p4 news Sept4 2/9/09 22:04 Page 4
news
04.09.2009
SkyEurope raises
Travelzest seeks
£2m to stay afloat
the stakes for EC
TRAVELZEST was in emergency talks to find extra
cash to keep the company afloat this week after
being forced to suspend trading in its shares.
The operator’s shares were suspended on
Chris Gray.
“I think the EU is going Tuesday after it fell £2 million short of a
ABTA has accused the to go one step further £5.7 million target needed to meet agreements
European Commission and insist on a financial to repay loans to banks by November.
of being “fixated” on guarantee from airlines All company directors were in Canada this
protecting only one part just for the flights,” week trying to find the extra cash and a spokes-
of the market after it he said. woman said it hoped to have a deal by the end of
launched a fresh review
C
O
However Abta’s head the week.
of the Package Travel “The directors are confident they will fill the
Directive.
STO
VER
of legal services, Simon
R
gap and even if they can’t find shareholders they
Consumer affairs commissioner
Y
Bunce, said he was
concerned that Kuneva’s statement can still go back to the banks,” she said.
Meglena Kuneva announced the review announcing the review focused solely A City analyst told TTG the directors had a
last week, days before Slovakian no-frills on sales of multiple products. legal duty to suspend shares if there was any
carrier SkyEurope collapsed. Bunce said: “They say they want to catch the doubt over the company’s financial viability.
The collapse hit thousands of passengers dynamic packages and click-throughs – why stop He added: “It does not necessarily mean that
across Europe, including those due to travel there? Why not cover the customer who buys there is no way back, but more often than not
from Manchester and Luton, where SkyEurope only a flight as well? this is the case and this is normally bad news
operated 20 flights a week. “Why are they fixated on just protecting the for shareholders.”
The airline posted a message on its website consumer of multiple travel products?” Travelzest hit the headlines earlier this year
advising customers that if they had paid direct The commission first announced a review of the when former chief executive Chris Mottershead
by any other means than a credit card, refunds directive more than a year ago and the industry was wrongly accused of misappropriation of
“may not be possible”. lobbied unsuccessfully for it to include flight- funds. He left the company last month after the
Noel Josephides, managing director of Sunvil only before the issue was “parked” by Brussels. accusations were deemed to be unfounded.
and an Abta board member, said the failure of Alan Bowen, legal adviser of the Association
SkyEurope, which had been in administration of Atol Companies, said the fresh review could
since June, should put pressure on the commis- lead to the directive being relaxed or scrapped.
sion to tighten regulation. He said the commission would come under
Travel insurance
He predicted it could extend the directive to pressure from sections of the industry that
cover flight-only sales, as well as extending it argued they could not afford financial ‘is still mis-sold’
from packages to cover transactions made when protection, and it could conclude that the market
clicking through from an airline website to buy had changed so much that the system was AN INSURANCE company boss has claimed travel
another component such as accommodation. outdated and was better scrapped. agents are mis-selling travel policies despite the
introduction of outside regulation this year.
Insure and Go founder Perry Wilson claimed
Recession fears boost packages: The propor- package holiday next year because of the visits to agents in the last few weeks showed they
tion of customers planning to take a package financial security it offered if an airline went bust. were selling insurance policies without asking
holiday because of the security it offers in That compared to just 6% who changed their sufficient questions about clients’ needs.
recession has doubled, according to a survey. holiday plans for that reason this year. An Abta spokesman said if Wilson had
A poll carried out for Tui Travel’s Thomson and The survey also found that the proportion of evidence of mis-selling, he should present it to
First Choice Trends Report found that 15% of customers changing their plans to a package the Financial Services Authority.
respondents had changed their holiday plans holiday because they thought it would give them Insure and Go has started offering clients
for next year because of the recession. the best deal rose from 9% to 20%. the chance to buy carbon offsets with their
Of those, 13% said they were changing to a nMore Tui poll results and analysis, p9 insurance. Wilson said customers buying offsets
should be exempt from Air Passenger Duty.
04 04.09.2009
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