Plakias Forums
Plakias => PlakChat => Topic started by: fenman on February 22, 2012, 10:01:13 AM
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Strategics parent company seems to have collapsed See-
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/michael-has-the-hide-of-the-fleet/story-e6freoof-1226277644145 (http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/michael-has-the-hide-of-the-fleet/story-e6freoof-1226277644145)
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That is very worrying news. Olympic Holidays are using Strategic Airlines for some flights to Crete. Looks like a mad scramble to find an alternative.
Our Holidays says Strategic, hopefully it will be sorted out by the end of June 2012.
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At the very least it could mean totally different flight times with a new carrier(s) than those indicated on booking. We are with Olympic this time but from Newcastle they use Jet2. Not feeling 100% complacent as one never knows how far down the line knock on effects may be. Right now the European Strategic company says they are not affected by the Australian collapse but the Australian administrators say they are currently looking into Strategic Luxemburg
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http://www.travelweekly.co.uk/Articles/2012/02/22/39673/olympic-reassures-trade-as-strategic-parent-fails.html (http://www.travelweekly.co.uk/Articles/2012/02/22/39673/olympic-reassures-trade-as-strategic-parent-fails.html)
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Our flight has changed this morning since I last checked on the 22nd, we are now flying with Aegean Airlines, the other details appear the same (This is out of Humberside)
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Our holiday in July from Manchester is still showing as Strategic, and Strategic is still being offered as an option on the available holidays from Manchester on Olympic's website, so no change there at the moment. I suppose we will all just have to wait and see.
Arnaki
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Had a letter from Olympic Holidays this Morning. Stating our 9.30am flight with Strategic has been moved to 6.30pm the same day. Had arranged a hire car from Heraklion Airport and chose the Airport and flight time as my Wife does not want to drive strange Cretan roads in the dark our first night. If we took the transfer coach it will be about 4am the following day by the time we arrive in Plakias.
Not good Olympic Holidays, we feel that that is a major change in flight time. Hope we can arrange to change Airport at no further cost to us so we can have a morning flight.
I notice Olympic Holidays are now using Jet2 instead of Strategic from Manchester and East Midlands.
Anyone had any experience changing Airport because of a change of flight times? Did you get charged more?
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My "other" holiday is to Kos with Olympic, with an early morning Gatwick flight, returning late afternoon. The airline wasn't Strategic but not a name I had heard of. They have now changed the airline to "Small Planet Airlines" and it now departs late afternoon but the return time is approximately the same.
As the return to the UK flight will take the next holidaymakers back to Kos it presumably means that the airline is based outside the UK.
This isn't too inconvenient for me but means I miss my first evening in resort.
Lampyland, is your Strategic flight Gatwick or Manchester?
Mike
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My "other" holiday is to Kos with Olympic, with an early morning Gatwick flight, returning late afternoon. The airline wasn't Strategic but not a name I had heard of. They have now changed the airline to "Small Planet Airlines" and it now departs late afternoon but the return time is approximately the same.
As the return to the UK flight will take the next holidaymakers back to Kos it presumably means that the airline is based outside the UK.
This isn't too inconvenient for me but means I miss my first evening in resort.
Lampyland, is your Strategic flight Gatwick or Manchester?
Mike
Our flight was from Birmingham with Strategic . We have now changed to East Midlands 7.30am flight with Jet2. Olympic have charged us an extra £90 to do this. We are not impressed. They make a major change to flight times so we have to make a decision to change airports so we can arrive in Plakias on our day of arrival and not the following day. Olympic still have not reimbursed me for the stolen images they used in last Years catalogue and on-line for Kefalonia.
I have full copyright of my Images and Olympic lifted them from the Panoramio website.
What a lovely company.
Here is the image on Panoramio, compare it to Olympic Holidays website 2011 http://i.imgur.com/WTJYB.jpg (http://i.imgur.com/WTJYB.jpg) http://i.imgur.com/9iPD8.jpg (http://i.imgur.com/9iPD8.jpg)
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My "other" holiday is to Kos with Olympic, with an early morning Gatwick flight, returning late afternoon. The airline wasn't Strategic but not a name I had heard of. They have now changed the airline to "Small Planet Airlines" and it now departs late afternoon but the return time is approximately the same.
As the return to the UK flight will take the next holidaymakers back to Kos it presumably means that the airline is based outside the UK.
This isn't too inconvenient for me but means I miss my first evening in resort.
Lampyland, is your Strategic flight Gatwick or Manchester?
Mike
Small Planet Airlines is a Lithuanian charter airline flying 737-300 (think Thomson in Britannia days) from the UK.
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Olympic still have not reimbursed me for the stolen images they used in last Years catalogue and on-line for Kefalonia.
I have full copyright of my Images and Olympic lifted them from the Panoramio website.
What a lovely company.
Here is the image on Panoramio, compare it to Olympic Holidays website 2011 [url]http://i.imgur.com/WTJYB.jpg[/url] ([url]http://i.imgur.com/WTJYB.jpg[/url]) [url]http://i.imgur.com/9iPD8.jpg[/url] ([url]http://i.imgur.com/9iPD8.jpg[/url])
If you feel strongly about it you might want to consult a media solicitor about the best course of action. At the very least he should suggest a cease and desist letter.
Noopsy
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Olympic still have not reimbursed me for the stolen images they used in last Years catalogue and on-line for Kefalonia.
I have full copyright of my Images and Olympic lifted them from the Panoramio website.
What a lovely company.
Here is the image on Panoramio, compare it to Olympic Holidays website 2011 [url]http://i.imgur.com/WTJYB.jpg[/url] ([url]http://i.imgur.com/WTJYB.jpg[/url]) [url]http://i.imgur.com/9iPD8.jpg[/url] ([url]http://i.imgur.com/9iPD8.jpg[/url])
If you feel strongly about it you might want to consult a media solicitor about the best course of action. At the very least he should suggest a cease and desist letter.
Noopsy
I wish I had deep pockets because I would need them for a copyright case :-/. Consulted a friend on a legal team for a major publishing house last year.
Damn it! I am just not wealthy enough.
I contacted Olympic Holidays last Year about the nicking of my images. I told them all I wanted was for them to ask and to reference the images to me.
I also pointed out that I was a regular Olympic Holidays customer and was upset about their theft of my property.
They did not answer but did remove my Images.
This Year they changed the flight times by a large margin, so we have had to change airport for an early flight.
It would be nice of them not to charge the large rebooking fee in light of the fact that they changed the flight time. They could have waived the fee as a way of apology for their theft too.
Writing a letter of complaint about the charge and including print outs of their webpage with my images on and the Panoramio page they pinched them off.
I can but hope they will see they have done me wrong and shower me with a refund and kisses.
I will not be holding my breath.
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Hello Lampyland,
I can understand hiring a solicitor might be outside your budget but some of the Saturday papers have problem pages for travel and financial matters and miscreant companies soon spring into action when faced with adverse publicity, so it might be worth a try to see if you can interest them.
I'm afraid Olympic seems to work to such tight margins that they use (in some cases) airlines no one had previously heard of such as Strategic and Small Planet and aren't great on customer service. I would be quite happy with easyjet, though, which they now sometimes use.
Last year in Corfu the flight back (Strategic again) was rescheduled whilst I was away and my return was delayed quite a few hours. The Olympic rep said to make a note of all extra expenses and Olympic would reimburse them in the UK. They refused point blank.
Their T&C say the only changes that will allow a refund or a free change are a change of airport (although not one within the London area so they could change Gatwick to Stansted), a change of UK (but not Greek) departure by more than 12 hours, or moving you to a lower grade of accommodation. So, even a change of day to night flight might not do it.
Mike
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Olympic rang me yesterday re. my Strategic Gatwick flights and the gist was:
There is an issue with your outbound flight and we need to move you to easyjet. The Strategic flight was due to leave at 9.55 (Tues) and they offered me an even earlier morning flight or mid afternoon. They said I would still fly back on Strategic at the advertised time and that all conditions otherwise will be met (price, baggage allowance). They said it was just an issue with my date of flight and I'm not clear whether the Strategic flight won't now go on that date or if they had overbooked it. I hope there is transport waiting at Heraklion!
I don't know how they knew my phone no. as I am ex. directory and I don't remember being asked what my phone number was when I booked by phone.
All these changes to flights are not doing Olympic's "street cred." any favours. The change that Arnaki reported in another thread where the inbound flight is now a night flight is particularly bad. However, for the many who want the security of ABTA protection and don't want the hassle of an expensive transfer there is no alternative to Olympic.
For my part I would far rather Olympic used well known carriers like easyjet than unknowns such as Strategic or Small Planet.
Mike
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For my part I would far rather Olympic used well known carriers like easyjet than unknowns such as Strategic or Small Planet.
They do use jet2.com from some regional airports. That is my case re my Newcastle flights. We used those flights last year going independently and liked them a lot. It was cheaper this year to go with Olympic than book the same flights independently. Basically they are struggling after losing their contract with Monarch.
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Hi all
does anyone know if it is possible to hire a wheelchair in Plakias?
We will be spending all of May in Plakias & although Les can walk short distances she will need a chair for longer distances etc.
Dave & Les
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Well the Strategic flights started this week but did not cover themselves with glory. The Manchester flight left Tesday but over 12 hours late. The gatwick flight did not leave until Wednesday, 24 hours late. I hope at least passengers were put up in hotels but at Gatwick Tues evening they were still giving out departure times later that day.
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So glad we changed to East Midlands and Jet2. Strategic were awful last year. The parent company is now bankrupt in Australia and it looks like the European arm will not be too far behind them.
What an terrible service.
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I went to Bali with Olympic (with Strategic) last year and had no problems whatsovever. Flew from Manchester in late September. Coming to Plakias this year on 29th May with Olympic and hoping for a similar experience this year!
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Also this is worth a read. The Australian Strategic that went bust is not the Strategic flying to Greece.
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g1-i10702-k5421477-Strategic_Airlines-Air_Travel.html (http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g1-i10702-k5421477-Strategic_Airlines-Air_Travel.html)
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Not 100% the same but cross-ownership. Todays Skiathos flight from Gatwick still shown as delayed but return fight to Gatwick shown as cancelled. This airline certainly seems to have serious problems and most of this seasons 'strategic' flights that have operated have been flown by sub-contract airlines
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g189499-i809-k4322131-o410-Strategic_Airlines-Skiathos_Sporades.html (http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g189499-i809-k4322131-o410-Strategic_Airlines-Skiathos_Sporades.html)
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Well I'm flying to Crete in 11 days. We'll see how that goes. I paid via Credit card so ATOL protected if the proverbial hits the fan.
Olympic were also quoted in The Guardian today:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2012/may/17/greece-holiday-prices-tumble (http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2012/may/17/greece-holiday-prices-tumble)
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When I saw some of the cheap deals that members had got, I began to regret DIYing my holiday and using Easyjet but I'm feeling quite relieved now! We've got a daytime flight from Manchester in 3 weeks 5days and 14 hours (approximately :) ) Hope everyone manages OK!
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I flew on Strategic for two holidays last year, both with Olympic. We had no problem and thought them rather good. The seats were roomier than on other charters. There is a long string on Strategic on TripAdviser - just search for Strategic. That mentions refurbishment of planes and contingency arrangements for replacement planes when there is a fault. However, judging by reports, it doesn't sound as if the contingency arrangements have bedded in yet.
Good luck to everyone flying Strategic. It'll be us in July and September. Perhaps someone will report back on their return from what appears to have been some nightmare journeys.
Arnaki
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We flew with Strategic last year and thought they were fine.....no delays ,roomier seats and pleasant staff.....better or equal to Monarch we thought .
This year we will be trying Jet2 from East Midlands and hoping they are ok?
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We flew with Strategic when we went to Plakias last year and had no problems with them, the flight times changed by about an hour from when we booked but that was nothing. However this year we're having a change and going to Paxos and the return flight has changed by almost 9 hours. We should have arrived back into Manchester at 1730 and are now arriving back after 2am the following morning. Not good for my OH who is back at work that day! We tried to transfer to the East Midlands Jet2 flight but Olympic were going to charge a hefty admin fee. Ah well on the positive side I get an extra 9 hours in Greece - luckily I'd already booked the next day off work ;).
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7.30 am departure to Heraklion from Manchester left 25 minutes late this morning (info from the airport website, sadly not from being there myself!). So, rather better than reports from last week.
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I flew back with them yesterday from Heraklion- all 31 of us!! The flight attendants had a really easy time. I think the flight was virtually full coming into Crete. The flight back ran perfectly to time.
Mike
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Did you book the flight through Olympic or other? I need to book for August from Birmingham or East Mids.
Barny.
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not sure if you were asking me Barny ..but we did book through Olympic ..jet2 from east midlands .. not long too wait now :-)
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the strategic flight from Birmingham went bang on today, particularly pleased with this as it's what i'm booked on in the very near future :)
Mythos here we come, D-7 and counting
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Strategic Airlines Europe have now gone bust and no longer operating.
R.I.P Strategic, it was on the cards when the Australian parent company folded earlier in 2012.
Olympic Holidays are scrambling around trying to find other carriers for the rest of 2012 to the destinations they are using Strategic Europe for.
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From the Olympic site
10:00 - 03 October 2012
Olympic Holidays regrets to announce that as a result of information provided by Strategic Airlines it has felt compelled to end its flying contract with Strategic and to arrange for the remainder of its summer 2012 flying programme which was to have been carried out by Strategic Airlines, to be provided by other carriers.
These are: Aegean Airlines (which already provides flights for Olympic Holidays); Travel Services (an airline with a growing reputation in the Czech Republic); and an Italian airline Livingston Air. Flight timings are little changed and all clients should proceed to their departure airports as normal and use the tickets that have already been sent to them. Clients departing from London Gatwick will be travelling on a Livingston (flight code JN) flight at the same time and from the same terminal (South) as their original Strategic flight; clients departing from Manchester will be flying with Travel Services (flight code SQ) from the same terminal (2) and at the same time as their original Strategic flight.
We wish to emphasise that any change applies only to clients who have booked travel arrangements which include flights with Strategic Airlines (flight code STU). All other flights are completely unaffected.
For more information about Travel Updates call us on 0844 499 0077 or e-mail us here.
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When our transfer coach reached the airport last Tuesday (02 October) the rep came aboard to say that there would be a delay on the Gatwick flight due to Strategic having some cash flow problems. We were on the Jet2 Newcastle flight and were ok. Our friends on the Gatwick flight told us later that they had a 2 hour delay and were picked up by a Livingston flight which had been scrambled at 4 hours notice to bring holidaymakers into Crete and had no food aboard. Apparantly the crew were excellent in the circumstances - especially as they had a serious medical emergency on that flight as well.
Similarly some people from Plakias due to fly out on a Birmingham flight were told they would now have to fly out from Chania to Gatwick and then make their own way to Birmingham and claim back either train fares or bus fares but not taxi fares. They were told this while dining near us in the Medousa Restaurant the evening before their early morning flight. Apparantly the replacement Birmingham plane did not have enough room for all passengers and some had to take this alternative route.
My opinions are that Olympic did quite well to organise these flights at such short notic. Must have cost them something. However we are coming independantly next time !!