BUSINESS NEWS debate at the ITT Conference in Istanbul. Discussion moderator Lee Hayhurst reports


‘Sluggish Atol reform will already be out of date’


Atol reform is not happening fast enough given huge strains on consumer financial protection due to the Covid-19 pandemic and failures of Thomas Cook in 2019 and Monarch in 2017, say industry experts. Industry regulator the CAA


consulted on changes to the Atol scheme last year and will consult on specific reform proposals later this year. But a panel of industry experts brought together by Travel Weekly at this month’s ITT Conference in Istanbul to discuss reform expressed concern at the pace of change. Travel Trade Consultancy director


Matt Purser said: “We’re trying to build a system that will stand the test of time. We have to accept regulators will always be reactive because there are innovators out there who will come up with something different. “[But] the longer the consultation


takes, the more it worries me. When reform finally comes in, it will already be out of date and we’ll be trying to catch up again.” Will Plummer, chief executive of


Endacott warns largest operators pose biggest threat


Atol reform must address the “elephant in the room” that large tour operators and airlines which have accumulated “debt mountains” pose the biggest risk to the system. That is the view of industry


entrepreneur Steve Endacott who criticised the CAA’s record on regulating industry giants in light of


travelweekly.co.uk Matt Purser


Trust My Group, said the CAA should incentivise firms to provide it with data to understand the risk to Atol properly before reforms are finalised. He argued: “There is a danger


that the longer the consultation takes the more it feels like business as usual, which is compounding the errors of the past.” CAA group director of consumers


and markets Paul Smith said: “We’ll come out later this year with a firm set of proposals [on reform], having had lots of engagement [with the sector]. “Our view will still be up for consultation. There will be an


the failures of XL Airways in 2008, Monarch in 2017 and Thomas Cook in 2019. He conceded there was


government pressure to mitigate the impact of a major company failure by keeping it trading, but claimed it was clear how much trouble XL, Monarch and Thomas Cook were in before they failed. Endacott was a senior executive


at MyTravel when the company came close to collapse in 2002 but was allowed to continue trading by the CAA. The group subsequently merged with Thomas Cook.


Paul Smith


opportunity for people to shape that.” He argued: “We should be open


to people doing business in different ways rather than say ‘this is the way you must do it’. “We’ve never seen our role as


preventing all failures. You have to accept there is a degree of failure risk. But having been through Covid, having been through those larger failures, we have to ask, can we do things differently?” Smith acknowledged: “There


will need to be some thought about the implementation timetable. It depends on the proposals.”


Steve Endacott


‘Enable holidays to go ahead in event of failure’


The CAA should have greater powers to enable holidays to go ahead in the aftermath of a failure because consumers want holiday protection not financial protection. That is according to industry


entrepreneur Steve Endacott, who said: “Booking a holiday is a trust item. People want to know that if something goes wrong they still go on holiday. They don’t want a refund.” Travel Trade Consultancy


director Matt Purser, who previously worked for the CAA, agreed. He said: “When I was at the CAA, when you phoned people [after an Atol failure] and said ‘Unfortunately you can’t go on holiday but you can get your money back’, that is not what they wanted. Going on the holiday is really important to people.” Purser suggested a guarantee


that holidaymakers will travel would reduce the risk for all involved in financial protection, including insurers and merchant acquirers.


He argued: “The track record


says the system doesn’t work because three times the Atol fund has been all but wiped out.” Endacott insisted: “The


elephant in the room is the airlines. Until the CAA gets regulatory authority over them [in respect of consumer financial protection], we can’t do anything about it.” CAA director of consumers


and markets Paul Smith noted airline insolvency reforms had been delayed by Covid but said: “The government has consulted recently on expanding our powers.”


30 JUNE 2022 47


PICTURES: Steve Dunlop, Phil Gammon


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52