Aurigny's punctuality is nowhere near good enough

Please don't tell me it was due to the weather last Sunday. This was only one factor along with the merger of the previous flight that was not even mentioned due to the plane going tech. This resulted in a full flight departing at 20.45, on which not all baggage could be carried due to weight restrictions in Guernsey.

Tonight's performance, which was apparently due to crew sickness, coupled with Menzies continuing to treat you as a second-class citizen? Believe me, tonight was farcical. We were even called to the gate on time when a simple novice like me using the internet knew there were problems before I even got to the airport. This was only one example of their inability tonight, as apparently they lost your message – although myself and a few other passengers did eventually manage to get a representative physically present following many attempts who actually said sorry. You pay this company to be your representative?

This week aside, I had been travelling to London recently every week from April until June. There is a capacity issue first thing in the morning, the punctuality is getting worse, prices for a week in advance for business has got very expensive and as mentioned, you are treated as a second-class citizen at Gatwick because of your size. Strangely, Menzies deny this.

This is a lifeline route and while I have always been a strong supporter of Aurigny, I am sorry to say the trend at present is downwards. If this continues, it will be to the detriment of the island longer term. I await with interest the introduction of the City link. Please feel free to arrange a convenient time to discuss.

To which I have only received the following automated reply:

'Thank you for your email. Please be advised that we may take up to 28 days to respond to all emails and correspondence received and very occasionally longer than this during particularly busy periods. We work through all correspondence in the order that we receive it, and thank you for being patient. We will do our very best to get back to you before this time.

With kind regards

Aurigny Customer Relations'

It's now 3 September. Is this really the level of overall service a sole provider of a lifeline route provides? I wait with interest Giba and other professional bodies' review.

Name and address withheld.

Editor's footnote: Aurigny's customer services team responds: 'Thank you for the opportunity to respond to your correspondent's letter through the pages of the Guernsey Press. We have also written directly to them and hope that our response answers their questions.

As always, we apologise for any disruption to our correspondent's travel plans over the last month. We did experience technical issues, which we believe were due to the unusually hot weather conditions. We do understand how frustrating these delays can be, but sometimes they are unavoidable and can happen on any airline at any time. While we do try to operate as many flights as we can on time, our main priority will always be to operate each and every flight with the safety of our passengers and crew in mind. Our handling agents at Gatwick (Menzies) do try to help passengers as much as possible but will not always know the reasons for delays as it takes time for issues to be investigated and resolved. They follow instructions regarding updates, rebooking, refreshments, accommodation etc. from the Aurigny operations team.

It may be possible to claim additional expenses/losses from your travel insurance or credit card company and we can send notes to help if required. Passengers should not hesitate to contact us if they need any further information on delays or cancellations.

Regarding the time it takes to respond to passengers' enquiries, along with other airlines we always state that a response may take up to 28 days. We may be able to respond much quicker than this, and often do, but we do not wish to over-promise and under-deliver, hence the 28 days. Unfortunately, when your correspondent contacted us, it was the busiest time of our year as our record passenger numbers will show you, we did have staff on leave and all requests are dealt with in order so as to be as fair as possible.

Aurigny is going through a period of change at the moment with the introduction of new aircraft, new routes and the training of new staff. We try to give the best possible service we can to all our customers and thank them for their patience during times of disruption.'