XL....MONEYSAVING IS NOT the be all & end-all-a lesson learnt

arealbasketcase

richardw wrote: »

er, not strictly correct, there is some benefit with visa delta cards.

Wonder how long it will be before we get a holday risk checker on this site?

Apparently Paddy Power did have a book open............. they lost £15k when XL went down. Somehow methinks some one knew in advance?

Jeanmd128

We had guests who had booked to go out to our villa in Florida on Thursday with XL through Travel City direct - they went to First Choice yesterday and they have honoured the ATOL bonding and rebooked them to go out on Friday. So travel agents around the country I thank you for your hard work. They had booked with a debit card to save the surcharge - I am now suggesting to all UK guests to treat it like an insurance charge. By the way have you seen that the Post Office travel insurance includes cover in case an airline goes bust, automatically. Perhaps this is a lesson to everyone to read the small print. Discover exactly what and more importantly what is NOT covered and be aware of what protection you have and what rights in case of any problem. Know what the various terms such as ATOL and ABTA guarantee you. In these difficult times any company is vulnerable so be aware of what your risk is. By being aware and making sure you are not vulnerable will not stop a company failing but it should mean that you can get away or get a refund if the worst happens.

khizman

MidlandsMum wrote: »

The travel agent in me really thinks this situation has been brought on by consumers themselves. The have constantly demanded cheaper and cheaper holidays and airfares as if they are some sort of right and not any sort of luxury or privilege. This has meant that many tour ops and airlines have seen their net profits cut down and down year on year so when the proverbial hit the fan (rate of the euro, spiralling fuel costs) there was nothing or even very little in the pot to cover these costs.

What are you on about?

It's competition and more people going on holiday that has brought these price decreases about.

MidlandsMum

You're a bit rude, arent you?

As someone who sells, loves and goes on many holidays I was merely expressing an opinion. I've been doing this job for 13 years and the prices for most holidays have either stayed the same or come down in price. There are not many other services that you can say that for. The tour ops have been paring prices to the bone to keep customers happy because, as I said, customers now think of cheap or heavily discounted holidays as some sort of right, not a luxury. Now there is nothing in the pot due to market conditions and the situation with XL is going to repeat itself until the market settles down again.


While I'm at it, there are approx 2 MILLION less seats available this year than there was, for example 10 years ago. Why do you think there were no real late deals this summer? the ops knew how many seats they would fill and arranged that many. Now XL have gone bump you can forget a late deal for the forseeable future.

poet123

It is simply market forces,supply and demand and optimum price. The tour operators are not being altruistic in reducing their prices,they have to, or see their customers go to the competition. How far they go is up to them,if they go too low they risk going bust,it is down to their business acumen to pitch the prices accordingly. The punter is not to blame for their dodgy decisions and gambles which don't pay off.

MidlandsMum

I dont deny there's been a gamble that hasnt paid off. My point is consumers now see a holiday abroad as something as necessary as a loaf of bread or a pint of milk when it's not. I've had customers sit in front of me more than once over the years and say that I had to give them a discount because they were on benefits. People saying they needed a "cheapie" because they had already been abroad twice/three times that year.

I'm not saying there isnt a place for cheap travel, there is. I sold a ticket to New York last week. The Fare was £33, the taxes were £267. How on earth can an airline turn a profit with those fares?

richardw

MidlandsMum wrote: »

I sold a ticket to New York last week. The Fare was £33, the taxes were £267. How on earth can an airline turn a profit with those fares?

The taxes, fees and charges were £267, which also includes a bit of profit margin.

jetboy

Longhaul is the highest stakes game of all. The profit is made in the biz class seats. The revenue is keep flowing by the economy cabin. Hence the degradation in service in economy over the years. It is seen as a necessary evil..nothing more.
The principle is the same as the LCC's. If you are currently paying less than £150 to get a return to Malaga then they are probably just breaking even on the seat. On that flight the lucky few will have paid much less, the majority cover the costs and the last 10-15 are the high rollers that bring in the dosh.
The way fares are structured now can give you an idea what an airline really is making from you as they are now directly passing on the costs on check-in, baggage, fuel surcharges, airport handling and alike. Personally I prefferred it when you just handed over the cash and that was it. Booking with some carriers these days is like doing an aptitude test (except every wrong answer costs ££)

poet123

MidlandsMum wrote: »

I dont deny there's been a gamble that hasnt paid off. My point is consumers now see a holiday abroad as something as necessary as a loaf of bread or a pint of milk when it's not. I've had customers sit in front of me more than once over the years and say that I had to give them a discount because they were on benefits. People saying they needed a "cheapie" because they had already been abroad twice/three times that year.

I'm not saying there isnt a place for cheap travel, there is. I sold a ticket to New York last week. The Fare was £33, the taxes were £267. How on earth can an airline turn a profit with those fares?

I don't think customers do see a foreign holiday as a necessity,however it is seen as high up on the list of priorities,and as with any transaction they want best value. Those on benefits do probably use their situation as a bargaining tool,just as other people in different situations i.e large families wanting multiple rooms,groups of friends, etc, use that as a bargaining tool. Of course those who holiday frequently come to a point where they just want a cheap break,many people work long hours and an annual 2 week break is not enough. We have friends who now choose to book 4/5 long weekend breaks a year rather than the traditional 2 week holiday because they need regular breaks rather than one big one.

The bottom line is ultimately the tour companies set a price,with a built in profit margin,they decide what that is,not the consumer, therefore if they get it wrong it is their fault, not the fault of the customer, who simply pays what they ask.

I really believe that travel agents fulfil a niche market now,those who cannot( for whatever reason)do their own research,the days when a TA had mass market appeal are well and truly over.

Gaia_Angel

Hind sight is a wonderful thing eh?? Worst thing when you have just lost your little bit of sunshine for the year is someone rubbing your face in it. I am sure everyone here has learnt a bitter lesson - I know I have! Main thing is always book with a credit card it does give you that extra security. For anyone still lucky enough to have a holiday get some insurance that covers the company going bust.

TRAVELMAN wrote: »

If you've booked with xl.com with a debit card then NO REFUND.

I think you should remove this from your post travelman it is not correct information and people who are due money back may read that and think there is nothing they can do. Visa Debit can get a chargeback. Thanks to the lovely people at MSE who enlightened me!