Package Holidays

[The Central Scrutinizer]

Am i right in thinking the only true package holiday companies in the UK are Tui and Jet2 because they put the holiday together using their own aircraft while other operators don't?
in 2020 we booked a holiday to Greece with Travel Republic which was cancelled and we had to wait a long time for the flight from Easyjet to be reimbursed although to be fair to Travel Republic they did keep us up to date on what was happening.

 

[CanucksTraveller]

Not quite, a package holiday is just one where the flights and accommodation (and usually extras like transfers and excursions) are sold together as one product, it doesn't matter who owns the aircraft. In fact you can very easily directly buy a package holiday from TUI where one or all of the flights might be on easyJet for example, (although the air carrier is chosen by the customer, usually based on more convenient flight times or a departure airport not served by the package company's own airline).

TUI and Jet2 just happen to be the larger UK tour operator / package companies. Usually they're the easier companies to get help from if something goes wrong, for instance you'll generally have access to a company rep in resort, and if you had easyJet flights as part of your cancelled package, Jet2 and TUI recognise that your contract is with them rather than easyJet so they'd refund the whole package.

Of course the line is somewhat more blurred these days with airlines selling holiday packages (BA and easyJet for two) with 3rd party accommodation, but yes I suppose Jet2 and TUI most closely fit the idea of "package holiday company" better than others.

 

[vickster]

More so it seems. I always use TUI, Jet2 don't fly from Gatwick. I'm off to Croatia with TUI in May.

You can package up transfers and excursions with BA, Expedia etc. Also Trailfinders for example, if looking more for a tour than fly and flop

 

[Alex321]

Am i right in thinking the only true package holiday companies in the UK are Tui and Jet2 because they put the holiday together using their own aircraft while other operators don't?

No on both counts actually.

First (as said above) that is not the definition of a package holiday company.

Second, there are others - Thomas Cook, British Airways, Easyjet all offer package holidays using their own aircraft, and probably others do as well. And I think all of them will also use other airlines for some of their packages.

in 2020 we booked a holiday to Greece with Travel Republic which was cancelled and we had to wait a long time for the flight from Easyjet to be reimbursed although to be fair to Travel Republic they did keep us up to date on what was happening.

If they sell it as a package, then they are responsible for any reimbursement, regardless of who the airline is.

But it is the same as happens with warranty claims on retail items - you go back to the retailer (who are responsible), and they pass it back to the manufacturer.

 

[vickster]

Didn't Thomas Cook go bust (for at least the 2nd time), get sort of taken over by Hays who then sold a lot of their assets/closed shops?

 

[Alex321]

Didn't Thomas Cook go bust (for at least the 2nd time), get sort of taken over by Hays who then sold a lot of their assets/closed shops?

Hmm.

Yes, you are right. Went bust late 2019.

And the airline no longer exists, though the package tour operator (under different owners) is operating.

 

[CanucksTraveller]

Didn't Thomas Cook go bust (for at least the 2nd time), get sort of taken over by Hays who then sold a lot of their assets/closed shops?

It's a slightly complex story, but mostly, yes.
In short, the Thomas Cook tour operator and the Thomas Cook Airlines that we used to know did indeed go bust a few years back.

A big and diverse Chinese company (Fosun) had a small stake when TC went bust. They later acquired the brand and resurrected it as an online-only package holiday seller, like Expedia etc. So the company has gone in all practical terms, but the brand name lives on as a somewhat different entity, albeit in a similar market.

 

[The Central Scrutinizer]

@Alex321 There is a difference in which if a holiday is cancelled by Tui or Jet2 they should give you the total refund for the whole cost in one transaction.
If you rang Travel Republic or on the beach and asked them are you selling me a complete package holiday ? the answer would be no because they are selling you two packages separately(the accommodation and the flight)
Travel Republic told me on the accommodation they had only paid one pound just to hold my booking and on the flight I would have to wait until they got refunded from EasyJet for them to pay me out.

 

[Alex321]

@Alex321 There is a difference in which if a holiday is cancelled by Tui or Jet2 they should give you the total refund for the whole cost in one transaction.
If you rang Travel Republic or on the beach and asked them are you selling me a complete package holiday ? the answer would be no because they are selling you two packages separately(the accommodation and the flight)
Travel Republic told me on the accommodation they had only paid one pound just to hold my booking and on the flight I would have to wait until they got refunded from EasyJet for them to pay me out.

Whether it classes as a package holiday or not will depend mainly on how you paid/were invoiced, together with how you selected the parts. And theirs almost certainly are legally classed as package holidays.

If you selected everything before going to a checkout screen, then legally it classes as a package holiday. It still would if you were given a single invoice even if you could go to checkout for the accommodation and then the flight afterwards. It can even be a package if you book the parts on different sites, provided you were directed to the second site by the original seller, and book there within 24 hours.

ABTA have a more in-depth explanation Here.

 

[CanucksTraveller]

I agree Alex, it's a virtual certainty that it's a package holiday invoiced as a single product and Travel Republic have responsibility to sort out cancellations etc, not rely on easyJet. It's like I said earlier, companies like Jet2 and TUI are better at dealing with this and won't quibble about who your contract is with for parts of the package. They know it's with them, no matter which airline your seat was on.

 

[The Central Scrutinizer]

Travel Republic have responsibility to sort out cancellations etc, not rely on easyJet

Because i didn't book my flight direct with EasyJet their contract is with travel republic not me.I tried talking to EasyJet but they wouldn't entertain me.So Travel Republic have to wait for EasyJet to refund them before they can refund me.
You could get a refund in weeks or it might takes months.
In "normal" times this scenario probably wouldn't happen.

 

[Alex321]

Because i didn't book my flight direct with EasyJet their contract is with travel republic not me.I tried talking to EasyJet but they wouldn't entertain me.So Travel Republic have to wait for EasyJet to refund them before they can refund me.
You could get a refund in weeks or it might takes months.
In "normal" times this scenario probably wouldn't happen.

Travel Republic do NOT have to wait for Easyjet to refund them.

Travel Republic are REQUIRED to refund you, even if Easyjet never refund them.

They WANT to wait until they have been refunded, but according to the regulations, they have to reimburse you within 14 days of the date the package was cancelled.
Https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/634/part/3 - see regulation 14.

 

[vickster]

Did you pay by credit card? I had a cancelled flight in the US in May 2020.
Expedia said Delta would only give me a voucher. Errr no, they cancelled the flight. Contacted credit card company, chargeback initiated, refunded no issue
I’d try that with the Travel Republic transaction if you can

 

[The Central Scrutinizer]

@vickster
This was eighteen months ago and it's been sorted

 

[vickster]

@vickster
This was eighteen months ago and it's been sorted

Oops I missed that