Jet2holidays’ trade sales team expands with three new people


Jet2holidays has appointed three people to join its trade sales team, taking the total to 18. Sasha Stokeli joins from BH Mallorca, where he


Sam Walton, Acomb Travel; Nigel Armitage,


Millington Travel; Tony Mann, Idle Travel; Helen Parry, Arundel Travel; and Eric Walton, Acomb Travel


was a rep manager. He will look after agents in Manchester, Staffordshire and West Yorkshire. Jason Cullen, who already worked for Jet2, will look after agents in Yorkshire, and Ollie Sherwood joins as trade sales analyst from Grand Central Rail where he was a business analyst.


From left: Sherwood, Cullen and Stokeli


Fake illness claims fall 84% in 2018


The number of gastric illness claims made against Jet2holidays has dropped 84% this year.


Chief executive Steve Heapy


told delegates: “We have won a major battle, but the war isn’t won yet. e are still fighting for the industry.” Heapy explained how claims mounting to hundreds of thousands of pounds were being made against Jet2holidays which it knew were unfounded. “We started a campaign, we got


everybody involved including Abta and Travel Weekly, we reported the claims, we got the claims companies shut down, and we have had people prosecuted with various sentences ranging from signifiant fines to suspended


“We have won a major battle, but the war isn’t won yet. We are still fighting for the industry”


jail sentences,” he said. The operator liaised with British consulates and the police overseas, hired private detectives in resort and engaged forensic lawyers. “It was a massive undertaking


but we had a big result,” Heapy said.


Heapy said a number of


customers had withdrawn claims, saying they were “mistaken”. Heapy continued: “Did we just


say, ‘OK, thank you and never mind?’ No! We reported them to the police and said these people have attempted to defraud us. And they have been prosecuted.” The company kept a record of


those who made fake claims and blocked them from booking. “It’s hard because every booking is important, but we don’t want these kind of people travelling with us on our holidays,” he said. Heapy told delegates the company was also trying to get some restrictions imposed on drinking in airports to combat disruptive passengers. “We don’t serve alcohol before 8am, and we limit people to three or four drinks. But the real problem is before they board


and with duty free. People drink in the airport and feel OK, then when they fly, the alohol is absorbed much quicker into their bloodstream and that’s when the problems our. e are fighting it.


Steve Heapy: ‘We have won a major battle’


Heapy issues apology to agents for long call centre wait times earlier this year


Jet2holidays has apologised for the long wait times agents had trying to get through to its call centre earlier this year. Chief executive Steve


Heapy said: “We had a few issues at the beginning of the year. We cocked up a


bit. We didn’t have enough staff and wait times increased considerably. “This was extremely disappointing, annoying and upsetting, particularly since we’ve always prided ourselves on giving you great service.”


He said: “It’s now fixed. I got personally involved and we recruited more people in Leeds, Manchester and Palma, Majorca, plus we have extended our homeworking division. We are also looking to set up more call centres.”


The operator has a target


to answer sales calls within 80 seconds and after-sales calls within three minutes. Heapy will also sit in the


call centre in January to ensure the same issues are not repeated.


6 December 2018travelweekly.co.uk13


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