COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Update

Dear Valued Customer,

We want to get in contact with you and update you with the clearest information possible in these unprecedented times.

As you are all very aware, the Covid-19 virus situation has escalated in both the UK & Ireland as well as across the rest of Europe. We have daily updates and changes in government policy and travel advice as this situation is very fluid. Whilst we are in the middle of this right now, we can see from the experience in China, that this can rapidly recover as quickly as it started so we all very much hope we get back to business as usual as soon as possible. It does now seem sensible that governments around the world are stepping up to support the slow down and control of this virus.

We are asking for your assistance and patience over the days to come, as well as to set out our policies that are based on the up to date government advice, and terms and conditions of the airlines and other partners we work with. As you will all be reading, every airline around the world is under threat so they are taking immediate action to safeguard travel as we know it. As keen travellers, we know you will want to support them so that you can continue to enjoy travel in the future as you are now. Therefore, we are appealing for calmness and patience to help the airlines and any other travel related services around the world, including ourselves, make it through this.

We are having to focus our efforts this week on the hundreds of customers who were due to travel over the next few weeks and are prioritising in departure date order.

I know this will be frustrating as many of you will want to speak to us now about your travel plans, but we will get to everyone quicker if you help us with this over the next few days.

In the meantime, be assured you are financially protected in the UK under the ATOL protection for flight-inclusive bookings and for non-flight packages appropriate insurance is in place.

With regards to booking terms, many airlines as of today and we expect many more by the end of the week, have announced that due to this extraordinary ‘Force Majeure - Act of God’ instance, no refunds will be available, instead a range of flexible options will be available in order to preserve your future travel opportunities. All governments around Europe are updating legislation to support this and we will be compliant with this. We will be able to offer you the following options when we call you.

1. Where travel is permitted

Your holiday can continue as planned as the airlines will be operating and hotels open.

In some rare circumstances, some hotels are choosing to isolate for a few days. If this occurs, we will offer you a suitable alternative.

If you would rather defer your trip, and the airlines and hotels permit us to do this, then we will move your booking with a small administration fee, but your price may change if you choose to defer to a different seasonal price band, we will discuss all valid options with you when we call. In the vast majority of cases we are seeing this is possible and will discuss this individually with you.

2. Where travel is not permitted

As this is a fluid situation, travel updates will be happening on a daily basis. We will work with all airlines and partners within their terms and conditions.

When we contact you, we will discuss the options available which will range from re-routing to an alternative destination or changing/deferring your trip depending on the airline’s terms. Where we are holding just a deposit from you and you are not yet ticketed to travel on the airline, we will have far more flexibility in terms of any changes you wish to make.

If you are happy to wait and see how the situation develops over the next few weeks, please be assured we are monitoring this daily and responding appropriately and will be in touch if we have any concerns about your plans.

If you know that you would like to defer your travel plans, then please e-mail us from here or call us 0207 725 7000 and let us know your preferred dates to move your booking to.  Please do not expect an immediate reply, once we are through our immediate departures we will move onto these replies and call you about your plans.  To assist us in dealing with your request, please also detail your booking reference number, current planned date of travel and best phone number to contact you.

We thank you very much for your ongoing support, patience and understanding and we look forward to making your holiday dreams come true again soon.