NEWS ROUND-UP
Agency advised to appeal after order to refund deposit
A travel industry lawyer representing a cruise specialist that was ordered to refund a client’s £1,000 deposit by a small claims court believes the agency can overturn the decision on appeal. Travlaw senior associate Nick
Parkinson will seek permission to appeal on behalf of the agency, which does not want to be named, this week. A couple started court
proceedings against the agency to recover a £1,000 deposit they paid to take a cruise in November 2020. The line subsequently cancelled
the cruise, but the couple had already transferred the booking to November 2021, after being told they would lose their deposit if they cancelled the booking. Parkinson highlighted the
similarities between the case and two county court decisions on Covid-era cancellations – Dennison v We Love Holidays and Kirk v We Love Holidays. Both decisions were overturned on appeal in favour of We Love Holidays. Confirming the agency will
seek permission to appeal, Parkinson said: “I feel confident that we will succeed.” He said the small claims court’s
decision was “fundamentally wrong”. “Cancelling a trip so many months before, it’s too soon,” he added. “The customers should not be able to cancel and get a full refund.”
Nick Parkinson
Inspiring agents lauded at dazzling AAAs event
Travel Weekly reporters
Agents and agencies from across the UK and Ireland were honoured at last week’s Travel Weekly Agent Achievement Awards. More than 600 guests attended
the event, held in partnership with headline sponsor Virgin Atlantic, at London’s Park Plaza Westminster Bridge hotel on July 14. The coveted awards were
presented by TV and radio favourite Vernon Kay alongside Travel Weekly Group editor-in-chief Lucy Huxley, with new categories introduced before the pandemic including honours for commitment to sustainability, mental health and staff wellbeing. Individual awards included
Leisure Agent of the Year, won by Wendy Haines from The Holiday Village; Leisure Manager of the Year, won by Barrhead Travel’s Chris Cooper; Young Leisure Agent of the Year, won by Hays Travel Personal Travel Consultant Aaron Petty; and Agency Support Team Member of the Year, won by Nina Fox from Blue Bay Travel. There were several multiple
award winners, including Hays Travel, which won the Large Agency category in the North East, and
Swords Travel team with Vernon Kay (left) and Lucy Huxley (right) and awards sponsor Adrian Marpole, easyJet holidays (centre)
London and the South East, in addition to the national High Street Agency of the Year award and Petty’s individual honour. Barrhead Travel was named
Best Large Agency in Scotland and Best Large Agency to Work For, in addition to Cooper’s individual award and Carol-Ann Jones, head of human resources and employee wellbeing, winning the Mental Health Matters Award. Miles Morgan Travel won two
awards: Large Agency in the South West and South Wales, and Touring and Adventure Agency of the Year.
Government to fund sustainable fuel
plants with £165m for Jet Zero plans The government unveiled its Jet Zero strategy with a £165 million fund to support five sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) plants in the UK by 2025 and a mandate for SAF to comprise 10% of jet fuel by 2030. Industry chiefs welcomed the announcement, but the Aviation Environment Federation accused ministers of “not being honest about what it will take to achieve net zero flying”. Aviation emissions peaked in 2019.
8 21 JULY 2022 Swords Travel was named Small
High Street Agency of the Year, having won the regional award for London and the South East. The national homeworking, call centre and online agency awards were won by Travel Counsellors, ROL Cruise and Holidaysplease respectively. The Outstanding Contribution
honours went to Advantage chief executive Julia Lo Bue-Said and Travel Village Group chief executive Phil Nuttall, while The Cruise Room
picked up the One to Watch Award. i AAAs, pages 12-14 i Get Social, page 35
EasyJet and Rolls-Royce partner
to test hydrogen-powered engines EasyJet and Rolls-Royce announced an H2ZERO partnership to demonstrate the potential of hydrogen- powered aircraft engines with a series of tests planned this year. EasyJet chief executive Johan Lundgren said: “Radical action is needed to address aviation’s climate impact. We’ll be making a multimillion-pound investment in this programme.”
travelweekly.co.uk
PICTURE: Alex Maguire
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