Monarch Airlines on its way out?
Discussion
The only time we used Monarch for a holiday, we were delayed 14 hours on the way out and 9 hours on the way back.
As I understood it, their big problem was that their fleet of aircraft just wasn't very large - in comparison with other airlines - meaning that when there was a problem, you were buggered.
As I understood it, their big problem was that their fleet of aircraft just wasn't very large - in comparison with other airlines - meaning that when there was a problem, you were buggered.
steve-5snwi said:
By all accounts bookings were 14% up but profit was 100million down.
There seems to be confusion over who is covered, those who flew Monarch as part of a package trip are covered. Those who booked separately and on a scheduled flight might not be covered.
No confusion it’s all listed here: https://monarch.caa.co.uk/customers/i-have-a-futur...There seems to be confusion over who is covered, those who flew Monarch as part of a package trip are covered. Those who booked separately and on a scheduled flight might not be covered.
"Flights booked directly with Monarch Airlines from 15 December 2016 onward
Customers with these bookings are not ATOL protected and are not entitled to make a claim to the CAA. You are advised to contact your card issuer, insurer or PayPal for advice on how to claim a refund."
This is taken frim the CAA page advising on what to do if you have a booking.
My question is: Why were they selling flights with no protection for 9 months? Surely this wasn't made apparent to people at the time of booking, I'd have assumed that any booking was ATOL protected. This leaves a hell of a lot of people out of pocket after booking in good faith.
Customers with these bookings are not ATOL protected and are not entitled to make a claim to the CAA. You are advised to contact your card issuer, insurer or PayPal for advice on how to claim a refund."
This is taken frim the CAA page advising on what to do if you have a booking.
My question is: Why were they selling flights with no protection for 9 months? Surely this wasn't made apparent to people at the time of booking, I'd have assumed that any booking was ATOL protected. This leaves a hell of a lot of people out of pocket after booking in good faith.
Don't think ATOL has ever covered flight-only bookings. Just whole package holidays (i.e. flight + hotel sort of thing).
https://www.caa.co.uk/ATOL-protection/Consumers/Ab...
However I'm not sure of the significance of the date they're mentioning.
https://www.caa.co.uk/ATOL-protection/Consumers/Ab...
However I'm not sure of the significance of the date they're mentioning.
kev1974 said:
Don't think ATOL has ever covered flight-only bookings. Just whole package holidays (i.e. flight + hotel sort of thing).
https://www.caa.co.uk/ATOL-protection/Consumers/Ab...
However I'm not sure of the significance of the date they're mentioning.
Does ATOL cover flight-only bookings?https://www.caa.co.uk/ATOL-protection/Consumers/Ab...
However I'm not sure of the significance of the date they're mentioning.
Yes, in some cases. If you book a flight with an ATOL holder (either direct or through a travel agent) and you get an ATOL Certificate as soon as you make payment, your booking is protected if the ATOL holder fails and the ATOL holder is also obliged to offer a refund should the airline that you are booked with fail financially.
Remember though, if you are not ATOL protected and you book with a travel agent, make sure you receive your airline tickets as soon as you pay. That way, should the agency fail, the airline should honour your booking. In these circumstances you are not directly protected against the chance of the airline that you are booked with failing, so you should check whether any travel insurance that you have includes it, and, if not, consider taking out additional cover.
https://www.caa.co.uk/ATOL-protection/Consumers/Ex...
Nath911t said:
I've flown with them loads of times with the last time been 3 weeks ago. Sadly, I was also due to fly out for a month over Christmas - paid with by a debit card 
My daughter is in the same position. Always used them but now has a hole in her Christmas schedule with flights paid for on a debit card.Mark-C said:
Nath911t said:
I've flown with them loads of times with the last time been 3 weeks ago. Sadly, I was also due to fly out for a month over Christmas - paid with by a debit card
My daughter is in the same position. Always used them but now has a hole in her Christmas schedule with flights paid for on a debit card.Debit cards-Chargeback
Credit cards- chargeback and Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1979 (if purchase £100-30k)
My advice, do not wait. Apply for a chargeback refund NOW. Leave it and you will be at the end of the line.
See below........
Chargeback doesn't mean there is joint liability on the card company. Claims must be addressed to the bank that provides your debit or credit card, which in turn will put in a request to the merchant's bank.
As a result, you could get your money back from the merchant's bank if the money is there to be recovered.
But, there are no guarantees your bank will be able to recover the money through chargeback, or that the trader will accept that you were justified in taking the money back.
sc0tt said:
kev1974 said:
Don't think ATOL has ever covered flight-only bookings. Just whole package holidays (i.e. flight + hotel sort of thing).
https://www.caa.co.uk/ATOL-protection/Consumers/Ab...
However I'm not sure of the significance of the date they're mentioning.
Does ATOL cover flight-only bookings?https://www.caa.co.uk/ATOL-protection/Consumers/Ab...
However I'm not sure of the significance of the date they're mentioning.
Yes, in some cases. If you book a flight with an ATOL holder (either direct or through a travel agent) and you get an ATOL Certificate as soon as you make payment, your booking is protected if the ATOL holder fails and the ATOL holder is also obliged to offer a refund should the airline that you are booked with fail financially.
Remember though, if you are not ATOL protected and you book with a travel agent, make sure you receive your airline tickets as soon as you pay. That way, should the agency fail, the airline should honour your booking. In these circumstances you are not directly protected against the chance of the airline that you are booked with failing, so you should check whether any travel insurance that you have includes it, and, if not, consider taking out additional cover.
https://www.caa.co.uk/ATOL-protection/Consumers/Ex...
Flight-only are indeed not normally ATOL-protected but some time in 2014 the CAA made Monarch take out a separate ATOL agreement on their flight-only sales because of their precarious finances then.
However the CAA agreed to lift that requirement from 14 Dec 2016 when Monarch finances had (for then!) been stabilised. Apparently the ATOL protection adds £2.50 per passenger so Monarch were keen to bin it for flight-only bookings to bring them back into line with other airlines.
Hence flights booked prior to 14 Dec 2016 are protected because of the special ATOL protection that the CAA were enforcing at that time due to the prior round of financial trouble, bookings after that are not.
sc0tt said:
Why not?
If my understanding is correct, the CAA insisted on the additional levy (on just Monarch) due to their precarious financial position - that wasn't anything a passenger could opt out of. Likewise, when the CAA thought matters had improved sufficiently they removed the need for the levy - again it wasn't an option for a passenger.sc0tt said:
Does ATOL cover flight-only bookings?
Yes, in some cases. If you book a flight with an ATOL holder (either direct or through a travel agent) and you get an ATOL Certificate as soon as you make payment, your booking is protected if the ATOL holder fails and the ATOL holder is also obliged to offer a refund should the airline that you are booked with fail financially.
Remember though, if you are not ATOL protected and you book with a travel agent, make sure you receive your airline tickets as soon as you pay. That way, should the agency fail, the airline should honour your booking. In these circumstances you are not directly protected against the chance of the airline that you are booked with failing, so you should check whether any travel insurance that you have includes it, and, if not, consider taking out additional cover.
https://www.caa.co.uk/ATOL-protection/Consumers/Ex...
From memory if you pay with Paypal you didnt get an ATOL certificate which I found out the last time they were in trouble around 6 months ago (must have been around easter as I had a flight to Tenerife booked which was booked around a year in advance). I've since paid by C/C and you then got the ATOL protection. Mostly go Ryanair now as they are cheaper with better flight times for us. Must admit I hate Ryanair but just consider its 4 hours to endure to get a good cost saving. Monarch staff and passengers were always more considerate making the journey more bearable. Yes, in some cases. If you book a flight with an ATOL holder (either direct or through a travel agent) and you get an ATOL Certificate as soon as you make payment, your booking is protected if the ATOL holder fails and the ATOL holder is also obliged to offer a refund should the airline that you are booked with fail financially.
Remember though, if you are not ATOL protected and you book with a travel agent, make sure you receive your airline tickets as soon as you pay. That way, should the agency fail, the airline should honour your booking. In these circumstances you are not directly protected against the chance of the airline that you are booked with failing, so you should check whether any travel insurance that you have includes it, and, if not, consider taking out additional cover.
https://www.caa.co.uk/ATOL-protection/Consumers/Ex...
Burwood said:
Mark-C said:
Nath911t said:
I've flown with them loads of times with the last time been 3 weeks ago. Sadly, I was also due to fly out for a month over Christmas - paid with by a debit card
My daughter is in the same position. Always used them but now has a hole in her Christmas schedule with flights paid for on a debit card.Debit cards-Chargeback
Credit cards- chargeback and Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1979 (if purchase £100-30k)
My advice, do not wait. Apply for a chargeback refund NOW. Leave it and you will be at the end of the line.
See below........
Chargeback doesn't mean there is joint liability on the card company. Claims must be addressed to the bank that provides your debit or credit card, which in turn will put in a request to the merchant's bank.
As a result, you could get your money back from the merchant's bank if the money is there to be recovered.
But, there are no guarantees your bank will be able to recover the money through chargeback, or that the trader will accept that you were justified in taking the money back.
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