News feeds at the moment seem to be offering mixed messages about how insurers and airlines have been dealing with passengers claims as a result of recent travel disruptions.
It appears that many UK based passengers have reported problems in terms of claims for the additional costs incurred as a result of staying much longer on the continent than was originally planned.
EU air transport regulations do provide an obligation on airlines to provide a level of support for travelers as a result of delays in return travel. However, these obligations appear to be a little vague, and are based on “reasonable” expenses.
What is “reasonable” to an airline confronted with massive losses due to the recent volcanic ash events in Europe may not seem so reasonable to a stranded passenger.
Another issue that has become quite significant is that of relying upon limited forms of insurance. Many travelers make use of the travel insurance offered as part of the package for those with premium credit cards. Whilst this coverage certainly does offer a level of protection, you should still look at the fine print attached to this cover to ensure that it will meet your needs.
An example of this is that one well known credit card provider has a travel insurance policy that allows for “Travel Inconvenience Cover”, defined as cover for: delayed flight departure, flight cancellation, denied flight boarding, missed flight connection. Unfortunately the limit for this coverage can be less than $US200.
Many travelers consider themselves to be covered if they purchase coverage that is offered at the time of purchase of a flight ticket.
Again, such policies have very limited coverage for flight disruption, since they are limited to a specific pricepoint and are primarily aimed to protect the purchaser against losses relating to the specific air travel components of the trip.
Travelers wishing to cross the English Channel did have a number of transport options available, including Eurostar, other train services and ferries. Unfortunately the options were not as great for those passengers wishing to travel to or from the Americas, Asia, Australia and other locations outside Europe.
The basic message here is that travel insurance is a matter that travelers should carefully consider the terms and conditions that are offered, and not simply jump in unprepared.
John Kumm, Author,
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This cable car service travels from the upper end of Bad Harzburg’s promenade up to the Bergstation on the Castle Mountain. The tramway was built in 1929, and has a length of some 500m. The elevation of the Bergstation is about 480m, and from the nearby Cafe, you can enjoy magnificent vistas of Lower Saxony.
RyanAir, however operates a very large range of flights out of Frankfurt Hahn airport (HHN) into almost every country in Europe, and even as far as northern Africa.
This facility can help to pass the time, particularly on longer flights.
This pioneering venture will be followed closely by the global network carriers who are fearful of the threat such start-ups could pose to their traditional businesses.