I am so glad it has been resolved. Just been on FC website and they are showing pages of holidays to Red Sea leaving tomorrow/sunday. Available too for 1 passenger - so hard to see how they could say no accomodation? I would have printed them off and taken them into TA.
Anyway no need now. So glad for you. Will you go away now?

Jules,
Great news! Enjoy the wine and chocs!
Caro

So glad at least that is sorted . Sorry you have lost your holiday though jules. You must of been totally gutted this morning watching that flight leave .

Yes, really gutted, but fate stepped in and I accept that, I still wish I was landing in Sharm in 3 hours!

All the best to you all who are going.

Have a cocktail for me.

Jules

Red Sea tourists face threat of national strike

Thousands of Britons holidaying in Egypt's Red Sea resorts could be caught up in a national strike planned for Sunday.

Protestors who have gathered in Cairo and other major cities again today to demand the immediate resignation of President Mubarak are calling for all workers to stage a one day strike over the weekend.

The popular sunspots of Sharm el Sheikh, Hurghada and others on the Red Sea have so far been unaffected by the political unrest spreading across Egypt, and the Foreign Office is insisting the region is still safe for British tourists.

However, holidaymakers in the Red Sea resorts could find services affected if hotel and other resort staff heed the call for a mass walkout.

First Choice and Thomson will have 10,500 customers in Sharm, Taba and Hurghada on Sunday. A spokeswoman said: "(We) have received no confirmation that a national strike will take place in Egypt this Sunday.

"We hold customer service in the highest regard and, should any strike be confirmed, our teams are confident that this will have no impact on our resorts. We continue to monitor the situation closely."

She said the operators' resort reps were keeping holidaymakers informed via letters and noticeboards and all of the resorts have a 24-hour holiday helpline.

Neither First Choice, Thomson nor Thomas Cook have amended their travel advice for those with bookings for Egypt's Red Sea resorts, though TUI has cancelled flights to Luxor on February 9 and 16 and flights to Aswan up to April 25 following Foreign Office advice.

Thomas Cook has cancelled flights to Luxor on February 9 but customers booked on flights on February 16 have been told to wait and see what happens.

Meanwhile hundreds more British nationals are expected to flee Cairo this weekend as mass demonstrations in the capital, which have already led to thousands of casualties, continue.

The Foreign Office has laid on a second relief flight for UK nationals from Cairo on Saturday for those unable to secure seats on commercial flights. An earlier relief flight landed at Gatwick on Thursday with 166 passengers onboard.


With permission from Travelmole

Jules,

Excellent news!! I reckon these travel companies keep there eye on what we say on the forums???

By the way if it's so safe in Sharm why the hell are they flying people all the way home to the UK from Cairo?

It would surely be much quicker, and cheaper to fly them to Sharm for now!!!!!!!!!!

Trev

Except that,if you believe First Choice,there are no rooms left in Sharm!!

Jules

First chance I've had today to check emails.

Result!!!!!!

I am so pleased you got it sorted. I really don't know what First Choice were thinking (or trying). They couldn't send you on a package with only one part of it available. It is rather worrying that one of the major tour ops will 'try it on' to that extent. Or maybe there was a lack of communication and understanding between them and the agent?
Doesn't really matter to you now though.

I am not sure- but it was First Choice who told me directly the room had gone but my flight was still booked and couldn't be cancelled!

Anyway F\C called the T/A after I escalated and started using breach of contract terms, and sorted it out and the refund is on it's way.

So all is well.

Jules

Jet2 suspends travel to Sharm el Sheikh and Hurghada

Jet2.com and Jet2holidays has suspended flights and holidays to Sharm el Sheikh and Hurghada from March 1.

The companies said the decision was due to the ongoing state of civil and political unrest in Egypt.

In a statement it added: "Whilst the Red Sea resorts are not currently affected, the safety and comfort of our customers is our number one priority, and as such we do not want them to face the stressful uncertainty of whether their holiday will go ahead as planned."

Jet2.com and Jet2holidays are contacting all affected passengers booked to travel to Egypt and said customers have said they are are relieved at the decision.

Customers will automatically receive a full refund for the cost of their flights or holiday, plus a discount off a new booking.

Jet2.com and Jet2holidays will replace the suspended Egypt programme with additional flights and holidays to Spain and Portugal adding 70,000 seats across a number of its bases.

With permission from Travelmole

Wouldn't be very happy now if I was due to travel with Jet2 in the next three weeks!!

Thomas Cook has reported that the civil unrest in Egypt and Tunisia is expected to cost them £20m. TUI reports the cost to them as £30m.

David

Mmm. I am always have mixed feeling about this kind of thing, from what I can tell most of the TO's are either insisting that people go, or if they are in time to do so rebooking them, mainly to Tenerife, Lanzarote etc and charging a booking fee to do so.

If that is the case I wonder how they lose so many millions each time ? I guess I am not a business person so dont understand the ins and outs of it. But I also thought that when FO advice changed and they had to repatriate people they were covered by Insurance and thats why they wont cancel Red Sea resort folk as the advice is still to travel, hence their insurances wont step in.

Perhaps they are talking about people who would have booked but now wont, surely they will just book somewhere else?

Perhaps they are spending the money on a few more call center staff, lets face it the Country needs the jobs !

As far as I can see Jet2 customers are lucky, at least they know where they stand and can plan alternative destinations.

According to Travel Republic customer services they still intend I should take my holiday in Luxor in less than 2 weeks time, against all FCO current advice, and totally uninsured.

Thomas Cook customer services, who are providing my flight, seem to have a crystal ball or a hotline to the Foreign Office because they said last night 'We have only cancelled flights until 16th February, your flight on 23rd February will be flying as normal according to the FCO'.

Travel Republic were not willing to negotiate with Thomas Cook on my behalf and ask for a change of destination, and told me I would also lose 100% of my accomodation money if I cancelled. The extent of their sympathy was to say that I was 'unlucky'.

Never again will Travel Republic, Thomas Cook, or MedHotels get a penny of my hard earned cash. They are forcing me to either lose £1,000+ if I cancel, or go to a destination plagued by unrest and uncertainty.

My suggestion to disappointed Jet2 customers is book with Thomas Cook airlines...they'll fly you into anywhere!

There is no FCO advisory out for Sharm etc. so most companies will continue flying. You should be fully insured unless the FCO change their advice, which will in turn make the airlines cancel flights. They won't go against the FCO advice.
The are only cancelling or letting people amend flights a short period in advance to monitor how things are going. The chances are your flight will get cancelled, but closer to departure date. They were right regarding your loss of accommodation as you haven't booked a package holiday.
I don't see this as being Travel Republic or Thos Cook fault. Thomsons are still flying as well as other airlines so not fair to slag TC off for this.

Sunaddict

clairepat63 is not going to Sharm she is going to Luxor, which I thought had the same FCO advice as Cairo ?

clairepat have you taken out 'independant travellers' insurance ? think it is called something like that. Its aimed at people who DIY or go on Dynamic Packages rather than holidays covered by the Package Tour Regulations.

Doe

Sunaddict it is Luxor NOT Sharm that Clairepat63 is going to and the FCO is advising against travel to that area.

I see you beat me to it Doe

@ Graham.

I am by no means well versed in Insurance matters, but I think I may have meant Supplier Failure Insurance ? I normally book staightforward package holidays not dynamic packages so an not au fait with exactly what these Insurances cover.

Perhaps that may have/will help people in these very difficult situations, who aren't covered by package tour regs ?

Might be best for clairepat to post/ask on the Insurance thread about it.

Doe