Can't get this 757 off the ground 'til you buy the petrol mate

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...-pay-fuel.html

Apparantly many of the passengers bought their tickets from a dodgy back-street travel agent in Smethwick, Birmingham who were arranging the flights themselves with Comtel Air.



The owner of that travel agent was nowhere to be seen today. The guy from the Comtel air claims on the news that the travel agent had not forwarded the monies that the passengers had paid for the flights, and so they hit a cashflow issue.

Apparantly there is another plane load of passengers stuck in Vienna tonight and the government is having to look at ways of bringing these British citizens home.

Personally, I say leave them there to fend for themselves and buy another flight home. If they hadn't been greedy and gone for the cheapest flight available from a dodgy back street travel agent, they wouldn't be in this mess. What do they expect?

[maviczap]

+1

was the company atol protected? didn't say in the article, but i'm damm sure that 1, I wouldn't have booked the tickets if not, and 2, I wouldn't have given them any more money, but if 1 is applicable then you would not need to do 2

Originally Posted by bluefishman

was the company atol protected?

Exactly, I don't know if any of these companies are or not, but the first thing you do when booking travel is check you are ATOL protected with an ABTA travel agent. I don't know but I suspect these people have bought flights at considerably less than they would have paid with a reputable airline or travel agent/charter operator.

[punyXpress]

Originally Posted by -Ralph-

Exactly, I don't know if any of these companies are or not, but the first thing you do when booking travel is check you are ATOL protected with an ABTA travel agent. I don't know but I suspect these people have *bought flights* at considerably less than they would have paid with a reputable airline or travel agent/charter operator.

* but they haven't, have they? *

Originally Posted by punyXpress

* but they haven't, have they? *

Well it's a debatable technical point anyway. I guess they have bought (very cheap) flights from the agent, just that the agent didn't forward on the money they paid to the airline.

Either way, you don't buy a video camera from a bloke in the pub, then expect to get a warranty.

I don't see why the UK taxpayer should bail these people out.

[Biker Biggles]

The whole airline industry is run on what would be considered fraud anywhere else.They take money in advance knowing they dont have the cash to provide the service and just hope something will turn up before the bailiffs do.
Another classic one is to sell more tickets than there are seats on the aircraft in the hope that some passengers wont turn up.When they do all turn up they just tell the unlucky extras to p1ss off.A relly of mine got stuck in Paris once when Air France double booked the seats.Had to be back in Blighty for work,so had to hire a car t drive to london.Compensation?Just the price of the ticket with no damages for extra losses or punishment for fraudulently taking money for a service they couldnt deliver.

Hang on, would you really want to fly with an airline thats budget is so tight if they don't get the cash for ONE FLIGHT they can't afford the fuel?

According to the report I heard because of where Comtel is registered the firm is not ATOL protected.

Daryl.

Originally Posted by darylB

According to the report I heard because of where Comtel is registered the firm is not ATOL protected.

Daryl.

I heard similar (Channel 4 news), but it was the CAA they were apparently not covered by as a result of being registered in Austria, so the CAA can't investigate the incident.