Should I book a package holiday for November?

GarciaLorca

I have a week off in November and would like to go somewhere.  I have seen some good deals through BA for Cancun in November.  I looked at BA's November schedule which indicates they are re-starting services to various long haul destinations including Mexico and the Caribbean in early November. 
Is it fantasy to book and hope this goes ahead?  I am aware I would need to isolate on return which is fine as I work from home.  Mexico seems relatively open at the moment (and aware there is a big if in terms of it still being open in a month).  It seems very ambitious to book somewhere long haul like this but I'm desperate to get away somewhere a bit further.  I would be totally happy to accept a travel voucher if it got cancelled and use to go somewhere else at the last minute.
I found one travel insurance provider that would cover travel to a destination in which the FCO is advising against all but essential travel so I'd also have insurance cover.  Just trying to figure out why BA would start flying to these holiday destinations if other people weren't thinking of doing the same thing or is this crazy?

Westin

There are some very appealing deals in the market at the moment. St.Lucia is another one with deals at half the price they would normally be in November. I haven’t looked at Mexico but can image they similarly would be offering tempting deals to get the tourism market moving.  

There are clearly some risks that the flight, holiday or stay may be cancelled or disrupted at short notice so booking as a Package via a reputable tour operator is certainly the way to go. British Airways Holidays fits into that camp.  That way you have assurance of a full refund on the holiday if for example the flight was cancelled or rescheduled, or if entry requirements to Mexico change significantly to the point that FCDO change their travel advisories.

Keep in mind that some services at the hotel may be restricted or not operational, this due to lower than normal occupancy levels or local operational restrictions.  I would look on the hotel website for further information on this.

Be aware also of flying restrictions, such as the wearing of a face covering for the duration of the flight (except when eating and drinking). 

In summary, it’s a punt, but can understand why you might wish to take advantage of one of these tempting deals, especially as it gets darker and colder here in the U.K. 

We recently booked a fairly late deal to Turkey via TUI.  It was great and the warm sun and good food set us up well for the long winter ahead.  If you do book and go it would be interesting to hear your experiences upon your return.  Please update the thread if you can.

Mrsn

It really depends on how risk adverse you are. If you’ve done your research on restrictions, travel entry requirements, policies on masks etc and still feel
you want to then that’s totally your choice. Many others have done so over the last few months and appear to have enjoyed the respite.

Westin has given some excellent advice, use a reputable travel provider and booking as a package is key.... therefore you won’t get stung if the hotel suddenly closes but the flight is still going ahead or vice versus.... lots of threads over the last few months where this has happened. 

minimad1970

I hope the BA flights to Cancun in november go ahead, we're due to fly on the 17/11. BA have been really helpful with rescheduling our package holiday with them. They phoned me today to confrim our flight change, moved by 1 day, and the man said that the numbers booked on the flights were looking pretty good, especially now they're only flying 3 times a week.

Thrugelmir

GarciaLorca said:

 Just trying to figure out why BA would start flying to these holiday destinations if other people weren't thinking of doing the same thing or is this crazy?

Planes fly all the time. Not just for holiday traffic either. Generating revenue to cover costs is essential. Some airlines aren't going to survive the period that lies ahead either. 

GarciaLorca

minimad1970 said:

I hope the BA flights to Cancun in november go ahead, we're due to fly on the 17/11. BA have been really helpful with rescheduling our package holiday with them. They phoned me today to confrim our flight change, moved by 1 day, and the man said that the numbers booked on the flights were looking pretty good, especially now they're only flying 3 times a week.

Oh wow! You've booked too then for Mexico?  How confident are you feeling about it? I will book BA because of the flexibility but I understand they are only due to start flying to Cancun in early November. If they cancelled Mexico would you just re-book somewhere else immediately for the same time frame? May I ask what travel insurance you got?  I could only find one provider that covered countries in which FCO advises against travel. 

ratechaser

I think going with BA Holidays mitigates the risk somewhat, as their book with confidence policy is about as good as any I've seen on the market...

Yahoo_Mail

If you're not worried about catching it (and you shouldn't if you're under 60) then it's not a bad idea.  My concern would be if it's a direct flight or not, if it isn't and it lands in the US, I'm not sure how that would play out...

CKhalvashi

Thrugelmir said:

GarciaLorca said:

 Just trying to figure out why BA would start flying to these holiday destinations if other people weren't thinking of doing the same thing or is this crazy?

Planes fly all the time. Not just for holiday traffic either. Generating revenue to cover costs is essential. Some airlines aren't going to survive the period that lies ahead either. 

Agreed. VFR hasn't declined as much to most destinations as much as tourism.

I was in Albania in August to meet clients. The flights (not direct from the UK) were packed, and especially in the South (because I had no intention to stay away from the beach while there) there were a lot of UK-registered cars, indicating that travel has largely continued.

BA will likely make it through this with severe fleet adjustment to the current climate, although they've been nowhere near as aggressive as Wizz have been with new routes.

If you want to go, go. The advice is just advice, and subject to a 2 week quarantine you are welcome to completely ignore it. If you don't feel comfortable and everything goes ahead, you will likely have no rights to money back, however. Simply make sure that you have an adequate medical insurance policy, as if leaving and returning to/from any EU destination, you are covered by EC261, giving a full right to re-routing in the event of a cancellation.

minimad1970

GarciaLorca said:

minimad1970 said:

I hope the BA flights to Cancun in november go ahead, we're due to fly on the 17/11. BA have been really helpful with rescheduling our package holiday with them. They phoned me today to confrim our flight change, moved by 1 day, and the man said that the numbers booked on the flights were looking pretty good, especially now they're only flying 3 times a week.

Oh wow! You've booked too then for Mexico?  How confident are you feeling about it? I will book BA because of the flexibility but I understand they are only due to start flying to Cancun in early November. If they cancelled Mexico would you just re-book somewhere else immediately for the same time frame? May I ask what travel insurance you got?  I could only find one provider that covered countries in which FCO advises against travel. 

We were originally due to go to Mexico in october, BA cancelled so we moved the date to 17/11, there was no fee so we didn't lose anything. I'm probably 50/50 on if the holiday will happen. If it gets cancelled again I'll probably rebook for march. I have travel insurance with Staysure. BA flights to Mexico restart on 2/11, flying 3 times a week. I'll be keeping an eye on it to see if the flights do happen.

GarciaLorca

minimad1970 said:

GarciaLorca said:

minimad1970 said:

I hope the BA flights to Cancun in november go ahead, we're due to fly on the 17/11. BA have been really helpful with rescheduling our package holiday with them. They phoned me today to confrim our flight change, moved by 1 day, and the man said that the numbers booked on the flights were looking pretty good, especially now they're only flying 3 times a week.

Oh wow! You've booked too then for Mexico?  How confident are you feeling about it? I will book BA because of the flexibility but I understand they are only due to start flying to Cancun in early November. If they cancelled Mexico would you just re-book somewhere else immediately for the same time frame? May I ask what travel insurance you got?  I could only find one provider that covered countries in which FCO advises against travel. 

We were originally due to go to Mexico in october, BA cancelled so we moved the date to 17/11, there was no fee so we didn't lose anything. I'm probably 50/50 on if the holiday will happen. If it gets cancelled again I'll probably rebook for march. I have travel insurance with Staysure. BA flights to Mexico restart on 2/11, flying 3 times a week. I'll be keeping an eye on it to see if the flights do happen.

minimad1970 said:

GarciaLorca said:

minimad1970 said:

I hope the BA flights to Cancun in november go ahead, we're due to fly on the 17/11. BA have been really helpful with rescheduling our package holiday with them. They phoned me today to confrim our flight change, moved by 1 day, and the man said that the numbers booked on the flights were looking pretty good, especially now they're only flying 3 times a week.

Oh wow! You've booked too then for Mexico?  How confident are you feeling about it? I will book BA because of the flexibility but I understand they are only due to start flying to Cancun in early November. If they cancelled Mexico would you just re-book somewhere else immediately for the same time frame? May I ask what travel insurance you got?  I could only find one provider that covered countries in which FCO advises against travel. 

We were originally due to go to Mexico in october, BA cancelled so we moved the date to 17/11, there was no fee so we didn't lose anything. I'm probably 50/50 on if the holiday will happen. If it gets cancelled again I'll probably rebook for march. I have travel insurance with Staysure. BA flights to Mexico restart on 2/11, flying 3 times a week. I'll be keeping an eye on it to see if the flights do happen.

That's interesting to know thank you.  Hmmm I'm just weighing up whether to book or not now.  If it is that uncertain... when BA cancelled our flights to Canada in July they gave about 10 days' notice.  I assume they would give similar notice if I booked Mexico in which case I would hopefully have time to re-book to somewhere else.

Does Staysure cover non-essential travel outside of Europe?  I thought about Staysure but I was pretty sure it was limited to Europe. Maybe I am wrong.