The European Commission publishes Nov. 30 a revision of the Package Travel Directive and Passenger Rights Regulations. The ´question time´ ANVR Today devotes attention to the subject the very next day. Details are not yet known, but the revised directive will at least include a restriction on the possibility of requiring a deposit, said Frank Radstake of the ANVR. ‘It seems that the committee will come up with a revision like the one that was in force here until 2018, the so-called German model. This means that package holiday sellers are allowed to charge a deposit to a limited extent, unless a supplier requires a higher deposit, for example when an airline wants to have the full ticket price in advance. This revised regulation resembles the ANVR Terms and Conditions as they applied until 2018. At the time, a deposit of 15 percent applied, unless there was a high ticket price that had to be paid.’ Option 2 is that the commission comes with a so-called flat rate, where the customer is not allowed to pay more in any case. This would be, in Radstake’s words, ‘a disaster for the sector’, but he considers that chance to be very small. Then there is another deadline for residual payments. This is not now legislated, but in practice is now mostly at six weeks before departure and would be reduced to four weeks before departure. ‘That’s two weeks shorter. In some cases, this means that travel sellers will have to make new arrangements with suppliers. But we have 3.5 years to sort everything out, because the revised directive will not enter into force immediately. And besides, if they can use it in Germany, then we should be able to do the same,” says Radstake. Ticket Guarantee
Something else is the definition of ‘linked travel arrangement’. There are two versions of this. In the first definition, the customer books a flight and accommodation separately when visiting a website. This is not a package holiday, but a linked travel arrangement. This version is likely to remain. The second definition is described by the European Commission as: ‘Facilitating the purchase of a second travel service in a targeted manner’. As an example: the customer books a flight and is immediately sent a link to a hotel in the confirmation email. This version is likely to be deleted. At the same time, Radstake does not expect the European Commission to come up with a mandatory ticket guarantee for individual tickets. Brussels would like to focus on improving the financial robustness of the airlines themselves. “But they won’t come up with that now. So the conclusion remains that as a consumer it is best to book a package holiday. ́ Finally, it seems that the European Commission will come up with an emergency fund for major events such as a pandemic. After ANVR/SGR launched the Voucher Scheme in March 2020, Brussels issued a so-called ‘guidance’ in May of that year that if designed in such a way, there would be no state aid. These guidelines may be reflected in the Directive. Finally, the committee may come up with a mandatory emergency fund in case of another pandemic or other emergency that involves immediate cancellations and money to be repaid. Radstake: ‘It’s just not clear how that emergency fund should be filled and at what level it should be organised. We’ll wait and see.’ On Friday 1 December, the weekly ANVR Vandaag will focus on the revision of the Package Travel Directive and Passenger Rights Regulations. As always, the ‘question time’ is from 12:00 to 13:00 for ANVR members and Business Partners. You can sign up
via the calendar module.
For questions: ledeninfo@anvr.nlPhoto: Frank Radstake.
