new route london city to chambery

AllyG wrote:I think it would be okay if you were with a TO because they'd sort out the transfers if you got diverted, but I think it could be a problem if you were going DIY.

Not necessarily - you might end up waiting hours at, say, Lyon or Turin for the TO's buses to drive from Chambery. If you're DIY you might have the option of just hiring a car and heading off straight away...

Been there, done that and ended up with a shorter drive to resort after waiting all of 5 minutes for the baggage (easyJet Geneva flight diverted to Lyon).

Chambery's open more often than it's not and can be very quick as long as you don't arrive at the same time as anyone else... 8)

I've ended up in Geneva when Gronoble closed due to weather. Chambery does tend to close as well due to bad weather, but any of the ski airports can.

Ally - I'd stick to the chuff chuff if I were you, and not worry about airports closing down )

Tony,
I'm trying to emphasize that if you go DIY and there's a hitch with the travel arrangements (like the plane is diverted) it's up to you to sort out the new travel arrangements. If you go with a TO it's their responsibility to get you to your accommodation in resort, and they have to sort out whatever the problem is.

Last Feb our Eurostar direct train was an hour late and our pre-booked bus to the resort had gone by the time we got to Moutiers. Because we went DIY there was no-one at the station to help us, and no taxis anywhere in sight - only a very empty station once all the other passengers had been picked up by their tour companies. Luckily a taxi eventually turned up to take us to the resort, which was only about half an hour away, and we palled up with some other DIYers who were also left behind, to share the cost.

Forewarned is forearmed, and this Feb I'm going to bring a list of taxi phone numbers in my pocket in case the same thing happens again.

Judging by what Admin said, anyone flying DIY to somewhere like Chambery had better bring their driving license and be prepared to drive to their resort from wherever they might be diverted to. A taxi from somewhere like Geneva to Tignes would cost an absolute fortune. And whilst there might be buses/trains, it would depend on where you were going to, how full they were, and what time of day it was.

I always like to be prepared with a plan B :D

Ally

Interesting alternative perspective. I travelled with a tour op when our flight got diverted from Grenoble to Geneva, and we were literally abandoned at the airport (without luggage as it transpired but thats another story) without any transport on hand to take us to our resorts.
Had we been DIY we might actually have stood a better chance of getting out of the place, as we might have been able to hire a car and get on the road instead of waiting 15 hours for someone to organise a taxi after forgetting about the group of people going to our resort.
You have to rely on the tour op to get you to your destination, but you also have to sometimes accept that the weather is beyond anyones control.

I would have thought that going by train and making your own arrangements to get to resort would have meant you had gone with a selection of bus/taxi information in the first place?

Weather is just the luck of the draw, thank goodness for traction control :lol:

I know. If I didn't have it on my cars, I'd seriously consider buying a helmet :shock: :mrgreen:

Tony_H wrote:
I would have thought that going by train and making your own arrangements to get to resort would have meant you had gone with a selection of bus/taxi information in the first place?

Tony,
Because we go at Feb half-term we have to book the bus months before. In fact, I tried booking a taxi for a change, about a week ago, and I couldn't find one that wasn't booked up already to meet us at Moutiers station in Feb!

I think you were very unlucky that the weather was so bad and it was totally appalling that the TO's forgot about you and left you at the airport for so long. I hope you had a great deal of money in compensation.


I don't think I'd be able to hire a care and drive a long way through the snow to the resort, if I went DIY and the plane was diverted. It sounds a bit :shock: :shock: :shock: to me :lol:

Ally

AllyG wrote:

Tony,
Because we go at Feb half-term we have to book the bus months before. In fact, I tried booking a taxi for a change, about a week ago, and I couldn't find one that wasn't booked up already to meet us at Moutiers station in Feb!

But there is always a chance you will be late, and an hour is not much of a delay at all.
What happens if you miss the bus next time then? You have to have a back up don't you?

AllyG wrote:I think you were very unlucky that the weather was so bad and it was totally appalling that the TO's forgot about you and left you at the airport for so long. I hope you had a great deal of money in compensation.

Heres the bit I don't get: why would I get compensated as a result of bad weather? I believe that insurance companies call it "force majeure".
We had expenses incurred and essential items purchased refunded, but how can you get compensation because there is too much snow for your airport to open?
I had lengthy discussions with the tour op and the airline, and because they left the UK they could not refund the price of the holiday, and because the weather closed the airport en route, they had to divert. They did what they could - I didn't think it was as much as they should but thats just my opinion - and we eventually made it to resort, you might recall my posts about this in Jan this year.

Tell me, what do you think I should have been compensated for, and how?