Jetline ATOL protected package with Thomas Cook Flights

Katiebeth86

We booked an ATOL protected package holiday with Jetline Holidays in April 2019 for holiday in October 2019 For £1100 total.
The package included Thomas Cook flights. When TC went into administration Jetline contacted us to book new flights with jet2 which we paid an extra £392 for.

I submitted a claim to the CAA however they responded and said “ We are writing to inform you that the CAA has reviewed your claim and we are unable to authorise payment because you booked an ATOL protected package with Jetline Travel.
As your claim should be handled by Jetline Travel we have now closed your claim.”

I have contacted Jetline forwarding the email received from the CAA and Jetline Travel have responded with this
Your email has been forwarded to my attention.

I am sending this email with regards to Thomas cook refund.
At the time of the failure we could not secure new flights for you so had to cancel the element and rebooked a new package for you. As the new flights were more expensive you have paid an extra £392.00. This money is over and above the amount that you originally paid for your original flights. The Thomas Cook failure was unprecedented and the fact that they held most of the seat stock to Turkey the supply dramatically fell and other carriers doing these routes increased their prices due to the high demand.

We are glad that we could assist you in fulfilling your holiday on your chosen dates and there is no amount is due to refund.

I do hope that this will clear your concerns.

I’m confused - are we not entitled to the lost money from the original TC flights within the package or for having to pay extra for new flights? or are Jetline “at it” as I’ve had several other issues with them and don’t trust them anymore. The CAA stated The claim should be handled by Jetline as it was ATOL protected by them. Can someone please explain if I’m entitled to anything or if not why?
Thank you

Westin

No, I am afraid not. The CAA ATOL claim has been correctly rejected.

You have a holiday arrangement made under the ATOL cover of Jetline. With the failure of TC it was they who had responsibilities to find alternative flight components of your holiday. Had this been a similar cost Jetline would probably replace like-for-like. It seems however the costs for alternative flights were much high and you presumably were told this and agreed to pay the higher amount.

Your other option would have been to cancel the whole holiday for a refund. That from Jetline, rather than TC or the CAA.

Not sure if you misunderstood or where misinformed but you have no claim from the CAA under ATOL for the difference in flight costs. Sorry.

leylandsunaddict

At the time of the failure we could not secure new flights for you so had to cancel the element and rebooked a new package for you.

If Jetline rebooked the package this shouldn't have cost you anything. They should have claimed from the CAA themselves. Agents who packaged using their own atol & tour operators should stand the cost of the new booking until their refund arrives. It was causing a lot of agents problems when balances were coming due and they'd were awaiting refunds from the CAA.

Alan_Bowen

The obligation was on Jetline to replace your flights, at no additional cost to you or offer you a full refund. If they do not offer to refund the money you should make a formal complaint to the CAA and ABTA of which they are a member.

As others have said, you did not have a contract with Thomas Cook and therefore there could never be a claim under their ATOL licence

Westin

@Alan Bowen - do you know if the CAA agreed with ATOL holders for a waiver or similar whereby their responsibilities to automatically rebook flights under the 3rd parties ATOL licence was removed when replacement flights exceeded a certain extra cost? I just seem to think I heard about this after the TC collapse when I think either Love Holidays or another operator were struggling to secure alternative flights in that first month and costs were sky rocketing. The cost being > £200 pp after which they could refund the booking as a whole.

Alan_Bowen

The CAA has made clear since Monarch that if no reasonable alternative flights were available, ATOL holders could refund in full and that would be the end of the matter. I know at least 2 online agencies who established that fares were so high in the 4 weeks after the failure they would cancel every holiday, without exception and refund customers, one had refunded thousands within 72 hours.

Others chose to accept the additional cost, and may well have had airline failure cover in place which effectively paid for it.

What you cannot do is rebook customers, not give an option to cancel and charge them a great deal more for the privilege, and worse, suggest they try and make a claim from ATOL when no such claim exists!