You have a real gift for understatement. :^)
Can we go to Coz yet?
- Thread starter wildbill9
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If you think you have it tough in the States... I have several thousand stuck with Air Canada with absolutely no option for a refund. Lawsuits are being filed up here. Essentially, all the airlines here are being allowed to get away for vouchers good for two years. Too bad if you don’t want to fly (or fly with that airline). If your replacement flight is priced way higher than what you booked and have a voucher for, too bad so sad, pay us more. No additional credit given for the fact that they have held your money hostage, either.
I don't pay a lot of attention to it but last I seen it was low 16's per liter. The peso is down to the dollar by 20% or so and diving gets paid in dollars.... Some pay is in dollars, some in pesos; tanks and dockage is in pesos....
I think dive shops might not be making much if any money at 2 people per boat but it is giving the captain and DM a chance to earn some tips and anything on top of minimum wages the last 8 weeks or so would be helpful.
horn34
Contributor
nwflyboy
Contributor
I imagine reefs covered in lionfish. Gonna be good times at La Perla...
I think there may be some misunderstanding here. The typical "sixpack" boats I'm used to diving from on Coz may advertise a maximum of 6 divers; they may only take 6 divers. But I believe in many cases those are choices the dive op makes, and not based on a different number: the actual capacity of the boat. How many divers the op chooses to take, the limit they set, may be arbitrary (to some degree) and quite lower than the number of people they could potentially squeeze in if they were all about maximizing the number of bodies on board. Honestly, the boat I'm used to diving from could probably hold 2X the number of divers they typically take; that would feel crowded and that's not how they roll. I would assume (or at least my lawyer would argue...) that the COVID19 limits for divers should be based on the boat's legal carrying capacity (determined by the Coast Guard or Navy, I presume), rather than how they choose to market themselves (ie as a boutique dive op that gives you plenty of room to stretch out on the boat, and no crowding in the water). Now, this would only add up for those who have boats that they don't ordinarily squeeze full. But the "sixpack" boat I'm used to could hold a lot more than 6 passengers if they wanted to. Maybe some of the other dive ops doing sixpack boats really do have tiny boats that can only seat 6 actual passengers plus captain plus DM = capacity of 8 total?
If the authorities know how many divers the ops usually take and force the 30% capacity limit based on that, then never mind. That doesn't seem reasonable to me, but there are plenty of things in the world that are.
A legal dive boat used in the marine park here has marine park licenses. Those licenses define the number of paying customers on the boat - so a boat with a 6pax licenses can only carry six paying customers.. Boats also go thru an inspection, much like a coast guard inspection that states their capacity - that capacity number will always be higher (well should be) than the number of marine park permits.
Boats have to have a licensed captain and a seabook carrying DM at minimum, bigger boats require a seabook carrying first mate also - not sure what size that starts at though.
So a friend has a 6pax boat with a capacity of 10 people. They can take the captain, six passengers and three legal dive masters - as long as there is room.
If they went by capacity, that 10 person boat could only take one paying customer at 30% - most boats here don't have a much larger capacity than they are licensed for, enough for a captain, mate, and a few DM's per six people would be an extreme capacity.
Applying capacity limits to a dive boat seems kinda silly to me in the first place given the open-air nature and the fact that many of the passengers come in pairs if not groups already. As Chuck said, he can't even go out with his family. He can sit with them inside in his kitchen but not in a boat with the wind blowing?
Saxonjd
Contributor
Oh, I have no misconceptions on how airlines treat people, and have over the years changed my expectations as to service and satisfaction. However, that doesn't allow them to violate the law. The DOT had to make two separate statements reminding UA and other airlines what the laws are, and that they are violating it if they are denying refunds for canceled flights. People also are in crisis mode and there should be no reason that an airline should be allowed to violate the law and keep passengers money. Bankruptcy does not mean an airline would necessarily cease to operate or exist. All of the big three (UA, Delta and AA) have gone through bankruptcy proceedings, some multiple times and have continued to fly.
For sure. Their current policy allows for redeposit without fees as long as certain conditions of the ticket are met. Hopefully, I won't have to test that and can fly down in July!
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