 2210 ish, this went out 0915 Doubt SPA have gone bust, they are still flying as I type!
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Matthew : P7482 due into LGW at 19.20 from Rhodes is showing as 'Cancelled'. Don't know what happened to the outbound flight... My daughter is waiting for the 20.10 from LGW to Rhodes just been told airline gone bust and will now be flying at 12.15 waiting to hear who with -not sure if you're plane was the turn around flight - have u any news?
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Flew with Small Planet to/from a family ski trip to Chambery 2yrs ago. Absolutely the worst airline I've ever seen. Crew hardly spoke English, plane old/seats broken etc. Safety briefing almost non-existent. As we landed in Bristol the captain muttered something on the intercom, the only intelligible part of which was "Bags...Chambery" and yes - 86 passengers had to wait almost a whole week before they saw their luggage again, courtesy of Easyjet. Seems the crew were offered a slot in congested airspace, shut the doors and decided to go for it, whatever the consequences! Never ever again. I did complain to the tour operator and SPA. I received another pigeon letter back, which I'm still trying to de-cypher. Shockingly bad, verging on the dangerous and from what I saw not compliant with CAA guidelines.
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Flew with Small Planet to/from a family ski trip to Chambery 2yrs ago. Absolutely the worst airline I've ever seen. Crew hardly spoke English, plane old/seats broken etc. Safety briefing almost non-existent. As we landed in Bristol the captain muttered something on the intercom, the only intelligible part of which was "Bags...Chambery" and yes - 86 passengers had to wait almost a whole week before they saw their luggage again, courtesy of Easyjet. Seems the crew were offered a slot in congested airspace, shut the doors and decided to go for it, whatever the consequences! I did complain to the tour operator and SPA. I received another pigeon letter back, which I'm still trying to de-cypher. Shockingly bad, verging on the dangerous and from what I saw not compliant with CAA guidelines.
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P7482 due into LGW at 19.20 from Rhodes is showing as 'Cancelled'. Don't know what happened to the outbound flight...
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Used this airline last year with no problems. This year we had no food on the flight from Aberdeen to Verona even flight staff had no food. We were delayed by aday returning . We still do niot know why.
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Guest : Anyone flying LGW - Kos on 8th August. Spa (can't remember) but it is due to leave at 06.00am and arrive back 01.40am . Are you as concerned as us . ? ?. No, but we are due to make these flights the week before. I wouldn't worry too much as we flew with Strategic the last 2 years without any significant problems. The worst we have had are with Britannia (Thomsons old airline) 18.5hrs late coming back from Majorca and an 8hr delay going to Rhodes with Monarch. So problems can occur with some of the bigger companies.
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P7481 to Rhodes due to depart Gatwick 1010 says enquire airline,,,,,,,doesn't sound promising.
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Absolutely first class for a small airline. All flights, we made, ran on time despite Greek personnel on strike. Planes were clean and colourful inside, with staff providing an excellent service. Will definitely use them again
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It would appear the flight from crete is delayed as we speak and some recourse to compensation must be forthcoming you simply cannot take money under false pretences,other wise the business world will colapse
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Anyone flying LGW - Kos on 8th August. Spa (can't remember) but it is due to leave at 06.00am and arrive back 01.40am . Are you as concerned as us . ? ?
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I also spoke with Olympic and they said they had no issues with flights to Cyrpus and it was due to computer issues re the greek island delays! I'm sorry to say, but i think its a load of rubbish! We are due to fly from london Gatwick to Larnaca next week with SPA and all i have read is negative reviews after negative reviews! We are travelling with 2 young children and the last thing we need is to sit at the airport for hours on end and miss our holiday. After reading below that Olympic holidays will not be using SPA - i looked at their website, not surprisingly nothing on their. I will be calling to see what they say.
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Guest:Thank goodness some positives!!! JUST GOT BACK FROM CORFU. FLIGHT OUT ON TIME OLD AIRCRAFT NO NAME ON IT .GIVEN EXTRA LEG ROOM SEATS FREE. ALSO HAD TOASTY SANDWICH FREE CREW POLITE . BACK YESTERDAY SMALL PLANET PLANE MUCH NEWER .HAD A COUPLE OF ENGLISH CREW. HAD TO PAY FOR SNACKS AND DRINKS LEFT ON TIME WE WERE EARLEY BUT COULD NOT LEAVE BEFORE BECAUSE OF SLOT TO GET IN GATWICK VERY HAPPY WITH BOTH FLIGHTS WOULD USE THEM AGAIN
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Guest : We are due to fly to Cyprus in September with Small Planet i phoned Olympic holidays with the concern of all the bad reviews and was told that they have sorted all there problems out with Small Planet. Should i rest at ease or should i still be concerned ?? - I also spoke with Olympic and they said they had no issues with flights to Cyrpus and it was due to computer issues re the greek island delays! I'm sorry to say, but i think its a load of rubbish!
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We were on same flight and it was appalling. I think it is going to be quite difficult to get any form of compensation because so far all we have received are automated responses to our emails. Our travel agent also hasn't bothered to reply yet! Noticed on previous page that someone suggested the small claims court, so perhaps all is not lost! Guest : We flew small planet Gatwick - Kefalonia on 30/6/13 never again.On arrival at check in we were told our flight was delayed 12 hours, in fact our 5.30 a.m flight took off at 19.15 p.m, a delay of 13 and 3/4 hours. At no time were we offered apologies or any explanation other than operational problems. On arrival at the departure gate we were informed that in flight refreshments would be free, well what was provided was an insult, a plastic cup of pop and a snack box of crisps and crackers valued at £3.70, with no option to buy an alternative.They must of thought they were catering for a childs party. More worrying is the safety issues, we could not understand a word of the announcements or safety demonstration due to the strong Eastern European accent.Did not feel safe due to the general dilapidation of the plane and the strange noises coming from the undercarriage whilst taxiing to the runway. The cabin was cramped dirty and rundown, on arrival at Kefalonia I stood back and looked at the general state of the plane and can understand why the tin can didn't have a company logo on it. Shame on you Olympic holidays firstly for using this company and treating loyal customers so shoddily, and also for not providing anyone a the airport for your customers to liaise prior to departure. Our complaints regarding the flight were also nor dealt with at the resort. Will not be flying Small Planet again or any tour operator that uses them
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JUST GOT BACK FROM CORFU. FLIGHT OUT ON TIME OLD AIRCRAFT NO NAME ON IT .GIVEN EXTRA LEG ROOM SEATS FREE. ALSO HAD TOASTY SANDWICH FREE CREW POLITE . BACK YESTERDAY SMALL PLANET PLANE MUCH NEWER .HAD A COUPLE OF ENGLISH CREW. HAD TO PAY FOR SNACKS AND DRINKS LEFT ON TIME WE WERE EARLEY BUT COULD NOT LEAVE BEFORE BECAUSE OF SLOT TO GET IN GATWICK VERY HAPPY WITH BOTH FLIGHTS WOULD USE THEM AGAIN
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Guest : We are due to fly to Cyprus in September with Small Planet i phoned Olympic holidays with the concern of all the bad reviews and was told that they have sorted all there problems out with Small Planet. Should i rest at ease or should i still be concerned ?? Olympic seem to have a history of telling porkies
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We are due to fly to Cyprus in September with Small Planet i phoned Olympic holidays with the concern of all the bad reviews and was told that they have sorted all there problems out with Small Planet. Should i rest at ease or should i still be concerned ??
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Sorry, should have made it clearer, I declined the offer of a free coach trip through England in the early morning! Olympic said "that's fine" wasn't pressurised into going to Gatwick. John. Guest : Would like to know - did you refuse to get the 5am coach to Gatwick then? As you say you flew out of B'Ham almost on time. (I did monitor this flight myself on Friday both outward and return!).
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just back from zante 7th- 14th ,was concerned before going even wrote to olympic .we ended up flying with a company called Grand Cru and thou the plane was old we left only 20mins late and on time return journey ,we were given a toasted sandwich and a drink both ways the crew are fine and olympic rep said we were better off not flying with small planet .So i hope this helps you enjoy your holiday
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Graham : Anybody booked on Small Planet I'd try to get moved to another airline. We flew out to Cyprus 6th July. Bussed like cattle to the plane fair distance away then sat in the smallest plane I've ever been on for two hours with ineffective aircon (most passengers got out onto the steps) while the captain mumbled about "awaiting clearance" (we think). The hostess said they were awaiting documents. Neither was the truth, the luggage and food wagons turned up after 1hr45 mins, got loaded and we took off after two hours. The seats on the plane were ridiculous unless you were a child. I'm 6'1" and could not physically get into the seats other than the aisle with one leg out, a lot of the trip was in the galley. I presume that they are going bust and the ground service providers were waiting for payment. Small Planet for Small People. Forgot to mention that on the return flight Olympic booked us onto a Monarch flight 6 hours later at 10.30, ruining our plans for the next day as we didn't get home until 4.30am.
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Anybody booked on Small Planet I'd try to get moved to another airline. We flew out to Cyprus 6th July. Bussed like cattle to the plane fair distance away then sat in the smallest plane I've ever been on for two hours with ineffective aircon (most passengers got out onto the steps) while the captain mumbled about "awaiting clearance" (we think). The hostess said they were awaiting documents. Neither was the truth, the luggage and food wagons turned up after 1hr45 mins, got loaded and we took off after two hours. The seats on the plane were ridiculous unless you were a child. I'm 6'1" and could not physically get into the seats other than the aisle with one leg out, a lot of the trip was in the galley. I presume that they are going bust and the ground service providers were waiting for payment. Small Planet for Small People.
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Anyone know what happened to the flight from Gatwick to Corfu today, p7445, it was on the departure board then disappeared, was due to leave at 1250
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We flew from Manston to Naples 6th July and the flight was delayed 5 hours without any announcements or offer of refreshments etc. Pretty shambolic as I only chose to travel with Newmarket Holidays because I live 15 minutes from Manston Airport. I think the compensation due from that one flight alone (€400 per person under EU Law) will make the Airline go bust. It is a shame for Manston Airport but the Airline don't communicate with the passengers and Newmarket say it is the Airlines responsibility.
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J and R Morgan : Just returned from Corfu flying with Small Planet airlines. We were really quite impressed. Although it was a bit of a coach trip from the terminal gate to the aircraft it took off on time. We did not have to pay extra for hold luggage. We got a complimentary Bucks fizz before our tasty cooked breakfast (which was also free.) We had plenty of leg room and the service was efficient and friendly. Initially we were a bit apprehensive as we had never heard of this airline ....but now would recommend to others as a good alternitive short haul economy airline!! I am pleased you had a good flight and freebies. Olympic do not like there shambolic ways aired in public. I am sure all these bad reviews have greatly help and caused a shake up. Please remember this is Olympics fault not the airline. You were very lucky I believe spa have only one of this type.
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Just returned from Corfu flying with Small Planet airlines. We were really quite impressed. Although it was a bit of a coach trip from the terminal gate to the aircraft it took off on time. We did not have to pay extra for hold luggage. We got a complimentary Bucks fizz before our tasty cooked breakfast (which was also free.) We had plenty of leg room and the service was efficient and friendly. Initially we were a bit apprehensive as we had never heard of this airline ....but now would recommend to others as a good alternitive short haul economy airline!!
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I don't think small planet are ever to fly out of Birmingham so in theory people are booking for Birmingham under false pretences. I was on 21 June flight that had to go Manchester and a 9 hour delay. Absolute shambles of an airline and Olympic are going to end up losing lots of custom at this rate. Guest : We will never fly Small Planet again. We booked with Olympic Holidays from Birmingham to Skiathos on 5 July. When we got to Birmingham we were told Small Planet had failed to arrived and we bussed to Manchester leaving hours later and missing a day of our holiday in travelling. We discovered later that people in Britain and Skiathos knew the day before that the Birmingham flight would not happened and Small Planet had failed to turn up for the same flight a fortnight earlier. No one told us until we arrived at Birmingham. My advice is to think very carefully before you book with Olympic and refuse any flight operated by Small Plane. I look forward to hearing Small Planet Airways have gone into receivership.
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We will never fly Small Planet again. We booked with Olympic Holidays from Birmingham to Skiathos on 5 July. When we got to Birmingham we were told Small Planet had failed to arrived and we bussed to Manchester leaving hours later and missing a day of our holiday in travelling. We discovered later that people in Britain and Skiathos knew the day before that the Birmingham flight would not happened and Small Planet had failed to turn up for the same flight a fortnight earlier. No one told us until we arrived at Birmingham. My advice is to think very carefully before you book with Olympic and refuse any flight operated by Small Plane. I look forward to hearing Small Planet Airways have gone into receivership.
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Would like to know - did you refuse to get the 5am coach to Gatwick then? As you say you flew out of B'Ham almost on time. (I did monitor this flight myself on Friday both outward and return!).
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Flew Birmingham to Skiathos Thursday 12th July, had got a call from Olympic on the previous day asking if I'd take a 5am coach to Gatwick as the plane they had at Birmingham was smaller than planned . II had noticed that they had been usingthis 25 year old BBoeing 737-300 operated by Grand Cru Airlines out of Birmingham. Arrived at the airport at 9am for the 11.30 flight, well marked check-in desks, polIte and friendly staff, I was airside at 9.15. I saw the Grand Cru plane on thd apron being prepped for flight, before we knew it we were boarded and took off at 11.40, landing in Skiathos 10 mins early. Pleasant but quiet cabin crew, we were given a tasty bacon paninni and soft drinks. The small kids got colouring kits. Small Planet are obviously struggling to keep their schedule when they're short of the planes they'd hoped to operate for Olympic this year, but when it works, it works well.
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Arrrrgghh.. Anyone flying to Las Palmas from Ldn Gtw on Sunday 21st July ?? Just thought maybe we would have time for a quick prayer before leaving !!!! We are now terrified , travelled on small planes before.. flybe, easyjet so wasn't too worried but after reading the revs.. and thats only the people who bother to write them .. what about the poor sods who are too traumatised to ever want to see the name again .. lol Not sure what to do now .. can it be really that awful ?? are these people not vetted ?? Any honest advice gratefully recieved
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eddie : i have been reading these messages with some fear as in flying with them on the 22nd, have just phoned olympic holidays and panic over ! it seems they have "woken up" to small planet and are not using them, the carrier has changed but to stop any confusion they are keeping the small planet flight codes , BUT IT WILL NOT BE SMALL PLANET!, so hopefully all will be well Eddie firstly you do not say what your airport or journey is. Let me assure you, Olympic are still using SPA. Some codes have changed, eg ENT enter air. Seems like you are also a victim of the * ! PS, sort the crappy catchpa please someone!
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So, 300 of us are liars then? Perhaps I should tell you of our emergency landing in rome last year? Crazy foam all round the undercarriage, not allowed off the plane also. or maybe then 11.5 hours delay coming back? Read all the stuff on trip advisor as well. T*sser!
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Just arrived back from Cyprus, flew with SPA from MAN - LCA. Both flights were early, excellent crew especially Shelly on the return flight. The plane was fairly old but you could get that issue with Jet 2 Etc. I would not hesitate to book with this airline again, do not trust the reviews below as many people are extremely fussy. Overall, I was very impressed. Ps. The free sweets given out before landing were a very nice touch. GO SMALL PLANETTTTTT!
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Enter air are part of small planet airlines, so still very worried! As for the last comment that small planet are a top airline, did it never occur to you that this airline has broken aviation rules, by allowing someone in the cockpit mid flight!!! Not so much top airline but more shoddy, outdated, bottom drawer airline
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As for all these reviews concerning small planet airlines, just to let you know enter air are in fact a part of small planet (so still concerned)!....as for the last review saying that small planet are a "top airline"....did it never occur to you that they have broken aviation rules by allowing someone in the cockpit mid flight!!!! Not so much as top airline, but very dated, shoddy, worrying, bottom of the drawer airline!!!!!!!!
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