BUSINESS NEWS Elman Wall Covid-19 Webinar: Abta urges extension of RCN protection. Ian Taylor reports


BTA lobbyist hails Brexit deal as ‘triumph’ for PM


The UK trade deal with the EU was an “enormous political triumph” for Boris Johnson, according to Thomas Woolhouse of Cavendish Advocacy, which lobbies on behalf of the Business Travel Association. He told an Elman Wall Covid-19


webinar: “The deal should not be sneered at. It was negotiated in 10 months – nothing quite like it has been achieved before.” Woolhouse added: “It’s the only


trade deal that increases trade friction rather than reduces it, which gives a sense of how extraordinary this is.” He noted the deal, announced on Christmas Eve, “is very thin on


Boris Johnson


services”, but said: “Negotiations will continue for months or years on a sector-by-sector basis and on granular detail. The fallout will be felt in the months and years ahead.” Abta head of financial services


John de Vial told the webinar: “The position on ground transport is probably better than we feared. “There is some possibility of


progress on [the loss of] the Posted Workers Directive. But there is a lot of work to be done.”


‘Aviation minister Courts has boosted dialogue with industry’


The UK aviation minister at the onset of the pandemic showed a “lack of understanding” of business travel and “little inclination” to meet its representatives, a corpo- rate travel industry consultant has claimed. But the sector has since made “a lot of progress”. The aviation minister at the


start of the pandemic was Kelly Tolhurst, MP for Rochester, who joined the Department for Transport (DfT) in February 2020. Tolhurst was replaced as aviation minister by Robert Courts in early September. Thomas Woolhouse of


Cavendish Advocacy, which lobbies on behalf of the Business Travel Association, said: “The level of engagement at the start was very poor. The aviation minister showed very little inclination to meet. There was an utter lack of understanding.” He told an Elman Wall


Covid-19 webinar: “[Under] new minister Robert Courts, we’ve had much better lines of communication.” Woolhouse said the DfT wants


to understand “whether there is still an appetite for meeting face to face – and the feedback is there is”.


‘Abta pressing for RCN extension’ Ian Taylor


Abta is pressing for an extension of the deadline for issuing Refund Credit Notes (RCNs) for cancellations due to Covid after the CAA extended the deadline to January 31 before Christmas. John de Vial, Abta head of


financial services, confirmed “we are pressing” the CAA and Air Travel Trust fund trustees “to extend [the deadline] to the end of March, to align with the Abta deadline”. De Vial told an Elman Wall


Covid-19 webinar: “The RCN regime has been absolutely critical.” The CAA confirmed on


December 22 that RCNs could be issued for cancelled packages up to the end of January, moving the deadline back a month. It was the second change of deadline since the


travelweekly.co.uk There is concern


around Easter and early summer. It seems more likely we’ll need the deadline extended


government and CAA confirmed the financial protection of RCNs for Atol bookings in mid-July. De Vial said: “We came very close


to the wire at the end of December. There is more concern around Easter and early summer. It seems more and more likely we’ll need a review and the deadline extended again.” Abta has argued throughout for


the CAA/Air Travel Trust guarantee to align with its own guarantee for non-Atol packages. The association believes RCNs for Atol bookings,


issued correctly to consumers happy to accept them, require protection under existing Atol rules. De Vial warned that the March


Atol and Abta-bonding renewals could be tough following a “painful” September-renewals process, saying: “The bond markets don’t get any easier. The vast majority of our members have been able to get bond renewals, but it has been painful. “I fear March will be no easier


because people will continue to issue RCNs and the CAA is becoming more and more concerned about some licence holders as it becomes clear early summer could be affected more than any of us would wish.” De Vial acknowledged Abta has


struggled to cope with demand from members, saying: “We’ve struggled on time and resource as people want to reforecast [their projections].”


John de Vial 14 JANUARY 2021 39


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