Package holiday cancelled while at airport

bennyuk

Hi,
I was unlucky enough to have family holiday cancelled while waiting at airport. TUI holiday, booked via travel agent. TUI has said we'll get a full refund. I've now had to try and find replacement package at short notice. Have found one costing £400 more, and have booked it (not with TUI).

If (when) I get full refund from TUI is that the best I can hope for?

Is it worth me seeing if I can somehow get refunded for the additional costs (taxi, food, drink, etc) that has been purchased for the cancelled holiday?

I have travel insurance, not sure if that would be used.

Many thanks for any advice.

Ben

MikeyPGT

Check your travel insurance - I'd have thought that it should cover cancellation and associated costs.

Westin

I think very unlikely.  Whilst you should receive ‘care’ whilst waiting on a delayed flight this is really only refreshments, meals and perhaps overnight accommodation if the delay was extended.  There is nothing due if you have purchased things for your holiday or made separate arrangements outside of the package.

I suspect that TUI may well issues some type of good-will discount voucher and send news of that with your refund.  TUI are not however going to offer you any incentive or recompense booking with another tour operator.

TELLIT01

With a cancelled package holiday I think you are entitled to a full refund.  I'm pretty sure that was said on a news programme on Saturday.  No other compensation as the underlying problem was outside TUIs control.

bagand96

It's not there now, but when TUI were cancelling flights on Friday and Saturday they had an information page on their website detailing refund arrangements, and I believe it did include some booking voucher incentive for the future. Not sure if this will be the same for customers booked via a travel agent or not. 

TUI have had a horrible weekend operationally. They seem to have been impacted significantly more than their rivals in the UK. I do hope the "Global IT outage" isn't a convenient excuse for the problems.

Was a story I read about a flight from BHX heavily delayed at the boarding gate due to "Crewing issues" . Some hours later when TUI cancelled it, the excuse had morphed into the "Global IT outage" 

Hoenir

bagand96 said:

TUI have had a horrible weekend operationally. They seem to have been impacted significantly more than their rivals in the UK. I do hope the "Global IT outage" isn't a convenient excuse for the problems.

Some airport ground service agents had IT issues relating to the outage. 

bagand96

Hoenir said:

bagand96 said:

TUI have had a horrible weekend operationally. They seem to have been impacted significantly more than their rivals in the UK. I do hope the "Global IT outage" isn't a convenient excuse for the problems.

Some airport ground service agents had IT issues relating to the outage. 

Yes of course. But even taking all the variables, different airports, handling agents, etc (many of which are common with other airlines) it seems TUI were more affected from a UK perspective. That may of course just be the way the cookie crumbles, and obviously an airline would never lie! 

Hoenir

bagand96 said:

Hoenir said:

bagand96 said:

TUI have had a horrible weekend operationally. They seem to have been impacted significantly more than their rivals in the UK. I do hope the "Global IT outage" isn't a convenient excuse for the problems.

Some airport ground service agents had IT issues relating to the outage. 

Yes of course. But even taking all the variables, different airports, handling agents, etc (many of which are common with other airlines) it seems TUI were more affected from a UK perspective. That may of course just be the way the cookie crumbles, and obviously an airline would never lie! 

In the midst of an IT outage. People working would be to busy to be playing games. See that RyanAir cancelled 190 flights across Europe on Friday alone. Shows how extensive the issue was. 

bennyuk

Thanks for the comments. We did get full refund. Have ended up slightly out of pocket (taxis, extra travel insurance, etc). Insurance say they wont cover anything, as it was cancelled before we flew.  

TUI has offered 10% discount if rebooking with them (we didn't as they had nothing available), and they've offered £300 vouchers per person to spend with them.

I'm going to push to get this in cash instead, as the vouchers have to be used by lead passenger, and its quite restrictive. 

Anyway, at least we got a refund, and managed an alternative holiday, so could be worse. 

Thanks again for the comments.

BW

NoodleDoodleMan

TUI won't give cash instead of vouchers.