Jet fuel supply issues threaten flight schedules, while Ryanair intensifies its baggage enforcement with staff incentives. Plus, why a proper brew is essential for your holidays.
Swerving issues with jet fuel
Somewhere, far from Heathrow, a man with access to nuclear codes decides that it is the perfect moment for a conflict that nobody has planned past the press conference. A few weeks later, jet fuel prices double, the Strait of Hormuz is effectively shut, and some flight prices are soaring. Thanks Donald.
Some airlines say there will be fewer flights but not BA, easyJet and Jet2Holidays (as I write this), so hats off to them. Rory Boland from Which? says cancellations will be a “small proportion” of flights so let’s hope that is the case. Consumer commentator, Jane Hawkes suggests travellers keep a “contingency pot”, which I assume means money set aside to fix problems you didn’t create. Spain’s tourism minister advises buying tickets now, before fares rise further because airlines are still burning cheaper fuel bought earlier.
And here’s where us GTOs can be a little smug because, yes, we booked our 2026 group holidays last year which goes to show that planning ahead is always a good idea.
Got something to say about these stories? Add your comments at the bottom of the page.
Ryanair’s bag police state
There was a time when squeezing a slightly bulbous cabin bag past the gate at Stansted felt like winning the Pools. Now it feels like running from bounty hunters.
Ryanair’s penny‑pinching boss Michael O’Leary has proudly turned the departure gate into a bonus‑fuelled sting operation. Staff get 2.50 for every passenger they catch with a bag that dares to exceed the airline’s sacred measurements.
O’Leary says he makes “no apology” for targeting “people who are scamming the system”, which is rich coming from a business model built on charging extra to sit down. According to O’Leary, oversized bags are nearly extinct, thanks to crackdowns and constant PR. Yes, apparently nothing encourages good behaviour like the threat of a £75 smack for wheels that are sticking out.
Which? calls the policy “extremely strict”, citing families hit for £400 because a zip protruded by a millimetre or two. O’Leary, meanwhile, insists: “I am the most compliant passenger going”. Of course he is. His bag probably bows respectfully before entering the cage.
Why a proper brew matters
According to a new survey from cruise.co.uk, more than half of cruise guests say access to a proper brew is an important factor in choosing their holiday.
Important. Not “nice to have”. Not “if there’s time within the itinerary”. Important. Exactly as I have been saying to anyone who’ll listen, including hotel receptionists, airline cabin crew and one unfortunate man in a lift when I was not in the best of moods.
The survey polled more than 600 customers, and 44% said having tea making facilities in their cabin was “very important”. Which feels low, frankly. A holiday where I can’t boil a kettle in my own room is not something I want to think about. Even more reassuring is the fact that nearly 40% of guests either always, or sometimes, take their own tea bags onboard, with another 18% considering it for the future.
These people are not paranoid. These people are prepared. This is not “smuggling”; it is self care. You wouldn’t go hiking without shoes. You wouldn’t cruise without emergency Yorkshire Tea.
Speaking of which, 38% of respondents prefer Yorkshire Tea, followed by PG Tips (16%) and Twinings (15%). This is not a ranking, this is a quiet but firm declaration of national values. You can tell a lot about a person by their tea brand, and whether they say “it’s all the same once you add milk”, which is grounds for immediate removal from the WhatsApp group.
(The views expressed in this column are not necessarily the views of the publisher.)
No comments yet