Consumer travel advice

Cheaperholidays.com has published this Consumer travel advice in light of Zoom going to the wall and is sensible advice when booking holidays or travel.

When booking travel holidays and or flights do: Make sure you are booking with an ATOL bonded tour operator, as that way your money is secure..

1. Even so do Pay for travel by credit (not debit) card and your credit card company will refund you. If the tour operator or travel agent goes bust.

If you pay by Cash – cheques or debit cards you have no such rights and the money will be lost or you will have to wait on an ATOL claim from the CAA.

If you have bought scheduled flights: It is important to note: You may still, however, have to buy replacement tickets that are considerably more expensive than the original tickets you purchased

If you have booked flights and accommodation separately, then you have a separate contract with your accommodation supplier.

This is important as if you cannot get replacement flights you will still have to pay for the accommodation, something to keep in mind.

Even if no flights are available when you attempt to book new travel arrangements, i.e. you cannot reach your holiday destination – you will still be liable to pay for the accommodation despite the fact that it could remain empty during your holiday dates.

2 Book flights and accommodation via a fully-bonded tour operator.

If an airline goes out of business, it is the tour operator’s responsibility to find you new flights – and, even better, the tour operator will pay any or all additional costs.

3 Take out scheduled airline failure insurance.

This is specialised cover and is unlikely to be included in a standard insurance policy. It does not cost much and is considerably cheaper than the cost of buying a new ticket, etc., as described above. Ensure that your insurance will cover the cost of a more expensive flight if necessary.