NEWS — HOT STORIES 2


PTD to bring click-through bookings into a package


Ian Taylor


The new Package Travel Directive will bring online ‘click-through’ sales within the definition of a package where a traveller’s name, email and payment details are transferred between websites. The Council of Europe confirmed the move ahead of a meeting to sign off the directive on Thursday (May 28). The provision will apply to bookings of two or more services where data is transferred within 24 hours of confirmation of the first, typically a flight booking. Where fewer details pass between sites, the combination will be termed ‘a linked travel arrangement’. This will require financial protection but not carry the liabilities of a package. Bookings now designated Flight-Plus in the UK will become packages and traders will be required to “state clearly and prominently” whether they are offering a package or linked travel arrangement. Companies facilitating linked arrangements will have to provide insolvency protection and information on


the level of protection “before the traveller agrees to pay”. A high street or online travel


agent will be able to act “as a mere retailer or intermediary only where another trader is acting as the organiser”. How a company defines their activity will be irrelevant and companies “may not escape their obligations by claiming they are acting as a service provider or intermediary”. The directive states:


“Protection has to be sufficient to cover all foreseeable payments in respect of packages in peak season . . . [and] to ensure fair competition and protect consumers, the refund of prepayments and repatriation of travellers in the event of insolvency should also apply to linked travel arrangements.” It adds: “An organiser’s


insolvency protection shall benefit travellers regardless of their place of residence, place of departure or where the package is sold.” The Package Travel Directive is


likely to come into force in the UK in 2017.


3 Julia Lo Bue-Said


Advantage secures better live-chat service for trade


Lucy Huxley


The Advantage Travel Partnership is claiming a victory for independent agents after persuading Thomas Cook to address problems with its online chat service. The operator closed its call service just over two months ago,


switching to an online chat facility that Advantage said had left members waiting for a response for up to two hours. Other agents were also experiencing difficulties, venting their frustrations on social media forum Travel Gossip on Facebook.


In April, one wrote: “Losing the will to live. Been on Thomas Cook Live Chat over an hour and just got cut off with no help at all.” Advantage managing director Julia Lo Bue- Said met Thomas Cook UK managing director Salman Syed on May 6 to raise the issue. Within 48 hours, the problem had been resolved. Lo Bue-Said praised the swift action Cook took. “Our members were saying there was no point trying to sell Thomas Cook,” she said. “He [Syed] obviously listened, as agents are now


waiting for only a couple of minutes. The move has given our members the confidence to start booking Cook again.” Lo Bue-Said said addressing the Live Chat issue was an example of


how the consortium offers more than just commercial terms. “We go to quite micro levels of every relationship,” she said. Cook said it had taken several actions to improve response times, including pre-determined responses for common topics. A spokesman said: “We are pleased our industry partners


appreciate our efforts and we would like to reassure them we will continue to look at ways to further enhance the Live Chat function.”


28 May 2015 — travelweekly.co.uk • 5


“We go to quite micro


levels of every relationship”


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