Question on Airline Failure Protection

Somebody

Hi

I have noticed that certain sites now make a compulsory charge for Airline Failure Protection ("We will reimburse/repatriate in the event of Airlines Financial Failure to operate") when booking flights.

There is no way of avoiding this charge. Isn't this illegal as the consumer should have a choice of taking up such "insurance"?

What's the view please?

bagand96

Its not illegal. Nobody is forcing you to buy the flights through that website. You can always use a different one.

donnawood

Are the companies selling a service or insurance, these are two different things. In other words are they stating your purchasing an 'insurance' or are they automatically charging you a service fee like travel agents charge an administration fee ?

Which companies are doing this ?

That said bagand96 has a point, you have a choice to use them or not.

Somebody

Go to netflights.com, and try to book a flight.

At the check out stage there is a charge for Airline Failure Protection, which sounds like insurance, but you can't opt out. I contacted Consumer Direct and they have referred it to trading standards.

bagand96

Be interesting to see what trading standards say. However, I don't see how it can be illegal. A way of spinning an extra few quid maybe, but illegal? Nobody is forcing you to book through Netflights, and if a condition of booking through them is taking the Protection, then so be it, it is upfront and itemised. You have a choice whether to enter into a contract with Netflights or not.

I could see the point, if for example British Airways (or any airline) exclusively sold all their flights through Netflights, therefore if you wanted a BA flight you had to go to Netflights, therefore you would have no way of avoiding it. However, Netflights are just an agent, you can go elsewhere for your flights of you don't like their conditions.

Somebody

But it is not in their Ts&Cs that you have to take the protection. The only place where it mentions it is in the refunds section where it doesn't get refunded if you cancel.

When I called to question the charge they said that it was a charge by the airline and they were merely passing it on. I think not.

To me it's akin to the (now outlawed) PPI saga where they say you can only have the loan if you take the PPI protecton.

budgetflyer

what a lot of rot. Whats wrong with this country? Everyone runs to trading standards, consumer standards, this watch dog, that watchdog. If you don't want to pay it- dont buy the flight.SIMPLE. They could easily have hidden the £3.50pp return onto the flight price and you wouldn't even know!
This way - its there -you can see you are protected.
The people who yelp the loudest about these things are normally the ones, when stranded expect to get help from the government or other airlines to bale them out.

melb

it's not insurance for you it's to be used as a money garneing exercise for if the airlines have to reimburse accommodation and transport costs if there is another situation like the Ash Cloud of last year. that's how Ryanair explained it when they introduced it anyway

Somebody

budgetflyer wrote: »

what a lot of rot. Whats wrong with this country? Everyone runs to trading standards, consumer standards, this watch dog, that watchdog. If you don't want to pay it- dont buy the flight.SIMPLE. They could easily have hidden the £3.50pp return onto the flight price and you wouldn't even know!
This way - its there -you can see you are protected.
The people who yelp the loudest about these things are normally the ones, when stranded expect to get help from the government or other airlines to bale them out.

I've got this airline failure protection elsewhere, so why should I not have the choice to not to pay for it?

Somebody

melb wrote: »

it's not insurance for you it's to be used as a money garneing exercise for if the airlines have to reimburse accommodation and transport costs if there is another situation like the Ash Cloud of last year. that's how Ryanair explained it when they introduced it anyway

Er...airline failure protection - it's for when an airline goes under, not ash cloud etc.

bagand96

This only begs the question why you don't book your flight elsewhere? The airline's own website? I can recommend Expedia, opodo, ebookers, and many more who will sell you a flight without making you pay such insurance.