Booked with On The Beach

Marcus_Norton

We booked a holiday to Rhodes for next Easter half term with On The Beach departing from Luton airport. A few day later we have had an email from On The Beach saying that the flight times had changed (for the better for us) so we accepted them

A couple of days ago we got an email to say there had been a flight change again but this time not only have they changed the flight time but also the airport from Luton to Gatwick some three hours drive away. We originally chose Luton as its just an hour and half away from us.

We got in touch with On the Beach wanting to cancel the holiday only to be told we would lose £790 we had already paid ! How can this be right ?

Alan_Bowen

Check their booking conditions, some operators have a clause making it clear that they consider changes between any London airport, Gatwick, Heathrow, Luton and Stansted to be a minor, not a major change and therefore not giving you a right to cancel except on their usual cancellation terms, which will reflect the cost of the flights already booked and paid for. 

daveyjp

Occasionally the Supplier/Principal may have to make a significant change to your confirmed Travel Arrangements. Examples of “significant changes” include the following, when made before departure.

• A change of outward departure time or overall length of your Travel Arrangements by more than 12 hours.A change of UK departure airport except between:

  • The London airports: Gatwick, Heathrow, Luton, Stansted, London City and Southend

TELLIT01

It seems incredible to me that a change from Heathrow to Southend airports could be classed as a minor change.  It might be for somebody living in central London but not for many other people.  From where I live, Heathrow is roughly 90 miles and virtually all motorway.  Southend is 150 miles and nominally motorway although lots of M25.

It does go to show how important reading the small print can be (not criticising the OP) as such a caveat on airports would never have occurred to me.

eskbanker

Ultimately it would be up to a court to decide on the significance of a change of airport - the supplier's Ts & Cs may equate airport groupings but they can't actually override statutory provisions, which don't define significant.

The most extreme pairing in the OTB groupings would be Prestwick and Aberdeen, a mere 180 miles apart so only slightly less than, say, Heathrow and Manchester!

photome

TELLIT01 said:

It seems incredible to me that a change from Heathrow to Southend airports could be classed as a minor change.  It might be for somebody living in central London but not for many other people.  From where I live, Heathrow is roughly 90 miles and virtually all motorway.  Southend is 150 miles and nominally motorway although lots of M25.

It does go to show how important reading the small print can be (not criticising the OP) as such a caveat on airports would never have occurred to me.

I havent checked the likes of TUI and Jet2 but I would hope they didn’t have similar terms re a minor change of airport

usually a reason why some are cheaper

NoodleDoodleMan

eskbanker said:

Ultimately it would be up to a court to decide on the significance of a change of airport - the supplier's Ts & Cs may equate airport groupings but they can't actually override statutory provisions, which don't define significant.

The most extreme pairing in the OTB groupings would be Prestwick and Aberdeen, a mere 180 miles apart so only slightly less than, say, Heathrow and Manchester!

AFAIK the only suitable carrier out of Prestwick for tourist holidaymakers is Ryanair - which severley limits OTB's options for switching flights from Aberdeen to there, as Ryanair's destinations from the Granite City are only Alicante, Faro and Malaga.

eskbanker

photome said:

TELLIT01 said:

It seems incredible to me that a change from Heathrow to Southend airports could be classed as a minor change.  It might be for somebody living in central London but not for many other people.  From where I live, Heathrow is roughly 90 miles and virtually all motorway.  Southend is 150 miles and nominally motorway although lots of M25.

It does go to show how important reading the small print can be (not criticising the OP) as such a caveat on airports would never have occurred to me.

I havent checked the likes of TUI and Jet2 but I would hope they didn’t have similar terms re a minor change of airport

usually a reason why some are cheaper

Both of those consider any change of (UK departure) airport to be major/significant, i.e. qualifying for a refund if desired.

https://www.tui.co.uk/destinations/booking/tandc?ptype=PDP

Occasionally, we may have to make a major change to your holiday such as a change of destination, a downgrade of your accommodation by one full star rating, a change in flight time by more than 12 hours or a change of UK departure airport.

https://www.jet2holidays.com/terms-and-conditions#terms8

Examples of a significant change are: change of your UK departure airport;

As mentioned above, the package travel regulations don't actually define significant, so a change is deemed to be so, warranting a refund if desired, if:

the organiser is constrained by circumstances beyond the control of the organiser to alter significantly [...] the means, characteristics and categories of transport, the points, dates and time of departure and return, the duration and places of intermediate stops and transport connections

Westin

I think as suggested the OP needs to look at the terms and conditions that On The Beach has and that the OP agreed to when booking. Links to what TUI or Jet2 Holidays have may confuse matters. OTB has a different business model to that of those other mainstream ‘real’ tour operators. OTB will have probably created this holiday by purchasing flight seats via a low cost carrier and already paid for these.

First step, check the OTB terms. Then perhaps call again and ask what alternatives might be available with another airline from Luton.  If these are flights with Easyjet, WizzAir or Corredon then the airline may well refund OTB given the airport change. OTB May then be able to offer better alternatives ex LTN or STN.

eskbanker

Westin said:

I think as suggested the OP needs to look at the terms and conditions that On The Beach has and that the OP agreed to when booking. Links to what TUI or Jet2 Holidays have may confuse matters. OTB has a different business model to that of those other mainstream ‘real’ tour operators. OTB will have probably created this holiday by purchasing flight seats via a low cost carrier and already paid for these.

First step, check the OTB terms. Then perhaps call again and ask what alternatives might be available with another airline from Luton.  If these are flights with Easyjet, WizzAir or Corredon then the airline may well refund OTB given the airport change. OTB May then be able to offer better alternatives ex LTN or STN.

The OTB terms are those quoted by @daveyjp in the second response, so yes, subsequent discussion about other providers' terms aren't relevant to OP's situation.

To me there is the wider issue that if a compelling case can be constructed that those OTB terms purport to weaken statutory rights, they'd potentially be considered unfair by a court, even though OP did sign up to them, but that's not a straightforward process, so I agree that looking to find a solution involving an alternative Luton flight is likely to be a more pragmatic approach!

Marcus_Norton

UPDATE !!!

We had confirmation that we will get a full refund minus ATOL fees which is a total of £8. So happy with that !

Thanks for all replies