dominated this year’s event but there were reasons for optimism. Amie Keeley reports


CAA to probe airlines’ terms and conditions


The CAA has launched a review into airlines’ terms and conditions after research found 40% of consumers do not read the small print when booking a flight.


Many consumers were unaware


they had to pay to print off boarding passes or could have their return flight cancelled if they did not take the outbound flight. The CAA is working with airlines


to assess how visible and easy to understand terms and conditions are. It will publish its findings in the autumn. Chief executive Richard Moriarty


said: “We did some research in 2016 which found that 40% of consumers don’t read any of the terms at all, and those that did found it difficult to do so. “Consumers considered


that some terms could cause a


particularly unpleasant surprise, such as having to pay to print a boarding pass, or having a return flight cancelled if they did not take the outbound flight. “We think it is important that consumers are not caught out by these terms. Our review is looking at how prominent these terms are, how transparent they are and any restrictions or charges applied by the airline.” Commenting on the independent


Airline Insolvency Review following the collapse of Monarch, Moriarty said it was “right” the government recognised the “unsatisfactory state of affairs” but warned it could lead to huge change for the industry. “Although our delivery of the


Monarch repatriation exercise was an operational success, it really highlighted the troubling policy


MORIARTY: ‘Our review will look at how transparent airlines’ T&Cs are’


“We think it important that consumers are not caught out by these terms”


question of the differing protection available if you buy a package holiday compared with if you buy an airline seat in isolation. “The government has rightly recognised that this is an


unsatisfactory state of affairs and the purpose of the review is to advise on how airline insolvency can be better managed. “But it’s wider than that. The


scope also extends to travel companies, and how the insolvency protection is to be provided. “It is early days yet, but it has


the potential to lead to very far-reaching change in how insolvency protection is provided for travel in the UK, so I would urge you to engage with it.”


Heathrow rebuts charge it ‘spends money how it wants’


Heathrow hit back at claims it “spends money how it wants, when it wants” as “untrue”. Hotel and property tycoon Surinder Arora, who has developed hotels around Heathrow, accused its owner, Heathrow Airport Holdings, of overbudgeting on previous projects and predicted the same would happen for the third runway. “When we expand it shouldn’t


be ‘we have the green light, we should leave it to Heathrow’,” he said. “[Expansion work] can’t just be confined to one party; we need


to break the monopoly.” Responding to his speech, Nigel


Milton, director of external affairs at Heathrow, said: “The idea that


ARORA (far left): ‘[Expansion work] can’t be confined to one party; we need to break the monopoly’


of the consumer, but clearly having different organisations running different parts of a hub airport would not work.” In his opening address, Abta


Heathrow goes around and spends money how it wants and when it wants just isn’t true. We need to work together in the best interest


chief Mark Tanzer said “many obstacles remain to be overcome, not least the cost and the financing” to expand Heathrow. “While the agreement to boost capacity sends a welcome signal about our trade ambitions, the benefit must not be compromised by a steep rise in airport charges. It’s very important the government keeps a close eye on this.”


5 July 2018 travelweekly.co.uk 79


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