We have seen two more Travel Companies go bust, Kiss Flights and Sun4U.com, the latest to join Apartments Abroad, Monster, Sun4U, Goldtrail Holidays, Finlays Skiing Holidays and other firms that have gone into liquidation in 2010. Just how much longer can the British public be expected to continue playing Russian Roulette with their hard earned money? The CAA advised that there were some 60,000 passengers with forward bookings with Kiss Flights.
As a Personal Travel Advisor I am part of the Co-operative Group:
- The 19th most valuable brand in the UK (ahead of names like M&S, Virgin and Sky)
- A company more than 150 years old and well respected on the high street through its food, funeral, travel and banking branches
- Group customers’ money is fully protected
- Group customers can earn cash back through the Co-operative membership scheme
- The Co-operative is a multi-million pound company
- We check every supplier we use, that’s why we didn’t sell Kiss
- Every booking we sell is fully protected either through the suppliers ATOL or our own.
More than ever before, trust and reliability of your travel operator as well as the welcome sight of the ABTA & ATOL logos must be as important as the cost of the holiday. The Co-Operative brand and the financial security that brings are arguably more relevant today than ever before.
So before you commit your hard earned money to a company you have never heard of and know little about, because the price looks great, please remember there will be no real savings and only a good chance of hard lessons learned, especially if you are booking a long time ahead!!
If you have been a victim of any of the companies and need some advice, or you have seen a great online offer and you are not sure if it is genuine please feel free to call me.
Alistair Rowland (Director of Distribution at Co-Operative Travel, part of the Co-Operative Group) and a customer of Kiss Flights talk to the BBC News.
