Flight change

masons_2

I was hoping that I could get some advice,

We have booked a holiday for next May,today I got an email to say the flights had been changed from departing at 15.05 to 0500 (same day) .This will be a problem for us,we are taking a 5 year old child and would have to wake her in the middle of the night.
We can't go any other day,the original flights suited our needs,

I contacted Thomas Cook today and they said tough,suck it up or pay £500 to amend the holiday.
We still need to pay £300 on the low deposit scheme,

So I'm wondering if we have any come back with this,

Thank you for your help.

Caz3121

what do the T&Cs say about the definition of "significant change" (that will allow you to cancel for free?) It may be that it is 12 hours
The risk with booking flights so far out is that schedules will not be fixed and will be subject to change
No compensation applies as you have been given more than 14 days notice
Could you maybe look for a cheap hotel at the airport?...although at this stage there is no guarantee they will not change again so, if you go the hotel route, you may want to book a rate that can be cancelled for full refund

photome

Not sure what their t and cs are you may be able to cancel for a refund.

but waking a 5 year old in the middle of the night is not really a hassle especially if they are excited about going on holiday also means they will prob sleep on the flight

masons_2

Thanks for your replies

I will try and speak to thomas Cook and see if they can help us out,we did tell the woman in the shop we were booking the holiday as the flights suited our needs.
Thanks again

mgdavid

photome wrote: »

Not sure what their t and cs are you may be able to cancel for a refund.

but waking a 5 year old in the middle of the night is not really a hassle especially if they are excited about going on holiday also means they will prob sleep on the flight

^^ this.....

peachyprice

When you booked the holiday you would have agreed to the T&C's which stated that the flights are a guide only and in no way guaranteed. No comeback I'm afraid.

London50

Knowing the way flights change and looking that it is still 10 months before you go flights could change again, so something to think about as well. At the moment this is the time slot that has been scheduled but it could change again before next year.

interstellaflyer

The early flight sounds a whole lot better to me, we always choose early if possible, it means you get there at a decent time especially short haul and you are not hanging around all day to go home, nothing worse than a wasted last day where you can't do much apart from watch everyone else having fun in the pool. We never had any problems getting our daughter up, she was always too excited to sleep and usually slept on the plane when she was that age, now as a teenager it's a slightly different matter.

SandC

Instead of thinking negatively try to turn it into positives. Your child could see it as a proper adventure, getting up in the middle of the night!

Your flight is going to be the first one of the day meaning there is virtually zero possibility of any delays. The airport will not be super busy at that time either so bag drop and security may well be an absolute breeze.

You will get to your resort at a reasonable time and your child will be able to get accustomed to their new surroundings instead of being put straight to bed - in actual fact a 3pm flight is a bit of a wasted day don't you think?

Return time will be based on outgoing flight so no hanging around in the hotel all day long.

Journey to the airport should be unproblematic also in the middle of the night when it's quiet, motorways mainly HGVs going about their business.

So many pluses to this, they outweigh any negatives (which to be fair you are just anticipating you don't really know that it will be an issue).

interstellaflyer

I agree with above post, plus, early flight options on package holidays tend to be more expensive so I'd see it as a bonus, nice early flights at no extra cost.

meer53

I'd be very happy with that flight change. Can't see why there's an issue with waking a 5 year old at any time ?