. . <>

  <><><><><>

 

Tips for travellers when it all goes wrong… The simple truth is that the last weeks have shown that the world is constantly changing, and it is all to easy for any of us to get caught in a crisis somewhere in the world - with something we did not expect to happen - happens.   Examples of this include things from earthquakes, to volcanoes to political strife - or even just a long delay on you flight.  So what do you do if you are caught  in one of these situations - what should you do? The first thing to do is to ask the question - What it the impact?  What problem, and what is the risk? Obviously if your flight is delayed or cancelled then a fairly regular set of rules kick in and the result is that the impact on your life in the field of health and welfare should be taken care of.  This is not only true of places like the US and the EU, where the law and consumer rules are good, but even in more remote places.  Obviously the  smaller the airline the greater the risk of being left high and dry, but these are things that you can calculate when booking.  And this is perhaps where the process of insuring your welfare starts. The first thing that most people travelling on private trips look at is the price.  The thing to remember here is that the more flights that you book the more the risk of things going wrong.   The more disconnected the routes are the more the risk of you being left with one flight being delayed, and the next one being missed.   Disconnected flights are flights booked separately, with airlines that do not have connections.  Some airlines are quite good at this, but be warned - if they can blame someone else they will.  Examples of this include 2  friends of my mine who live in Europe, but booked a package holiday on line to visit Mexico, the holiday was booked together, but the connecting flights were booked separately.  To save, 15 pounds - one took an low cost flight to Gatwick to connect with another airline to cross the Atlantic, rather than taking a flight of the same airline - the result was that on the particular day our local airport had a problem, and all flights were delayed, connecting flight missed.  My other friend  had taken a member of the airlines alliance partner - he was able to book his luggage all the way through, and  get boarding cards for both flights, and as a result was given a hotel for the night, and put on the flight the next day, his cheap friend slept on the floor of his hotel room and was placed on the flight the next day - but only after sweet talking the airport  booking agent for 2 hours. The lesson being - even thought the flights for both travellers were booked separately, the passenger who had a flight with the airline partner was given better treatment, and an easier ride than his friend that had not.  Bearing in mind the neither of them were travelling on the same airline that they were connecting, nor that the airline had any obligation to provide support - as technically the flights were not connected, and the obligations under the law did not follow, making the support provided “Good will” - and what you get is dependant on what the airline agent feels like offering, although they have a lot more options if you are travelling within the same airline family.   Other examples of airline support include when I was delayed on a flight recently by 24 hours, the result being that my visa was going to expire - I asked the airline what I should do and it resulted in an extra stamp being added to my passport, with out any issues (in fact they had about 30 of us to do). Airline problems are generally reasonably easy to sort out, if you talk to the airline.  The rules are though, be polite, know what it is that you are looking for - but do not take the attitude that you are looking for something the airline cannot give you.  If the whole airport is closed, hotel rooms are not going to be available for everyone, and if you are young, fit and travelling without young children - you will not be given priority - kicking up a fuss in this case may result in you being turned away with a couple of food vouchers, on the other hand, being polite, friendly and a bit cheeky, may get you a seat in the airlines business lounge overnight, resulting in a more comfortable chair to sleep in. The other thing to remember is that frequent flyer points count.  If you regularly travel on airlines, even 2 or 3 times a year, sticking to a single airline programme will open doors.  The priority for airlines is that the more points you have the more priority you get.  This means that someone who flies regularly on business will get a better deal on private travel in the same airline group, but do not think that just because you only travel once or twice a year that you are not going to get any advantages.  When it comes to the last seat on the plane, or the last hotel room, or even an upgrade seat, just the fact that you have a card puts you ahead of everyone without a card, the points you have on your card put you ahead of all who follow you.   If your flight is cancelled - ask what the options are, know where you are, and what is available around you.  An example of this is that when BA cancelled a flight from Nice to London, most passengers were put on an alternative flight via Frankfurt - total delay nearly 7 hours (and arrival at Heathrow, not Gatwick). Not all passengers took this option though, a few passengers who knew the BA flight time tables convinced the airline to put them in a taxi to Marseille, a 2 hour drive away, and arrived with just a 3 hour delay.  This is an example of if you know what is available, and ask for it, most airlines will accommodate you.  In this case the taxi went to the passenger who asked for it, business class passengers and the frequent flyers.  (prior to this all passengers were going to Frankfurt - as that flight had seats) Earthquakes, volcanoes, snow and other incidents beyond the airlines control, will result in bigger problems.  This will give you less options, but the first thing to do is to talk to the airline, find out what the options are, and what assistance they can give you, and what you can expect.  The next point of call is your travel insurance company, once you know what the options from the airline are, check with your insurance - find out what the options form them are (these can be switched if you are standing in the 6 hour queue for the airline).  If you have booked through a travel agent also call them for advice, they may be quicker than the airline.  Once you have the options clear, you know what you can consider as options for your travel - and what will cost you.  From this you can then consider your options.  In the volcano in Europe in 2010, what most people did not realise when hiring cars all over Europe is that for a lot of the (and I appreciate not all of them) was that if they had used a train then they would have been covered, but hire cars were not - as they are not a recognised alternative method of travel.   When you have made your choice, look into all the options.  Sticking with our friendly volcano example, people stranded at Schiphol near Amsterdam took off in there droves towards France to get across the channel, a lot of them completely ignoring the ferries from Holland to Hull and Harwich which aligns with a fast train to London).   If you are caught in a bigger problem, such as a natural disaster or a political problem - there are a few steps that you need to do.  The first thing (after telling those at home you are safe, (mothers/wives/ older brothers always flap and panic)) is to contact the Embassy for 2 things - the first being getting the latest advice, the second being to make sure that they know where you are - should the situation change rapidly.  Things to establish after your immediate needs of food/water, shelter and health - are internet access, and telephone access.  There after the response will depend very much on your own attitude.  During the Egyptian crisis - people in Sharm el Shiek were almost completely unaffected.  As a result is was perfectly safe for these people to continue with there holidays - people in Cairo were advised to evacuate.  Equally in the recent Japanese disasters people in Tokyo were almost unaffected by the earthquake and tsunami - although the following nuclear problems did  lead to people evacuating - this shows how important it is to stay up to date with what is happening around you.   Other things to remember is that after an incident - look at what is available, as these countries start to recover, they may well offer enormous discounts to get tourists flowing again.  Shortly after the Egyptian uprising had concluded the discounts for Sharm el-Sheikh where enormous.  That does not mean that you should not take cautions.  The earthquake and tsunami in Japan may well have only impacted the north of the country, meaning travel in the south should be safe, the nuclear situation would caution me from advising you to book anything until it is under control - but there is no real danger.  The people who come out of a disaster best are not often those who took off on their own immediately, nor those who waited, but those who looked at the options, and then decided which option to go for.

Copyright (c) 2008 Andrics Ltd. All rights reserved. Built and Managed by Andics Technology

data@andrics.com Telephone + 44 7509 104 899<> <><><><><>