Significant change to a package holiday question

bellaweb

Hello knowledgeable people,
we have a package holiday booked to Ireland this Saturday and were due to fly Heathrow to Cork with a 1 hour coach transfer to the hotel. The flight has been cancelled due to ALingus strike and they propose flying us to Belfast (a different country!) and then do a coach transfer for a distance of over 330 miles which I expect would take minimum 6 hours plus stops so probably over 7 hours.
i feel this is a significant change to the holiday because it is essentially a different mode of transport via another country - thoughts?

eskbanker

What's your desired outcome here, are you seeking the right to cancel for a refund?

I can see the line of argument that it's a significant change under the Package Travel Regulations, but that's an issue that's generally down to interpretation rather than something black and white, as the definition of significance in the regulations is fairly circular.  However, you potentially also have the right to compensation from the airline under the UK261 flight cancellation/delay regulations if they're cancelling a flight due to a strike, without being able to offer you transportation of a similar duration....

bellaweb

Thanks for your response, I was looking for a cancellation because I am unable/unwilling to fly to a different country and then sit on a coach for 8 hours. 

The company have just come back to me accepting it is a significant change and are giving a full refund, but it took a lot of pushing (and stress) to get them to that point…