Travlaw Big Tent Event 2024: Leading industry lawyers discu Continued from page 56


probably about 20%” pre-Covid. The pandemic highlighted


the difficulties arising from the conflict as both Ryanair and the OTAs struggled to refund customers without agreements in place to share customer information. Changes to the European Package Travel Directive and air passengers’ rights, proposed by the EC in November, would require they do so. On the Beach won a


landmark High Court ruling against Ryanair last October, with the carrier ordered to pay almost £2.1 million in refunds. Ryanair lost despite arguing it had “no contractual obligation” to refund bookings through an OTA. It subsequently also paid out to Travel Republic. Yet the motivation of


loveholidays and Kiwi and their respective owners may be equally, if not more, important. Both are owned by private equity (PE) investors seeking buyers. Loveholidays, majority-


owned by Livingbridge, was reported last August to be seeking almost £1 billion in a sale expected this year. Czech-based Kiwi.com has been majority- owned by New York-based PE investor General Atlantic since March 2019 and benefited from an additional €100 million investment in mid-2022. Both owners would have


expected to sell the businesses on within four to five years of acquisition if not for the pandemic and both will now be looking to realise the value of their shareholdings. Uncertainty about the supply


of flights and threats of litigation with Ryanair would have affected their sales prospects and the valuations of prospective buyers.


‘Let’s reduce operators’ liability in PTRs reform’


The liability of travel organisers and balance of risk have “shifted too far” in consumers’ favour and reform of the Package Travel Regulations (PTRs) should shift it back, according to Abta director of legal affairs Simon Bunce. He told the annual Travlaw


Big Tent Event in London that the combination of the 2018 PTRs and the Supreme Court ruling in the case of X v Kuoni in 2021 “shifted the balance of risk and it seems to us the balance has shifted too far”. Bunce suggested the


Department for Business and Trade (DBT) “should address that” in its review of the PTRs following a Call for Evidence last September and argued: “Let’s rewrite Regulation 15 on liability. We have the freedom to do that.” Regulation 15 of the PTRs details


the liabilities of travel organisers and their “responsibility for the performance of the package”. The Supreme Court ruled


Kuoni liable for damages under the PTRs for the rape of a


‘Travel businesses are well served by good regulations’


Travel companies “do very well” from the confidence the Atol and Package Travel Regulations give customers, Abta’s Simon Bunce told the Travlaw event. He argued: “Abta is in favour


of good regulation. Travel is inherently risky. You’re asking


54 1 FEBRUARY 2024


cut short because of unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances, the operator has to give a refund”, saying: “That is another level of exposure for operators.” He noted: “The engagement from


the DBT has been fantastic. They are listening. They are engaging with us.” But he warned: “They will


Simon Bunce


holidaymaker by a resort employee in Sri Lanka in 2010 following a lengthy legal battle, a ruling which Bunce argued “massively shifted the liability of operators”. Blue Bay Travel chief executive


and Abta chair Alistair Rowland agreed, saying: “X v Kuoni makes it so hard for an organiser. You’re on the hook for anything that can happen on a holiday.” Bunce also pointed out the


2018 PTRs introduced a new requirement that “if a holiday is


people to hand over considerable sums of money a long time before they get the services. When they get the services, they could be halfway around the world. “The regulations give people


confidence to part with their money and you need that for a thriving travel sector. Travel companies do well out of it, from the confidence it gives to customers.” He added: “Regulation helps


smaller businesses. The public know there are regulations around travel. People know they can go


also be doing that with consumer associations and be hearing precisely the opposite. So, I’m not complacent. “They will also be looking at


EU reform of the Package Travel Directive and that is moving in the opposite direction.” Rowland insisted: “We need


to make sure there is nothing [included] that is just meant to be a vote winner for the election.” He highlighted “the opportunity


to kill” the Linked Travel Arrangement (LTA), arguing: “It’s badly worded. It’s meaningless as far as consumers are concerned and no one understands it. It should be tested whether people are doing it. [But] it should be killed. It can only create consumer distrust.”


to any company [to book]. If we didn’t have regulations, people would go for larger companies. Regulation provides a level playing field for smaller companies.” Travlaw partner Krystene


Bousfield suggested “if it had not have been for the regulations” during Covid “so many more businesses would have been in trouble”. She insisted: “We have to have


regulations, but we need enforcement to be fair and consistent, and the regulations need to be simplified.”


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