Covid and travel discussion

cyberblue said:
Yes private transfers much better & quicker
If you don't mind a hour and half stopover in Istanbul Pegasus or Turkish airlines have pretty good fight times
Stopping over in Munich can get a good flight with Luthansa
Also if you rent an apartment or villa,you don't get kicked out at daft o'clock
Loads of good deals if you book acomadation & flights seperate
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With regards to that last sentence, I would advise for people to proceed with caution doing flight and hotel bookings separately for the foreseeable.

You can get some good value stuff doing it that way and I'm certainly not against it, but it comes with no financial protection and is a £££ risk for at least this summer due to all the likely disruption.

I would only part with money for a DIY booking that you'd ultimately be ok with losing (or having to accept credit) as a worst case scenario.
 
Easyjet flights are all rearrangeable.
Booking.com does fully cancellable accommodation.
I have cancelled four lots of accommodation and moved three flights in the last 15 months at no cost whatsoever.
 
denislawsbackheel said:
Easyjet flights are all rearrangeable.
Booking.com does fully cancellable accommodation.
I have cancelled four lots of accommodation and moved three flights in the last 15 months at no cost whatsoever.
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Yep.

But Jet2.com flights you have to pay an admin fee to move.
Ditto Wizz Air, TUI, Ryanair (unless they are offering a free change at time of booking).
Easyjet will let you change outside of 2 weeks before departure otherwise they sting you with a charge.

There's ways and suppliers to use to mitigate potential losses, and most airlines and bedbanks offer more flexibility than before, but you could still be snookered by a late change in Covid rules and regs.

I still think booking anything DIY at the moment you have to be mentally prepared for it to go tits up and not necessarily be able to get all your money back (I say this as someone with a DIY trip to Rhodes in early October)

I'm not saying don't do it, but do it with your eyes wide open and don't risk money you can't afford to lose.
 
feedthegoat27 said:
With regards to that last sentence, I would advise for people to proceed with caution doing flight and hotel bookings separately for the foreseeable.

You can get some good value stuff doing it that way and I'm certainly not against it, but it comes with no financial protection and is a £££ risk for at least this summer due to all the likely disruption.

I would only part with money for a DIY booking that you'd ultimately be ok with losing (or having to accept credit) as a worst case scenario.
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I agree go with caution but many airlines will rearrange flights or give you your money back with no problem
With many b& b.s., hotels,villa, apartments ect you can come to an arangment about paying only if you get there
But it is a,good point you make
 
cyberblue said:
I agree go with caution but many airlines will rearrange flights or give you your money back with no problem
With many b& b.s., hotels,villa, apartments ect you can come to an arangment about paying only if you get there
But it is a,good point you make
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Bolded bit is only true if the airline cancels the flight/s.
If they don't cancel it then the passenger is entitled to nothing.
Plenty of airlines last year continued to fly to countries where the FCDO advised against travel to, so even a country suddenly going 'red' isn't any guarantee that the flight will be cancelled and could leave people high and dry.

But everyone wants the business for this year and most companies are offering enhanced flexibility so booking anything DIY as sensibly as is possible is the way forward (IE avoid Wizz Air and similar carriers and don't book non-refundable accomm).

Packages will always give people the most robust financial protection though, for anyone who doesn't want to potentially gamble money (just don't book with LoveHolidays!)
 
DiscoSteve said:
we have a family place halfway between Barcelona and Valencia - which would be our normal holiday destination in August flying Manchester to Reus. I'm considering getting the Plymouth-Santander ferry and driving at either end this year to avoid any airport shenanigans!
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Do the ladies of the night still flash their bits at you on the roundabout as you're driving out of Reus airport.
 
Hopefully below becomes a thing as well, where we have a standardised system in place that both the FCDO and DFT/Gov follow and adhere too.
Logic would suggest that if a country is 'red' on the traffic light system then the FCDO should also be advising against travel to that destination.
Seems pretty straightforward and as long as they align it won't be unnecessarily complicated for consumers and tour ops/airlines.

Red - advise against travel and tour ops cancel trips to that country.
Amber - ok to travel to but tour ops have to offer a free amendment for those unable/unwilling to isolate on return.
Green - crack on.

Foreign Office advice and traffic light lists tipped to align | Travel Weekly
 
Unfortunately I think France might be off the list given Macrons utterly bonkers idea of reopening whilst still in the grip of a third wave.

If it’s an electioneering ploy it’s fucking outrageous.
 
feedthegoat27 said:
Hopefully below becomes a thing as well, where we have a standardised system in place that both the FCDO and DFT/Gov follow and adhere too.
Logic would suggest that if a country is 'red' on the traffic light system then the FCDO should also be advising against travel to that destination.
Seems pretty straightforward and as long as they align it won't be unnecessarily complicated for consumers and tour ops/airlines.

Red - advise against travel and tour ops cancel trips to that country.
Amber - ok to travel to but tour ops have to offer a free amendment for those unable/unwilling to isolate on return.
Green - crack on.

Foreign Office advice and traffic light lists tipped to align | Travel Weekly
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That will be a first
Two departments on the same wavelength
 
ctwrd said:
Depressing. End of June.
Good luck to travel companies making do with 8 weeks custom
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Industry is fucked.
Government aren't interested.

Expect a conveyor belt of collapsing businesses for the rest of 2021 and beyond.

The hardest (and likely longest as the end is nowhere in sight for us) hit industry and a sector that employs hundreds of thousands of people and the Government do not give a single flying fuck (excuse the pun)
 
I’m surprised that Portugal will be opened up as Green given the fact they are allowing flights from Brazil again. All sounds like a shit load of hassle to me.
 
feedthegoat27 said:
Industry is fucked.
Government aren't interested.

Expect a conveyor belt of collapsing businesses for the rest of 2021 and beyond.

The hardest (and likely longest as the end is nowhere in sight for us) hit industry and a sector that employs hundreds of thousands of people and the Government do not give a single flying fuck (excuse the pun)
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The government are quite prepared to let the travel industry collapse , after all then everyone will spend their money here .
 
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