Help! My airline has collapsed!
In these trying times of soaring oil prices there are likely to be some business casualties according to Richard Branson in the article ‘Britons left at risk if airlines collapse!’.
Why we are not protecting ourselves in the event of an airline going bust is not as straightforward as it may seem! There is at the moment, a great risk of airlines going bust and we desperately need to protect ourselves.
In the last six months, over twelve carriers have lost the battle to stay afloat through these difficult times including Eos the business travel airline. This virus of airline insolvency is not something that is going to go away and passengers need to look into protecting themselves against being stranded without a flight as well as losing money.
Passengers need to be aware their insurance will not always bail them out of trouble should they get caught in the crossfire of a collapsed airline. This is not the case. The people most at risk are those who arrange their own holidays without going through an agent or if buying flights direct from an airline instead of through a tour operator.
When the UK business airline Silverjet ceased flying in May, passengers who booked their flights directly through the airline were not able to get compensation as well as having to pay out for an additional ticket to fly home.
In a comprehensive report, TravelMail inform passengers of their rights when an airline collapses. The report reveals how a thirty percent of travellers falsely believe their travel insurance policy will cover every eventuality. The report goes on to state that many insurance policies do not protect passengers from airline insolvency as standard. Not only this but worryingly report how difficult it is to get an insurance company to commit to protection against airline insolvency. The report even goes on to suggest that while customers are in the dark, the insurance companies too are ‘ignorant’ of their policies in the event of an airline collapse. We need to assert ourselves and our concerns to our insurers until they provide us the paying customer with the assurances we need.
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