LOVE HOLIDAYS OCTOBER '23

user1977

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

visidigi said:

In any case, the hotel wouldn't be valid because the OP didn't turn up on the agreed start date, Loveholidays would have had to move the start date to align with the OP's new intended flight schedule

I can understand a return flight not being valid (if you miss the outward) as presumably this is down to regulations covering international travel? 

No, it's just the normal contractual practice of the airlines.

eskbanker

user1977 said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

visidigi said:

In any case, the hotel wouldn't be valid because the OP didn't turn up on the agreed start date, Loveholidays would have had to move the start date to align with the OP's new intended flight schedule

I can understand a return flight not being valid (if you miss the outward) as presumably this is down to regulations covering international travel? 

No, it's just the normal contractual practice of the airlines.

But this line of discussion is actually irrelevant here anyway, given that OP had two separate one-way airline bookings!

Maltatravel said:

FYI we were due to fly out with Easy Jet, returning with Air Malta. 

born_again

Maltatravel said:

Thank you all for your comments. A harsh lesson here for me to learn is that although I had every intention of taking out travel insurance, I need to do this at the time of booking the holiday and not leave this until the day before. In future, I think it is safer to book hotel and flights independently to avoid any disappointment or expensive mistakes. 
We are all entitled to have an opinion and I feel absolutely justified in leaving a bad review.  I do still feel that it is very unfair of Love Holiday to permit me from using the hotel room for the remaining days. As mentioned above, if I had booked a coach package holiday to a UK destination, and at the last minute was unable to travel on the scheduled day, then I feel sure that I could have made my own travel arrangements and made use of the hotel. 
I was unaware that a package company literally means that you are buying the 'whole' package and that if you fail to turn up for the first part, then you automatically lose your right to enjoy the rest of it .
 FYI we were due to fly out with Easy Jet, returning with Air Malta. 

While Love holiday said you could not use hotel. It would have been worth while contacting them direct to see if they would allow that.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

user1977 said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

visidigi said:

In any case, the hotel wouldn't be valid because the OP didn't turn up on the agreed start date, Loveholidays would have had to move the start date to align with the OP's new intended flight schedule

I can understand a return flight not being valid (if you miss the outward) as presumably this is down to regulations covering international travel? 

No, it's just the normal contractual practice of the airlines.

Thank you for clarifying, sorry it's the Daily Mail (May 2019) but

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/holidays/article-7003117/No-way-airlines-cancel-return-ticket-miss-flight-out.html

The 35-year-old had booked £300 return flights from London to Madrid for a wedding in June 2016, but he missed check-in by a few minutes when he was kept late in court. He duly bought a one-way ticket to Spain on another airline carrier.

Aware that many airlines cancel a passenger's entire itinerary if they fail to check in on time for the first flight, James, who lives in London, called Iberia from Gatwick Airport to discuss whether he could have his return ticket kept open.

But he was told it had been cancelled, and the only way he could ensure a seat on the flight he had booked home was to make another return booking.

But, determined to recoup his fare, James took Iberia to the small claims court in 2017, representing himself at the hearing.

He used the Consumer Rights Act 2015, a European Directive, to argue that the airline was wrong to keep the money he had paid for his return fare.

The deputy district judge ruled in his favour, and Iberia was asked to pay him £178.53 — the cost of the Madrid to London flight — along with court costs and loss of earnings.

There's mention of a Which investigation and the Express said they were arguing the practice contravenes Section 62 of the CRA (A term is unfair if, contrary to the requirement of good faith, it causes a significant imbalance in the parties' rights and obligations under the contract to the detriment of the consumer.)

The CAA has a lot to say about this as well which boils down to they accept the concept of preventing people gaming the system where a single return is more expensive than a two way booking but note the process of cancelling return flights in instances where the customer intended to travel but suffered an unexpected event is not necessarily required to maintain lower fares as not all airlines do so (including, as of June 2019 Easy Jet) and the concept is "disproportionate for achieving this objective". 

They also feel that customers who do not fly should, at least, receive a refund of taxes and duties that the airline has not had to pay.