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Air Travel Organiser's Licence

You may have noticed in the bottom left hand side of all of our web pages there is an ATOL logo – like the one to the right. ATOL 3253 is Honeyguide's unique ATOL number and this shows that all monies paid by you for our air holiday packages are ATOL-protected. The ATOL system is run by the Civil Aviation Authority.

This web page is to explain a little more about this and developments in consumer protection linked to ATOLs.

Protecting the consumer

Every tour operator offering 'packages' – that is holidays that include more than one element, such as flights, accommodation and local transport – has to provide the buyer with protection. The framework for this is the EU's Package Travel Directive and UK regulations that flow from that.

When it's a flight-inclusive package – as all Honeyguide holidays presently are – then tour operators must hold an Air Travel Organiser's Licence. It ensures that in the event of a tour operator becoming insolvent, consumers already abroad can complete their holidays and be returned to the UK and those who have paid for their holidays but have not yet departed will receive a full refund. 

Honeyguide has held an ATOL for 16 years. It's what the CAA calls a 'Small Business ATOL' (SBA), for tour operators running fewer than 500 holidays a year.

ATOL Protection Contributions

ATOL Protection Contributions (APCs) were introduced in April 2008 to raise funds for the Air Travel Trust Fund (ATTF), which meets the insolvency protection costs of the ATOL scheme. The failure of XL leisure group in September 2008 and the effects of the recession have caused serious financial challenges for the ATTF.

Following a consultation by the CAA in early 2009, the APC paid by travel companies to the ATTF rose from £1 to £2.50 per passenger. This sum is included within the price of your Honeyguide holiday.  

Comment: on the one hand, it is irritating that travellers with generally sound small operators are caught by a problem created by the collapse of one large business. On the other hand, it remains a relatively small sum per person to support the robust and valuable ATOL scheme. When it came in, the travel press quoted various leading lights from big operators in the travel industry suggesting this change will bring travel its knees. These claims can be taken with a pinch of salt.

Holidays not covered by Honeyguide's ATOL

Though our holidays are all offered with flights, very occasionally, after consulting the Honeyguide office, a Honeyguider may prefer to:

(1) travel to one of our destinations by means other than flying, or

(2) buy their own flights, nowadays easy to do on the internet and sometimes a practical response when travel arrangements are complex.

At the moment, any travellers for whom Honeyguide does not buy a flight is not covered by Honeyguide's ATOL.

This is a pity as travelling by train, in particular, is a trend we would like to encourage, to reduce dependence on air travel with its contribution to climate change. However this may change soon ...

Future developments for ATOLs

In December 2009, the Department for Transport published proposals
"... for modernising the Civil Aviation Authority’s regulatory framework." (Full details here.) Much of this is to clarify and improve the scope of the ATOL system, especially in the light of some failures of big travel companies and to respond to how people buy holiday components on the internet.

They propose that non-air holidays can be covered by an ATOL in future - see right for the full text.

Honeyguide welcomes this proposed change. In our response to the Department for Transport we said we:

"... support the proposal to extend the scope of ATOLs to non-air packages. This is for the reasons set out in paragraph 13.75, namely to offer protection to consumers but to keep costs low and bureaucracy simple by being able to include a small number of non-air package holidays within the ATOL."

We see the CAA's ideas as helpful steps that offer the prospect of being able to widen the type of holidays we can offer and to encourage non-air travel. What we don't know is the timetable for any changes, though the package of reform is still gaining support: see "ATIPAC urges DfT to take forward ATOL Reform proposals" on the CAA's website, dated July 2010. The DfT's consultation ended in March 2010 but the general election followed by a change of Government will have slowed the decision-making process.

Published January 2010, last paragraph updated July 2010.

Atol Protected

 

You can read the ATOL 'Peace of Mind for Air Travellers' information here

 

 

Your Financial Protection
When you buy an ATOL protected air holiday package from Honeyguide Wildlife Holidays you will receive a Confirmation Invoice from us confirming your arrangements and your protection under our Air Travel Organiser’s Licence number 3253.


In the unlikely event of our insolvency, the CAA will ensure that you are not stranded abroad and will arrange to refund any money you have paid to us for an advance booking. For further information visit the ATOL website at www.atol.org.uk

 

 

 

£2-50 APC

The price of our air holiday packages includes the amount of £2.50 per person as part of the ATOL Protection Contribution (APC) we pay to the CAA. This charge is included in our advertised prices.

 

 

 

 

 

ATOL Protection does not apply to holiday and travel services when a flight is not included. Please ask us to confirm what protection may apply to your booking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Extract from the Department for Transport's proposals to widen the scope of the ATOL system.

"13.75 Many companies sell both air and non-air holidays and would prefer to protect them all through the CAA to reduce costs and bureaucracy. It is proposed as a Better Regulation measure that these companies are given the option of protecting all their packages, both air and non-air with the CAA by contributing financially to the Air Travel Trust, the body that manages the funds collected to meet the costs of ATOL protection. This arrangement would be available to companies whose main business is selling air based package holidays under the ATOL scheme, but who also sell a small amount of non-air package holidays. These companies are likely to face the greatest burden of having to protect their products under two sets of arrangements."

 

 

CAA staff kindly checked this web page when it was in draft, and were happy with its contents.

Helping you enjoy wildlife – Helping you protect wildlife