Maleth confirms end of P&O partnership

[Vampiress88]

22 hours ago, molecrochip said:

No. That’s not how airline economics work.

 

Economy long haul to the Caribbean is about £750. A business seat usually takes the space of about 4 economy seats - so £3k but can be sold for somewhere between £4k and £7k - as an example.

 

An all economy layout doesn’t maximise profits.

 

Since the pandemic, finding charter airlines is becoming a problem. BA and Virgin are returning to full programs of flights with generally smaller fleets, Tui have now started using their spare capacity for their own routes.

 

This means cruise companies look towards airlines like Maleth Aero, or they cancel people’s flights. This is not a rush to the cheapest provider.

question. 
this is what is showing on my p&o cruise online. 
Will my flights change to this new airline? Or will it stay with TUI? I am very reluctant to pay the balance in November if the flight changes

[carlanthony24]

5 minutes ago, Vampiress88 said:

question. 
this is what is showing on my p&o cruise online. 
Will my flights change to this new airline? Or will it stay with TUI? I am very reluctant to pay the balance in November if the flight changes

They were saying if it shows TUI it will be TUI it’s the ones that were not showing anything. 

[Megabear2]

7 minutes ago, Vampiress88 said:

question. 
this is what is showing on my p&o cruise online. 
Will my flights change to this new airline? Or will it stay with TUI? I am very reluctant to pay the balance in November if the flight changes

According to flights department allocations will not change unless the airline needs to do so.

 

These new planes seem to be making up the shortfall for those who haven't been allocated a plane.  You should be fine but be aware TUI are at liberty to change out the plane for technical reasons. There are only two of these planes chartered, P&O need a lot more than that and this outfit haven't got enough to provide them all.

Edited September 20, 2023 by Megabear2

[molecrochip]

Just now, carlanthony24 said:

They were saying if it shows TUI it will be TUI it’s the ones that were not showing anything. 

I agree with this. Never say never but I’d be surprised if it changed.

[jones721]

Don't know how accurate this is, but at the bottom of the page in this link, it lists which flights are affected.

https://www.travelgossip.co.uk/latestnews/agents-and-customers-livid-after-po-cruises-partners-with-one-cabin-airline-with-no-entertainment/

 

Flight list

P&O Cruises said Maleth will make up around 25-30% of sourcing for Arvia bookings, using two aircraft on turnarounds, one from Gatwick and one from Manchester for Antigua and Barbados. For Britannia, one Maleth aircraft will be used, from Manchester to Barbados, on a Friday only.

The cruise line has released details of the flights that will operate on Maleth airlines. They are:

 

 

Britannia:

Edited September 20, 2023 by jones721

[Megabear2]

46 minutes ago, jones721 said:

Don't know how accurate this is, but at the bottom of the page in this link, it lists which flights are affected.

https://www.travelgossip.co.uk/latestnews/agents-and-customers-livid-after-po-cruises-partners-with-one-cabin-airline-with-no-entertainment/

 

Flight list

P&O Cruises said Maleth will make up around 25-30% of sourcing for Arvia bookings, using two aircraft on turnarounds, one from Gatwick and one from Manchester for Antigua and Barbados. For Britannia, one Maleth aircraft will be used, from Manchester to Barbados, on a Friday only.

The cruise line has released details of the flights that will operate on Maleth airlines. They are:

 

 

Britannia:

Thank you. Very interesting that the travel agents are apparently unhappy with the way this has been handled. 

 

Looks like the PR people didn't do a good job for neither the agents or affected passengers.

[Presto2]

6 hours ago, jeanlyon said:

Agree, cancellation will be customer's loss.  Nowhere would it have said which airline they would be flying with.  It seems a major fuss about very little to me.

We booked premium seats for January as it is a special cruise re retirement and special birthdays so we wanted something special. 

Another reason is that hubby is very tall and we always book extra legroom and it would be a must for long haul flights. 

I am also a nervous flier and have never been on a long haul flight so need someone I trust

The premium service is a really exciting special treat for us and a necessary one too. 

Re flight entertainment I'm not bothered .. take my kindle and read

Sooooo though I don't think this flight problem affects us I can see why it is upsetting people and worrying them. For some it is a disappointment. Don't think nit is fair to pass it off as a fuss.

For some they may have saved for years for their special cruise and the experience only.to have some of it disrupted ....

 

[jeanlyon]

But all you have got is a different airline with no In flight entertainment.  What is the problem?

[Presto2]

4 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

A330 are actually lovely aircraft so really nothing to worry about there.  Reading into the history of these aircraft most have belonged to Middle Eastern airlines and these have been known for years to be some of the finest airlines in the world.  The A340 mentioned by someone previously belonged to Virgin Atlantic, an airline that has one of the best safety records in the world.

 

As I am constantly saying when people call a cruise ship old it's not age that is important it's maintenance and repair.  Many on here say how good Jet2 is - they aren't easily available down south apart from Stansted so I've never had the pleasure - but they actually have a fairly elderly fleet.  Age really shouldn't be an issue.

Our airline of choice  .. Great company 

[Presto2]

2 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

But all you have got is a different airline with no In flight entertainment.  What is the problem?

We'd booked premium and extra leg room as a special treat. I'd be disappointed as weve been researching and looking at YouTube and all the extras. 

And as a nervous flier flying with a name I know and trust on my first 8 hr flight across the Atlantic is really important to me ...

We are not affected I think but I do feel for those who are.

 

[Presto2]

6 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

But all you have got is a different airline with no In flight entertainment.  What is the problem?

Pps I suppose with us when we booked we booked premium so we're expecting the Dream Liner. 

To be fair to PO I know that in the past Celebrity has used a really cheap offer re flights and used to have people stopping in Germany to change to go to Rome. We booked once on the understanding that we got direct flights from Manchester on Jet2. This was 2013 ... no Covid excuses

[Old_tilly_billy]

I don’t get it 8 hours without entertainment I’ll guess they are going to ban smoking on the plane next 😱

[Presto2]

2 hours ago, jones721 said:

Don't know how accurate this is, but at the bottom of the page in this link, it lists which flights are affected.

https://www.travelgossip.co.uk/latestnews/agents-and-customers-livid-after-po-cruises-partners-with-one-cabin-airline-with-no-entertainment/

 

Flight list

P&O Cruises said Maleth will make up around 25-30% of sourcing for Arvia bookings, using two aircraft on turnarounds, one from Gatwick and one from Manchester for Antigua and Barbados. For Britannia, one Maleth aircraft will be used, from Manchester to Barbados, on a Friday only.

The cruise line has released details of the flights that will operate on Maleth airlines. They are:

 

 

Britannia:

Excellent info thank you 

[Eglesbrech]

1 hour ago, jeanlyon said:

But all you have got is a different airline with no In flight entertainment.  What is the problem?

Jean you of all people should know that not all planes and flying experiences are the same.

 

Different seat pitches.

 

Different padding

 

Different in flight service

 

 No premium cabin / seats

 

And yes lack of entertainment

 

 

 

 

[zap99]

1 hour ago, jeanlyon said:

But all you have got is a different airline with no In flight entertainment.  What is the problem?

My first longhaul flight was economy with Bcal. That was when I decided...never again...cramped seats and we had to land at Bangor to refuel. If we can't get PE or club we won't go.

[TigerB]

We have not received any email or other notification from P&O that our booked PE seats are no longer available for our flight next March to join Arvia in Antigua for the repositioning cruise. I've just checked our Cruise Planner and it shows our flight from Manchester is indeed with Maleth Aero.

 

Some posts on this thread make reference to folk apparently making a fuss about nothing and the lack of entertainment being a first world problem.  That may be so, and we would have no problem with using our own devices on the flight, but the major problem for us though, and others no doubt, is the loss of the PE cabin; for many, like us, it is a deal breaker. 

For my wife, and probably others who, like her, may have severe mobility restrictions and/or be nervous flyers, PE is the only cabin class in which she would be comfortable flying long-haul to or from a cruise in the Caribbean.

 

Unless there is a u-turn before our final payment is due in December, which I very much doubt, we will be cancelling.  Luckily, we only paid £100 deposit.

[Megabear2]

2 hours ago, jeanlyon said:

But all you have got is a different airline with no In flight entertainment.  What is the problem?

The aircraft economy seats have less seat pitch - 30 inches to 33 inches (an industry leader apparently) and there's no premium economy cabin on offer.  For me as someone who rarely books premium economy seats for myself not a problem.  If it was my 6' 4" husband with chronic fibromyalga and other health conditions it would be a big problem.  We have on recent flights moved to paying for at the very least an aisle seat with extra legroom.  If we were advised in advance of no extra room seats we too would most likely have cancelled for the lack of room.

 

As I have mentioned many times on this thread I am fully aware of the contract not offering a definite named airline, others clearly were not.  As I see it the later people booked the more chance there was P&O didn’t have a seat on an aircraft at the point of booking.  Whilst it's dangerous to assume on the part of the passenger it would have been fairer for P&O to let travel agents and direct callers know once the allocation of TUI planes had been filled that the remaining planes hadn't actually been sourced and not to take anymore PE bookings until they had been.  Passengers booking at this time would then have been able to make the informed decision as to whether to go ahead or wait. Once the plane was sourced people could have been advised if PE was available to recommence bookings.

 

The economy flight seat bookers were lulled into a false sense of security on who they'd be flying with because until 2019 there had always been flights with well known companies. That is unfortunate but people must surely have seen the stories on lack of aircraft, staff etc so with no cast iron guarantee in the contract with P&O sadly shouldn't be surprised.

 

It will be interesting to see how the remaining Caribbean season cruises sell now this has been announced. I noticed today several cruises which had limited flight availability now appear to have more. Whether this is due to the planes now being sourced or cancellations only time will tell.  If prices on Arvia in particular start to slip in the same way as last year whether because of this or other reasons it will soon become clear.

 

Certainly until the flight situation becomes clearer I think many will hold off on booking next season's Caribbean offerings and this publicity is certainly not ideal when the group are pushing to sell out all their offerings for 2023/24.

[9265359]

9 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

It will be interesting to see how the remaining Caribbean season cruises sell now this has been announced. I noticed today several cruises which had limited flight availability now appear to have more. Whether this is due to the planes now being sourced or cancellations only time will tell.  If prices on Arvia in particular start to slip in the same way as last year whether because of this or other reasons it will soon become clear.

 

I doubt prices will be impacted at all by this change as the vast majority of people booking just book and don't look at forums like this to know such information,

 

This morning I rechecked one cruise that had slightly interested me a few weeks ago and which was at the end of of the Caribbean season in six months time and the price has increased by 50%

 

And that is probably due to them now being able to offer London flights whereas previously it was only Manchester flights or no flights and both London and Manchester flights are with this Maltese company.

 

Edited September 21, 2023 by 9265359

[Megabear2]

11 minutes ago, 9265359 said:

 

I doubt prices will be impacted at all by this change as the vast majority of people booking just book and don't look at forums like this to know such information,

 

This morning I rechecked one cruise that had slightly interested me a few weeks ago and which was at the end of of the Caribbean season in six months time and the price has increased by 50%

 

And that is probably due to them now being able to offer London flights whereas previously it was only Manchester flights or no flights and both London and Manchester flights are with this Maltese company.

 

My reference to the bad publicity wasn't to this forum which, as you say is miniscule. I was actually referring to the travel agent industry and its trade magazines who are apparently extremely unhappy with the way this is being handled.  A quick Internet search brings up immediately the headline "Agents and customers livid after P&O Cruises partners with one-cabin airline with no entertainment".  I have an Upday screen with news headlines which opens news stories based on my searches to direct me to items of interest.  Currently I check P&O and Cunard sites daily, the first as I'm accessing my cruise planner, the second because their 2025 itineraries have just launched and go on sale shortly.  By yesterday evening this news headline screen carried four articles with headings such as the one I've just quoted. Word will be out and spreading, newspapers love a bit of outrage. Anyone carrying out a search to buy a cruise most likely will see these too. 

 

My reference to prices is simply because currently there is an offer on Caribbean cruises running for departures up until 31 December 2023.  This ends soon and no doubt will be replaced.  There's also a big batch of payment dates imminent for cruises after 31 December 2023 and at that point we will be able to see who, if anyone, walks.

[Interestedcruisefan]

How many seats are premium economy on P and O planes normally?

 

Don't forget this is P and O actually losing an  extra income here - which isn't something they would normally choose to do if they didnt have to by the way

 

And once again I ask could somebody confirm what the benefits of premium economy normally are? 

 

Maybe some of the benefits can remain at least?

[Peanut006]

10 hours ago, TigerB said:

We have not received any email or other notification from P&O that our booked PE seats are no longer available for our flight next March to join Arvia in Antigua for the repositioning cruise. I've just checked our Cruise Planner and it shows our flight from Manchester is indeed with Maleth Aero.

 

Some posts on this thread make reference to folk apparently making a fuss about nothing and the lack of entertainment being a first world problem.  That may be so, and we would have no problem with using our own devices on the flight, but the major problem for us though, and others no doubt, is the loss of the PE cabin; for many, like us, it is a deal breaker. 

For my wife, and probably others who, like her, may have severe mobility restrictions and/or be nervous flyers, PE is the only cabin class in which she would be comfortable flying long-haul to or from a cruise in the Caribbean.

 

Unless there is a u-turn before our final payment is due in December, which I very much doubt, we will be cancelling.  Luckily, we only paid £100 deposit.

We are on the same cruise as you and were in the next cabin to you but flying out on 16 March from Manchester.

 

This week I have re-booked the cruise losing a small deposit and re-booked for only £180 more into a balcony cabin with the same onboard credit. It is showing TUI flights (TUI162) at 11.35. Maybe this would be an option if it’s still available?

 

Hope you can get something sorted 

 

Michelle

[Interestedcruisefan]

Looking at that list of dates above

 

Think I'm due on one of  these new flights on Friday 16th Feb from Manchester so will give an honest review when it happens 

 

Not had any message yet 

 

Edited September 21, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan

[Neecy1]

Our CP is still showing a TUI flight for MAN on 22 March although the list above says different. Also I think there's 2 flights that day? As I said earlier P&O took ages this week to book us on PE for that date so you would hope this means we are on a TUI flight with PE. Jean I couldn't give a fig about entertainment, its more about comfort.

[Interestedcruisefan]

Just now, Peanut006 said:

We are on the same cruise as you and were in the next cabin to you but flying out on 16 March from Manchester.

 

This week I have re-booked the cruise losing a small deposit and re-booked for only £180 more into a balcony cabin with the same onboard credit. It is showing TUI flights (TUI162) at 11.35. Maybe this would be an option if it’s still available?

 

Hope you can get something sorted 

 

Michelle

Have you done that to be able to book premium economy Michelle or just because you want to be on a Tui plane?

[Peanut006]

1 minute ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Have you done that to be able to book premium economy Michelle or just because you want to be on a Tui plane?

I re-booked because the balcony cabin prices were cheaper than when I originally booked by quite a lot. I was hoping for a TUI flight, she told me it would be a TUI flight during the booking which I was pleased about.

 

Michelle