During a time when air travel is becoming increasingly uncertain, one major package holiday company has launched same-day refunds for flight cancellations.
Over recent weeks, airlines have been frequently changing their schedules and routes to adapt to the situation in the Middle East and the jet fuel crisis.
Now, in an industry-leading move, On the Beach has promised holidaymakers can get their money back the very same day, if their flight is cancelled this summer.
The new ‘Cancelled Flight Cover’ policy will be standard across all of the packages sold by the company.
It will mean On the Beach processes refunds immediately, ensuring customers get their money back the same day allowing them to make new plans.
The speed of the refund is dependent on the customer’s bank, however.
Other holiday providers do currently provide refunds, but it may take up to 14 days for customers to get their money back, leaving them out of pocket and without a holiday booking.
Under the new initiative, if a holidaymaker finds their flight is cancelled, On the Beach will find an alternative flight or offer a full refund for the entire holiday.
In an industry-leading move, On the Beach has launched a new ‘Cancelled Flight Cover’ policy
It will apply to all of the packages sold by the company and mean On the Beach processes refunds immediately when a flight is cancelled
This will then be processed on the same-day.
Caspar Nelson, holiday expert at On the Beach, said: ‘Holidaymakers deserve certainty, especially when disruption strikes.
‘We’re proud to be the first package holiday provider to commit to same-day refund processing for cancelled flights, giving customers the confidence to book knowing we’ve got their back when it matters most.
‘If the worst happens and a flight is cancelled, we’ll move quickly to either find a new route or return every penny of their holiday money that same day, so they can get a new break booked, make alternative plans fast, and get back to looking forward to their summer instead of worrying about it.’
On the Beach’s new scheme comes during a time of travel chaos in the aviation industry, with several airlines changing their routes, cancelling flights or even shutting down completely.
There has been a string of British airline closures recently, and the most recent carrier to go bust is Ascend Airways, which operated flights from major UK hubs such as Gatwick Airport and Stansted Airport.
The airline was only operating for three years and has cancelled all its flights effective immediately – with 161 jobs affected.
The ‘wet-lease’ carrier, a British ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance and Insurance) and charter airline, previously provided aircraft for other organisations.
There has been a string of British airline closures recently, and the most recent carrier to go bust is Ascend Airways
This includes carriers such as Tui Airways, Oman Air and Air Sierra Leone.
But now the airline, part of Avia Solutions Group (ASG), has filed for administration and surrendered its UK air operator’s certificate (AOC), according to The Sun.
Plus, it has returned its fleet of six Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft to its lessors, according to Economy Class And Beyond.
It comes after another UK airline, Ecojet, entered liquidation just a few years after launching – and it never got a single plane in the air.
The Scottish carrier was founded by controversial British entrepreneur – and Just Stop Oil backer – Dale Vince in 2023 who had big plans for it to be the ‘world’s first electric airline’.
However, the airline has now closed down after it reportedly tried to raise £20million, according to the Express.
Ecojet had not yet launched any flights, but had planned routes between Southampton and Edinburgh on planes retrofitted with hydrogen-electric engines.
It also intended to spread its wings further afield to mainland Europe and had long-haul trips to the likes of the US and Asia as the ultimate goal.
Other airlines across Europe have been affected by the crisis, too, causing a knock-on effect in the UK.
German airline Lufthansa has axed 20,000 summer flights in Europe due to rising fuel prices making many journeys ‘unprofitable’.
The 20,000 cancellations will affect hubs operating in Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich, Vienna, Brussels and Rome and ‘reduce the number of unprofitable short-haul flights’.
Explaining the move, Lufthansa said jet fuel costs have ‘doubled since the outbreak of the Iran conflict’.
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