Continued from page 36


because they want to keep the gap between a €19.99 and a €49.99 fare.” Wilson said: “It was bad


enough we had to go through millions of refunds, but our call centres were clogged with people whose details we didn’t have. We’ve had customers on to us when we have given money back to these companies and they have not refunded the customers. It’s a scandal. All our communications [with these customers] go into a black hole. The CAA needs to do something.” Asked to confirm that all


four companies Ryanair has named are doing this, Wilson said: “Absolutely.” He said: “I’m looking at a booking for Loveholidays where they have changed the credit card and the address and charged £50 on top of the Ryanair fare. There are possibly hundreds of thousands of these bookings. “In some cases, we have


refunded Loveholidays. One case we refunded five weeks ago, the customer contacted us and told us Loveholidays said refunds were paid in departure date order. What reason would they have for withholding a customer’s details? The flights are cheaper direct.” Ryanair has pledged to clear 90% of the refunds it owes by the end of July. Loveholidays said: “Some


OTAs use fake customer details, but we absolutely do not. We use customers’ email addresses and details in 100% of cases. The refund comes to us because we pay the airline and we forward the refund to the customer.” Ryanair DAC is the chief


carrier in Ryanair Holdings, headed by Michael O’Leary.


Covid-19 and Brexit pose double risk to travel firms


Ian Taylor


Travel companies risk having to face the twin challenges of Covid-19 and Brexit at the turn of the year in a situation of “high unemployment and low cash reserves”. Existing UK-EU arrangements


are due to end on January 1 and the government insists it won’t change the deadline for ending the Brexit transition period despite little progress on agreeing new arrangements with Brussels. EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier


Mark Tanzer, Abta


warned last week that “significant divergences” remain. Abta chief executive Mark Tanzer


warned a no-deal Brexit would pose added difficulties and said: “I’m concerned time is running out.” He warned: “Brexit will be


challenging even with a strong economy. If we’re in a situation where we have high unemployment and low cash reserves, it could be more difficult.” Speaking on a Travel Weekly


Roadmap to Recovery webcast, Tanzer said: “If the UK government


maintains its current position, we may leave without a deal. Whatever one thinks politically, a no-deal exit will be disruptive in the short term, particularly with coronavirus being an issue. It doesn’t help to have these challenges come together. “Businesses are going to need to


adapt to whatever the arrangements are after Brexit and that will cost money. There will be new systems needed, new ways of working and companies will already be weakened. It will make the Brexit adjustment more difficult.” However, he said: “Unless we see


significant progress, we will have to start planning again for a no-deal exit. Tanzer acknowledged: “The


coronavirus has impeded the discussions and the government’s attention may have been on other things, but we still have that hard deadline of December 31. We had to do a lot of preparation for a no-deal exit last year and we will be dusting that off and updating it.”


Jet2 profits fall but year-on-year bookings rise


Jet2 parent company Dart Group reported an 11% fall in pre-tax profits to just under £148 million for the 12 months to March after losing £108 million on fuel hedging due to the travel lockdown. However, the group reported


rising passenger numbers, increased revenue and higher package holiday sales year on year,


34 16 JULY 2020


despite the suspension of flying from mid-March. Chairman Philip Meeson reported 14% growth in one-way passenger numbers to 14.6 million and a 21% rise in revenue to close to £3.6 billion. Jet2holidays carried 3.8 million


package holiday customers in the period to March, 600,000 more than the same period in 2018-19 – a 19% increase – and flight-only sales rose 9% year on year to just over seven million. Meeson described winter 2020-21 bookings as “satisfactory” and summer 2021 bookings as “encouraging” and said the


Jet2 lost £108m on fuel hedging


company had “been guided by our commitment to protect our cash balance, to enable the business to exit the Covid-19 period in a stable commercial position and be able to capitalise on the upturn opportunity”.


travelweekly.co.uk


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