DIY holiday

OneFootEight1

NoodleDoodleMan said:

heatherw_01 said:

I have booked flight and hotel separate for hundreds of trips over 20 years.
No issues.
I use reputable companies and have travel insurance that covers the things you mentioned, for all trips.

Presumably you've never had a flight cancelled with late notice and subsequently abandoned by the airline ?

I always book separtely - even did it before the internet.  I prefer the flexibiliity and can research and book exactly what my family like.  I've had a problem twice.  The first time I was flying to San Fancisco with my husband and 2 young children.  We were flying from Newcastle to CDG and from CDG to San Francisco.  There was a problem with the flight to CDG as two of the engines wouldn't start.  We went to hte ticket desk (I was quick and was 2nd in the queue).  I was told that when this happens all flights by all airlines are opened up.  We were moved onto a British Airways flight from Newcastle to London LHR and from there to San Francisico.  We actually landed 10 minutes earlier than our original flight and the staff member on the ticket desk upgraded us from Economy to Club Class at no extra charge.  We were also given £25 of vouchers EACH to use in the airport cafe while we waited for our new flight.  We did not pay anything.

The second time we were flying home from Florida.  Our journey was Florida to New York to Amsterdam to Newcastle.  There were 5 of us this time.  The flight in New York stalled during take off (very scary) and we had to return to the terminal.  The airline arranged hotels for everyone and flights home.  Again, there was no cost to us.  They ended up paying for 3 nights in a hotel as all the flights were full.  They also covered our food as long as we ate in the hotel they put us up in.  It was a lovely hotel, even had a swimming pool.

The airlines have a responsibility to get you to your destination even if they cancel your flight.  The only advice I would give is to book a through ticket with one airline going from the start to end points (even if more than one airport is invloved) rather than booking different legs of the journey with different carriers.

NoodleDoodleMan

The flights were part of a package deal - unfortunately Easyjet failed to provide any assistance.