After Transavia previously announced that flights will be cancelled or changed between 18 April and 30 June this year, Charles Verstegen of Transavia announced on Friday that 99.5 percent of the booked passengers are now flying as usual. This was stated by Verstegen (commercial director of Transavia) in ANVR Vandaag, the ANVR’s weekly online question time. Together with Sam Gertsen (Head of Sales & Partnerships), he explained the recently announced flight changes for the first time. “So less than 0.5 percent of all booked passengers have not been able to rebook Transavia on its own flights or on KLM’s,” Verstegen said, according to a participant who attended the (private) presentation. On March 21, it was announced that Transavia will have to cancel flights again this year. The company itself spoke of ‘an operational and commercial adjustment in our schedule for the coming period’. This is partly due to the delay in major maintenance, the company told TravMagazine more than a week ago. “Our main priority is to have a stable operation. By taking measures as soon as possible, we minimise the impact on passengers and employees.” The number of affected flights was not disclosed, but it is certain that thousands of passengers were affected. Transavia immediately informed partners to whom it delivers tickets and direct customers of the changes. The changes range from a different flight time on the same day, a different flight day or a different airport. According to Verstegen, thanks to early intervention, it has been possible to minimise adverse consequences. ‘With this, we now know that the impact is very small.’ Verstegen also said that he had worked hard to find a solution. Ask After the initial announcement on March 21, the industry reacted angrily again. Arjan Kers, managing director of the Netherlands and Belgium of TUI, said in TravMagazine that he was ‘disappointed’ about the cancellation of flights again. Kers said he expects the issue to cause a lot of pain and cost money for consumers, but also for the sector. TUI would do everything in its power to limit the inconvenience to the customer and to unburden them as much as possible. TUI has created an information page for its customers on its own website, with an extensive overview of the most frequently asked questions (Q&A, ed.) Price-free Prijsvrij/D-reizen announced on Thursday that the problems have now been solved for all its customers, but at the same time expressed criticism.
‘Transavia’s disappointing performance mainly leads to damage to their own brand, but unfortunately also has a negative effect on consumer confidence in the travel industry. With both Prijsvrij Vakanties and D-reizen, the problems are limited and have now been solved for all customers. We hope that Transavia will soon have everything under control again and that it will be able to prevent this kind of situation in the future.’ ANVR Response Walter Schut, who is involved in aviation at the ANVR, says he is not entirely happy with all the alternatives that have been implemented.
‘The alternatives often lead to extra costs for the tour operator, but the handling of these has to go through the customer and an authorization form is needed for that. It causes a lot of red tape, dissatisfaction among customers, extra expenses. We don’t want that.’ In addition, not all alternatives are suitable, says Schut.
‘Then the outward journey has been cancelled, but the return journey will continue as usual. That’s because Transavia officially sells one-way tickets. And if the customer flies a day earlier than planned, the question is whether that will work out for the customer.’ Schut says he appreciates the fact that Transavia does not shy away from the discussion with the industry and opened up during ANVR Vandaag, although according to him that does not make the message ‘suddenly sweeter’.
‘And it’s a shame that we don’t have an overview of the total number of passengers and flights.’ Schut does outline the dilemma for members and ANVR.
‘You can get angry in the press, but then you make the customer stubbornly shy about booking and you shoot yourself in the foot. So I prefer to see how we solve it together. That’s why we have our regular consultations with Transavia. Incidentally, I do not expect the problem to continue beyond 30 June. It seems more like a temporary problem, but that doesn’t make it any less difficult.’ (Shutterstock).
