“Passengers will be able to participate in a Strictly Come


Dancing dance competition judged by the Strictlyteam” P&O GETS IN THE DANCING MOOD WITH THEMED CRUISES, P14


AZAMARA QUEST CRISIS


Cruise sector hit, but Azamara response praised by agents


Sophie Griffiths


A CRUISE agent with customers on the fire-damaged Azamara Quest has praised the line for its crisis management and said he would actively promote it now. Five crew members were injured, one seriously, in the blaze, which left the 600-passenger ship adrift for 24 hours without power.


It came just a month after


Azamara president Larry Pimentel held talks with its UK travel agent partners on crisis management issues, following the capsizing of Costa Concordia in January. That incident prompted criticism from around the world at Costa’s handling of the incident. Graham Dullop, director of Cruise Club International, said: “We had


customers on Azamara and within moments of the incident, we had a call from Azamara explaining what had happened. They also promised to contact the next of kin. “It was handled brilliantly, and showed that Pimentel had clearly taken our comments onboard. I would promote the line now I know how they handle an emergency,” he added. Meanwhile, agents admitted they


expected the sector to experience some drop in sales after the Azamara incident, which was followed on Sunday night by the Channel 4 programme Disasters at Sea: Why Ships Sink, which attracted an audience of two million viewers. Seamus Conlon, managing director of Cruise.co.uk said: “I think the sector will see a dip, especially in the new-to-cruise market, but even regular cruisers could be concerned. “The programme gave the


Azamara’s reaction to Quest’s problems was praised after Costa’s reaction over Concordia


HMRC in isolation as I believe it would have been far better if there had been a wider consultation with HMRC to investigate all of the areas and reach agreement,” he said. An Abta spokesman defended


Abta’s move to TTG, saying that as a trade association it acts on behalf of its members, with the guidance note being a member benefit. In a statement it added: “Abta and


Saffery Champness, who run our VAT Helpline, held a constructive meeting with HMRC on VAT on Debit and Credit card charges in which HMRC agreed in some cases that their officers had issued incorrect assessments.” It added that members who have


received card charge VAT bills which they feel are in error should refer to the guidance on Abta’s website.


impression that this happens often but they were talking about events that had happened over a period of 20 years,” he said.


IN BRIEF


■DUE SOUTH FOR BARRHEAD Barrhead Travel is to make its first foray into England with the opening of a new call centre in Barrow in Furness, Cumbria. The new venture will employ up to 100 staff in a variety of roles.


■‘TRADE WAR’ LOOMS, SAYS IATA Iata has warned that APD and the Emissions Trading Scheme are creating the “possibility of a trade war”. Its director general and chief executive Tony Tyler said that aviation taxation around the world was holding back the airline industry and global trade.


■A TRAVELZEST BOSS STEPS DOWN The founder of the business travel arm of Travelzest has resigned as a director and “severed all connections with the business”. Ranjit Anand, founder of Fair’s Fare Limited and chief executive since 1994, said he would be pursuing personal interests and would have no connections with the travel industry.


■CONCORDIA TO BE REFLOATED? The Costa Concordia is to be righted and then refloated in what reports have described as the biggest operation of its kind. The operation, which is set to begin in May, will see teams of engineers working around the clock, seven days a week for a year.


■IAG CLEARED FOR BMI DEAL British Airways’ parent company IAG has been given the go ahead for its purchase of British Midland International from Lufthansa by the European Commission. A number of conditions need to be met before the deal is finalised, but this is expected to happen by April 20. After this, BMI mainline will be integrated into BA.


TAKE THE CHALLENGE: Travel agencies have been lining up to take part in the Saint Lucia Travel Challenge 2012, where they can win £5,000 in marketing funds for their agency plus a place in the next stage of the competition in Saint Lucia. From left: Saint Lucia Tourist Board’s Atlyn Forde with Samantha Cummings, Uniglobe, who won spot prizes at a quiz, and Peter Grace, Smugglers Cove Resort & Spa.


■DOUBLE TARGET FOR JET2.COM Jet2.com is expecting to double its capacity from Glasgow airport over the coming year with the addition of a number of new routes. The no-frills carrier predicts it will add around 250,000 seats to its current capacity, taking the total to 500,000.


FOR THE LATEST NEWS, REVIEWS AND COMMENT FROM THE TRAVEL INDUSTRY, VISIT TTGDIGITAL.COM


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