Check the small print

Scotland's biggest airline has just gone bust and left a few thousand stranded overseas and others with no booking. Probably preaching to the converted but for any novice travellers out there hopefully this shows why you should always check if the tour operator, airline or your credit card will pay to bring you home or refund you and another reason why you should get travel insurance (and check that too)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/8417543.stm

...In a statement, the administrators said the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) would be responsible for the repatriation of about 1,100 people who were on holidays booked as part of a Globespan package holiday.

However, a further 3,400 people are overseas and are not protected after booking directly through flyglobespan.com.

Customers who booked Flyglobespan flights directly via the Flyglobespan website or the call centre will not get a refund on the cost of their flight but the Department of Transport said they may qualify for a reduced rate repatriation fare...

...There are also 27,000 people who have future flights booked through the Air Travel Organisers' Licensing (Atol) insurance scheme, and about 90,000 people who have forward bookings but have no Atol protection.

They may be protected under their own personal travel insurance or through their credit card transaction...

Regards
JAS

What's it like over there JAS do you think there may be more of the same airlines struggling and going bust?

Here Qantas has just announced its overall passenger numbers have increased.

QANTAS has confirmed its position as one of the world's strongest airlines, surprising the market with an upbeat half-year profit forecast.
Despite key international routes to the US and Britain remaining in the doldrums, the airline said overall passenger numbers have rebounded and it expects a half-year profit of up to $150 million.

The news prompted Qantas to announce increased capacity on key domestic routes and led investors to put a rocket under the carrier's share price.

Qantas stock rose 5 per cent, or 14, to $2.88 at the close of trade -- its best day since December 1.

I wouldn't be surprised if more companies do go under although it's difficult to tell given the way the media just love to blow these things out of all proportion and make it all the end of the travel world but there was also a travel firm in England that went bust a couple of days after Globespan.

From what I've seen on the news I think (and hope) that this one was unique. The Scottish Parliament are calling for an inquiry into the Globespan collapse because the company that handled their credit card bookings owed them £34m...all sounds very underhanded at the moment...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/8422441.stm

Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond has called for an investigation into the collapse of the Globespan airline.

Thousands of passengers were stranded abroad and 550 staff were made redundant when the airline called in the administrators on Wednesday.

The administrator has said that E-Clear, the credit card handling company, owed the airline £34m.

It has emerged that E-Clear's chief executive also led a consortium which wished to buy a share of Flyglobespan.

Mr Salmond told BBC Scotland he believed there was a "case for a serious investigation by the department of business regulation".

He added said it needed to look at "the negotiations and the financial structure of Globespan and if indeed money, as is claimed, was being withheld from the company making worse or perhaps even precipitating its cash flow crisis".

I think the airlines will probably be doing a fair bit more belt tightening. Ryanair, the budget (to put it politely) airline have just pulled out of plans to buy 200 new aircraft from Boeing...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8419914.stm

...and BA will be bracing themselves for another union ballot in the New Year after the mistakes in the last one made it, and the planned strike action over Christmas, illegal. Doubt the BA staff will get much public sympathy...from what I've heard on tv they already get paid twice what other airline staff, including Virgin, get.

All looks fairly unpredictable at the moment but I'll keep updating with anything I think might potentially be of interest or affect Aussie travellers. I'm hoping things will have improved by the time i want to book my flights to Adelaide for 2011

Regards
JAS

Thanks JAS, it does seem somewhat underhanded with allegedly E-Clear's holding back money owed to Flyglobespan and E-Clear's CEO wishing to buy into the airline. Hopefully things will turn around soon. We have been lucky here compared to other countries.

beaglex wrote:Thanks JAS, it does seem somewhat underhanded with allegedly E-Clear's holding back money owed to Flyglobespan and E-Clear's CEO wishing to buy into the airline. Hopefully things will turn around soon. We have been lucky here compared to other countries.

Just remember it could always be worse...at least we're not Air Comet passengers and threatening to go on hunger strike

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8428719.stm
(link to full article)

Some passengers stranded at airports in Spain and Latin America are threatening to go on hunger strike after Spain's Air Comet suspended all its flights.

About 7,000 people are reportedly affected after the airline's fleet was grounded this week by Spain's officials over its failure to pay debts.

The low-cost Spanish carrier owes 17m euros (£15m) to Germany's Nord Bank in lease payments, according to AFP.

Air Comet says it is seeking to lay off all of its nearly 700 employees.

The Madrid-based company - which specialises in cheap flights to Latin America - also says it has filed for bankruptcy.

Regards
JAS