[Misc] Summer Holidays

[The Wizard]

And those that booked in a Tui shop can do nothing as they've temporarily closed the shops, furloughed all the staff and told customers to wait until the shops open again before they can do anything.

The big problem here, not just for Tui, relates to the furlough scheme which is counter intuitive in the Travel Industry - there is more work to do now that at any other time, rebooks, cancellations, refunds, balance collections etc.. and most staff aren't now working!

Refunds will take ages, not only due to the sheer volume, but also due to the above...

Sent from my FIG-LX1 using Tapatalk

Absolutely, and I’m not totally selfish I know companies are in trouble and cash flow will be an issue + refunds could take forever but to me, the lack of communication and professionalism TUI have shown is truly appalling, people are going through absolute turmoil in their lives at the moment let alone with the worry of having thousands tied up and being promised fake refunds, I would respect them more if they were just straight with customers and said they don’t have the man power to issue all the refunds and contact all customers. TUI are damaging their reputation massively by lying to their customers. Someone did a poll on twitter and not a single person has had a refund from TUI, not one.

 

[Balders]

Absolutely, and I’m not totally selfish I know companies are in trouble and cash flow will be an issue + refunds could take forever but to me, the lack of communication and professionalism TUI have shown is truly appalling, people are going through absolute turmoil in their lives at the moment let alone with the worry of having thousands tied up and being promised fake refunds, I would respect them more if they were just straight with customers and said they don’t have the man power to issue all the refunds and contact all customers. TUI are damaging their reputation massively by lying to their customers. Someone did a poll on twitter and not a single person has had a refund from TUI, not one.

Yep totally agree, but then I would do because I'm a small Agent who runs my business from home!

I very rarely sell Tui, not only because they don't pay well, but more because I have to speak to them if there are issues or changes and before Coronavirus, that was an absolute nightmare - in general if you phoned them at 9am, you'd be lucky if they answer by lunchtime.

I've been busier in the last 3 weeks than ever before while my income has dropped to zero - I could easily jack it, but I have a moral obligation to my customers - your comments about trust and honesty are 100% spot on!

In all of this so far, a minority of Operators have been easy to deal with and are fulfilling all of their obligations. The majority however are not easy to deal with and are showing little flexibility or any interest in fulfilling their obligations, primarily not agreeing to refunds.

As ever, the bigger they are, the harder they are to deal with (save Jet2 Holidays who have been great!) When the industry gets through this, a number of Operators may have burnt their bridges!

Sent from my FIG-LX1 using Tapatalk

 

[Rugrat]

Even within the EU, viewpoints and actions are widely divergent, much to the dismay of eurocrats who were meant to coordinate the response, but who’ve been trampled over by national interests.

Millions resume work in the Spanish manufacturing and construction sectors tomorrow. It was only on 1st April that their death tally was 950, even now daily numbers in the 500’s to 600’s. Their government’s aim, simply to kickstart the economy.

Very true about different viewpoints. I can see the Spanish, and others, relaxation backfiring on them and back into full lockdown after 3/4 weeks. It's why I am not expecting any real tourism to get going this year. If we got back to our place in Tenerife this year I'd be mightily surprised too

 

[dazzer6666]

Agreed, as I'm sure I've posted elsewhere.

It will either be...

- Prove you are "Covid-19 safe" by way of some sort of Internationally-recognised certificate or passport.
- You can't come in / You can come in but you have to go into quarantine for 14/21/28 days.

As such I'm not sure travelling for leisure is going to be viable for many for some time.

Proof might be difficult given there isn’t a reliable antibody test in mass production yet.........

 

[Dick Head]

I can't afford a summer holiday so I've probably come out of all this better than a lot of people.

 

[Bozza]

Very true about different viewpoints. I can see the Spanish, and others, relaxation backfiring on them and back into full lockdown after 3/4 weeks. It's why I am not expecting any real tourism to get going this year. If we got back to our place in Tenerife this year I'd be mightily surprised too

This from CNN re: LA...

Los Angeles models show 95% of residents will be infected if stay-at-home order is dropped now

A model by Los Angeles County predicts that 95% or residents will be infected with coronavirus if the stay-at-home order is lifted now.

If current levels are maintained, about 30% of the county’s 10 million residents will contract the virus, the model shows. What the model does not address is how long the physical distancing needs to remain in place.

In order to drop the infection level to just over 5%, even stronger physical distancing measures will need to be implemented, according to the model.​

I don't know about the assumptions used in the modelling, nor if LA would be dramatically different from other large metropolitan areas.

 

[middletoenail]

Proof might be difficult given there isn’t a reliable antibody test in mass production yet.........

I think they will follow what some other countries have done, and you will require:

1) Current medical certificate proving you don't have the virus (test undertaken within last 48/72 hours).

2) Proof of private travel/health insurance up to X amount.

 

[Chicken Run]

My advice is forget overseas travel until 2022.

 

[Beach Hut]

I think they will follow what some other countries have done, and you will require:

1) Current medical certificate proving you don't have the virus (test undertaken within last 48/72 hours).

2) Proof of private travel/health insurance up to X amount.

Point 2 might be an issue as all Travel Insurance companies are making it clear policies do not cover Coronavirus from a certain date

 

[dazzer6666]

I think they will follow what some other countries have done, and you will require:

1) Current medical certificate proving you don't have the virus (test undertaken within last 48/72 hours).

2) Proof of private travel/health insurance up to X amount.

That's fine, but without a reliable, readily available antibody test no 1 isn't possible.................

 

[Bozza]

Proof might be difficult given there isn’t a reliable antibody test in mass production yet.........

We’re not talking about holidays commencing today though, are we...

 

[dazzer6666]

We’re not talking about holidays commencing today though, are we...

No - but the roll-out of a reliable test (when one is found), and getting x million people through it etc will take months

 

[middletoenail]

That's fine, but without a reliable, readily available antibody test no 1 isn't possible.................

Sorry, I wasn't referring to the antibody test, more the fact that you don't currently have the virus.

 

[Weststander]

Today’s Downing Street press briefing was all about strict border controls, 2 weeks mandatory quarantine on entering the UK for everyone, and a new penalty regime of £1,000 for breaching that from 3 June (I think they meant). Thousands of Border Patrol personnel will be switched to policing this, with spot checks on those who should be in quarantine during those two weeks.

With the FCO still commanding no travel unless essential.

All being done “to prevent a second wave”, this is coming from the civil servants of Public Health England.

In the meantime, many countries across Europe open their borders, encourage and plan for mass tourism this summer, including Spain. Portugal and Italy.

It really feels like we’re now prisoners of the UK.

 

[The Wizard]

Bizzare, they are bringing restrictions in on 8th June which will cause a surge in passengers before then and there’s talk of a reliable digital testing kit becoming available soon. Got to be honest I really did not understand Pritis wording of it, she sounded like there will be no exceptions then the guy next to her said air bridges are plausible and that at a future date could be used reviewed on a 3 weekly basis, well it’s nearly 3 weeks till you’re bringing this rule in

Made nothing clear and only left more questions IMO, she comes across as quite sarcastic when answering questions as well.

 

[WilburySeagull]

How can there be a surge of passengers before 8 June? Govt advice is no foreign travel and where are flights? No one will be insured until travel advice changes.

 

[swindonseagull]

Just messaged Virgin Holidays to move my holiday from Sept 2020 to April 2021... I really cant see international travel resuming by Sept.

 

[Pavilionaire]

So we have lockdown, no foreign travel, big airlines on the brink of collapse, now 14-day quarantine and a Hard Brexit looming. Is this what Boris Johnson means by "Global Britain"?

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

Just messaged Virgin Holidays to move my holiday from Sept 2020 to April 2021... I really cant see international travel resuming by Sept.

They won’t touch it yet - DM ref again I’ll look tomorrow

 

[swindonseagull]

They won’t touch it yet - DM ref again I’ll look tomorrow

Will Do Thanks