Major holiday change

1888NorthEnd

Unfortunately the logisitics of getting down to London would be impossible. The holidays were using up the full entitlement for the year but I did leave 1 day at the end of the holiday so I could pick my dog up from the kennels. The hassle of getting down to London, the extra cost and trying to find somewhere at the very last minute would have just been too stressful, no amount of compensation could help with this.

The grounding of the aircraft is a good point, however the booking did not confirm which aircraft we would have been flying on, nor did the change e mail state that it was due to the problems with this aircraft. The booking was made in April and the groundings were made effective on the 11th March 19. I would have thought that this would have given them some time to make alternative arrangements and give more notice. Perhaps this is my misunderstanding of the logistics?

I would have thought it good customer service to state that it was due to the grounding of the aircraft, if this is the case in this instance. They did also state in their e mail that the hotel we were staying in should have been refurbished by November - this is not the case as TUI have admitted that these have not been finished on time and that the all inclusive does not include the bar that has been completed during the refurb, so when does all inclusive mean all inclusive? Does not give a very good impression of TUI and I have no confidence in them at all.

will keep you updated when I hear more :beer:

bradders1983

Cant blame the hotel for that last bit, if they are told by the hotel operator its to be completed by November then thats all they can go off.

spadoosh

Sorry thread derailing, loving the username!

getmore4less

They can't use the grounding as an excuse for out of control.

Which has a reasonable guides on the package travel regulations.

https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/l/package-holidays

package regs etc. allow for full refund and out-of-pocket expenses.

iwb100

If it was me - I'd take a day's unpaid leave and go on the holiday. You've planned this all year. Sure its a real pain. But cancelling the whole thing because of an airport change seems a bit "bite off your nose to spite your face"...type of thing.

If the hotel wasn't ready then I'd have gone but asked for compensation for that bit not being ready.

Which hotel?

bagand96

The grounding of the aircraft is a good point, however the booking did not confirm which aircraft we would have been flying on, nor did the change e mail state that it was due to the problems with this aircraft. The booking was made in April and the groundings were made effective on the 11th March 19. I would have thought that this would have given them some time to make alternative arrangements and give more notice. Perhaps this is my misunderstanding of the logistics?

The logistics are very complex. The aircraft were grounded in March yes, but most of the Winter 2019/20 flying programme would have been sorted by then, and holidays had been on sale for some time. It's further complicated by the fact that no-one really knew how long they'd be grounded for, and Boeing haven't really helped.

None of this really matters to you in the end though as it doesn't change the fact your holiday was lost. And 6 days notice is very short - even with the aircraft grounding they should have known longer than that. It points to maybe something else.

As I said, as per their T&Cs you may be entitled to £100 each.