It was Saturday morning when I first learnt that Spanair had ceased operations on Friday night.  Thankfully it appears that many people who were on holiday were able to get flights home at special prices with other airlines.  One year earlier and I would have been getting pretty worried myself, or at least trying to get a refund on the flights that were already booked.

But while much of the reporting has focused on the lack of funds that Spanair had, I think it’s worth asking why they got into that situation in the first place.

Over the past four years when I have flown with them, I freely admit it was because I wanted to get from A to B and they were usually the cheapest, and sometimes the most convenient option.  I was even impressed by the fact, that in-flight refreshments were still included in the price of the flight between Frankfurt and Madrid. (more…)

I’ve flown with Spanair now enough times to know that I’m not thrilled by their customer service.  But at the end of the day they are still one of the most convenient ways to fly from Germany to Lanzarote, via Madrid, without entering the world of budget or charter flights, which either leave from airports much further away or quite simply cost more.

So when booking flights recently, I still took them into consideration on the grounds that I at least know what I’m getting.

Except that they have now gone to new lengths to persuade me not to do it again, by moving my flight by one whole day!

“Please contact us to help you find an alternative flight, we will be pleased to help you” said the e-mail.  So I did. (more…)

One of the strange things that we’ve noticed on Lanzarote, is that some of the palm trees appear to have been stripped of their bark, whereas others still have theirs attached.

Here are some examples:

We are curious to know why this is.  Can anyone tell us?