To ask if you've heard of Fly4? (flight change)

[PassingStranger]

Tui emailed to say one or more of our flights would be operated by Fly 4 with tui staff?
Anyone had this?
Is it all OK.
Normally use jet2 so never known this before? X

@peepsypops

^ exactly..it's been around for years, and as you say it's done for a variety of reasons

I suspect in TUI's case they suffer more than most from the difference in demand between summer and winter and with leasing costs for aircraft like a 737 running at maybe $10,000 a day, per hull, TUI are not going to want to have excess hulls sat around on the ground all winter (and there's the whole issue of what to do with excess crews).

I'm also pretty sure the travelling public, ever hungry for lowish ticket prices, wouldn't want to pay the bill for TUI maintaining an overly large fleet overwinter either..so there's logic to topping up fleet levels for summer using an ACMI operator.

Many many airlines do this without the customer knowing much about it at all

Agreed again, and I reckon if done properly (and it sounds like TUI are) if the passengers boarded and disembarked via a jetty and never saw the paint work on the outside of the aircraft they'd probably be none the wiser.

Why? It's still a plane that's taking you to the same destination..it's like cutting off your nose to spite your face.

Hi everyone. I’d like to reassure you regarding your concerns. Both TUI and Jet2 use ACMI carriers to help them, particularly in the busy summer months. They are often very unreliable so TUI and Enter Air of Poland have created their own airline called Fly4 to assist them and other carriers. They are using TUI 737’s which have been re-registered in Ireland. There will be one Fly4 senior crew member, Fly4 flight crew and 4 TUI crew members. Fly4 have been rigorously checked by the Irish Aviation Authority to enable them to gain their AOC. How do I know all this? I am a Fly4’senior cabin crew member. Ex TUI with 14 years of flying experience. We have just been helping TUI Belgium and are now awaiting operations commencing in BHX and EMA. It will be the full TUI service, just a different plane exterior and slightly different safety procedures (nothing that you’d notice). All Fly4 crew are highly experienced. Please do not worry. It will be far far better than previous arrangements.

Do the seats that you booked still count?

If you were originally going on a 737 which you would be on short haul then your seats should remain the same. The interior isn’t altered in the slightest - the only difference is we have Fly4 safety cards. We’ve had great feedback from TUI Belgium and I’m proud of what we have achieved. I’ve also dispatched aircraft for Jet2 and some of their ACMI have been a nightmare. Many of the Fly4 senior crew at EMA are ex DSA, made redundant when DSA closed.

Last 3 holidays I’ve booked through Tui they have used Sunwing planes. Full Tui cabin crew with Sunwing pilots. Zero issues. This year it looks like our flight will be operated by a Spanish airline - Alba Star. Not losing any sleep over it!
Would the poster above who is throwing the toys out her pram be so upset if Tui had outsourced the flight to BA as I’ve seen they are doing on a few of their routes?

@Toottooot

Would the poster above who is throwing the toys out her pram be so upset if Tui had outsourced the flight to BA as I’ve seen they are doing on a few of their routes?

For info and unless you’ve heard differently AFAIK that’s TUI selling holidays using seats they’ve bought on some BA flights, rather than outsourcing whole TUI flights…it’s been a practice that has gone on for years and isn’t BA acting as an ACMI.

@Steve1954 we had a change last year to Maleth and lost our seats (extra legroom) but I had to call Tui so that we could then rebook other seats. They refunded immediately their system just needed a push.

Update. All was OK with Fly4.

So, I've checked out Fly4 and yeah, they seem pretty legit for flight changes. I mean, who doesn't love some flexibility, right? Especially when it comes to travel plans. Ain't nobody got time for those rigid airline rules. And hey, if you're ballin' with business class flights, why not make sure you've got the freedom to switch things up if needed? Fly4 seems to get that. But hey, always good to do your homework and make sure they're the real deal before committing, you know? Happy travels, folks!

I booked with tui, they've changed to fly4..me and my partner are flying a wk before our family and friends, and booked to all fly back on same flight as its a wedding party , now its just me and partner flying back with fly4, so it's kind of ruined the wedding and fun of being all together.
Is that being unreasonable?
I don't think it is.

If you were all originally on the return flight together, surely you still will be only it will be operated by Fly4?

Unfortunately, if you want to ensure something like this doesn't happen, you need to all be under the same booking.

I flew with them on a TUI holiday earlier this year and it was fine. Same seat that I'd booked. Same level of service. Just a different plane.