Flights booked for the summer with Thomas Cook airlines

Alext1878 · 17 May 2019 at 12:37PM

Hi all, I'm new to the forum so apologies if this has been covered already.

I have flights booked for August for Thomas Cook airlines booked through lastminute,com. There is a lot of speculation regarding the future of TC and especially the airline part of the business which is causing some concern.

I know package holidays are covered by ATOL but I don't think flights are, is this right?

Is it worth getting travel insurance now instead of waiting to nearer the time (i know the answer is always probably yes for this) which would cover us in case the airline (or TC) went bust so that we would get our money back?

Any advice would be great. Thanks

k3lvc · 17 May 2019 at 12:38PM

Given the potential risks why would you wait ?

Browntoa · 17 May 2019 at 12:43PM

The advice us ALWAYS to get your travel insurance as soon as you make the booking

bradders1983 · 17 May 2019 at 12:53PM

And pay for it on a credit card.

Hopefully there is no truth in this, I am using them for package holiday in July and also for a flight only booking to the States in September and prices have shot up since.

agrinnall · 17 May 2019 at 1:24PM

Insurance may not cover airline insolvency anyway, you'd need to check the policy details to make sure - although of course you should have bought your travel insurance already anyway. A better option for a degree of cover for insolvency is to use a credit card if the flight cost is more than £100 as you'd have S75 to fall back on to at least get your money back.

D_M_E · 17 May 2019 at 2:12PM

There was a report a couple of days or so ago that they had received an offer for their airline business - don't know what would happen should they sell it.

Would think you take out insurance now and advise insurers of date of travel and specifically ask if cover would be provided in your circumstances.

Pollycat · 18 May 2019 at 8:18AM

What Martin says about buying travel insurance:

1. Buy as soon as you've booked to cover cancellation and pre-trip illness

If you've booked a holiday and think it's no biggie to leave insurance on the 'things to do' list, you're taking an unnecessary risk.
Thinking you don't need to arrange cover yet as your holiday's not for another six months is a big mistake. In fact, it's even more of a reason to arrange travel insurance, as anything can happen before your trip. Why? It's because travel insurance won't just cover you while you're away, it'll also cover you for cancellation or anything else that might go wrong BEFORE you make your trip.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/insurance/cheap-travel-insurance/#tip2

stephb34 · 18 May 2019 at 10:26AM

The airline is the most profitable part of Thomas Cook, your biggest worry is no insurance and the fact you've booked with lastminute.com.

sillygoose · 18 May 2019 at 12:15PM

I am in the same boat as the op' its not just a question of security of the money (of course no one likes losing money) but for me the loss of annual holiday and precious time off that has to be negotiated at work is even worse, the thought of having paid for accommodation I couldn't get to.

Hopefully even in the worse case, as the airline is profitable, and presumably separated enough they are trying to sell it independently, it would continue trading or a new owner would keep the current flights valid. It wouldn't make sense to buy a profitable business and pee off your current customer base by pulling their flights and losing their money.

Flights are such a pain to plan especially when you have a family to consider, I was caught up in the Monarch fiasco before, look forward to when the kids are flown and my wife and I can go more last minute.

sillygoose · 18 May 2019 at 12:36PM

From the Financial Times..

"Nervous flyers do not even have to wait that long for the uncertainty to end. Multiple bids for Thomas Cook’s airline have now been received, with some analysts suggesting the group could land a debt-reducing £1bn deal. In the meantime, queasiness may be overcome by that £300m facility, which will more than see Thomas Cook through the winter season, by which time even a delayed airline deal ought to have arrived."

Paddy79 · 18 May 2019 at 5:12PM

Thanks sillygoose

We're flying with Thomas Cook in 11 days (package holiday) so have been slightly nervous about what could possibly happen.
We have booked travel insurance some months ago & paid by direct debit, it's just how another poster said up thread about organising time off work, ensuring we're going in school holidays etc, etc!

Flights booked for the summer with Thomas Cook airlines

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