I expect that you're thinking that we are all as hard and unsympathetic as TC but I doubt that there's much you can do to avoid some financial loss on this - especially since the staff member made it quite clear that they wouldn't provide insurance cover for him given his situation. Booking a holiday or flight without having the insurance in place first is always a risk but in these circumstances it's downright foolhardy. The best way of minimising the loss might be to try and find someone else in the family or a friend who is willing to buy this flight off you in return for you paying the admin fee for the necessary name change. The size of this fee will depend on whether it is a TC flight and if not whether it's with a charter or scheduled airline but it's likely to be less than you'd pay for a complete cancellation

SM

How much do you think insurance will cost for somebody with cancer, start thinking thousands of pounds. A girl in the paper who has cancer was given a dream trip to disney florida her parents were quoted £20,000 by the only insurer which would cover her. If you had checked out the cost insurance before you booked I doubt if you would of gone ahead with the booking. I think losing £600 you are getting off light, just think of the cost of medical treatment abroad if you father was taken poorly. It would be a hell of a lot of cash and you would need to remortgage a property to cover the bill if you decided not to get cover for the cancer. Check everything out before you book.

i have experience of getting insurance for someone with cancer my son had been off treatment for 1 year when we booked our holiday abroad it cost £300 just for him (age 5 at the time) and that was 8 years ago and that was through a children cancer trust, i would think that it is much higher now and would always get insurance quote before booking holiday

Hi all, can someone confirm that you are able to check in the day/night before your flight is scheduled to leave? My friend just told me this and it would be ideal, as we have not pre-booked seats and intended to get up at the crack of dawn!!

I will of course call in the morning, but wondered if anyone could let me know?

Cheers in advance.

I think it depends where you are flying from? Denny

Help! I have a holiday booked with thomas cook and it departs more than 56 days away. I now want to change my holiday completely but stay with Thomas cook and book another one immediently. Problem is NOBODY at my travel agents know's how much it will cost me to do this. They had all day yesterday to find out, but not one of the staff could get through on the phone to ask the question to whoever it is that they need to ask!

Does anyone know here? The travel agent said it could be the full amount for each individual charge or it could be less as im rebooking another.

How many people do you think will pay to pre-book seats, 1%. We have never had any trouble sitting together and most airlines pre-allocate your seats before you reach the airport and give you the same seat numbers on your return. I wouldn't worry about getting there at the crack of dawn.

Have you looked to see if it says anything at the back of the Thomas Cook brochures. There should be a phone number or e mail address for their headquarters. Something similar happened to us a few years back and it cost us £15 per person to change the booking.

Do you really think it's as low as 1%? I have always prebooked my seats and especially now I have young children I wouldn't want to risk us not being seated together. I do it for peace of mind more than anything as I don't like flying and would hate to be seperated on the plane. I can't believe I'm in such a minority.

Maybe we should have a poll on how many people pre-book, I don't know anybody who does. Why should anybody pay £10 per/p to pre-book, £10 per booking. 4 of us travel and never pre book seats have always been seated together, where you are going to sit is often worked out before you even reach the airport.

I'm sure it is not only 1% who pre-book seats. I remember at a welcome meeting a couple of years ago, the rep was offering to prebook seats for the return journey, but when she checked, every single person there had already prebooked their seats. So that was 100% not 1%! I suspect people travelling with children will usually prebook seats to ensure they are not separated. (I remember one BA flight years ago, when they were quite happy to seat me miles away from my 8 year old autistic son!)

I'm sure its more than 1%, where are the figures to support that? The tour ops have frightened people into thinking they will be split up all over the plane if they dont fork out the 40 quid or whatever it is now. Especially important for those with kids or with elderly or infirm people, or even those who just want to get their holiday off to a good start.

I wouldn't waste my money on pre-booking seats, tour ops try and scare you into paying. I don't pay for pre-booked and have never ended up being split up. All yours money its upto you if you want to waste it.

So I wonder of it was you or a family like you, who didn't pre-book, didn't arrive early at check-in, created merry hell at being split up on the plane, got allocated the medical seats that me and my disabled parents were supposed to be sat in and then had the cheek to board the plane last just before their bags were off-loaded? OK, so the odds are it wasn't actually you but in my opinion, if you don't pay for pre-booking then you should be prepared to accept the risk of not being seated together. By all means take the gamble but remember it is a gamble and if you choose to take the risk, please don't expect others to be inconvenienced as a result.

In the situation I describe the three of us ended up being spread out over the plane, none of the seats we were given were close to toilets and my mother ended up in tears at the prospect of having to rely on calling a steward to fetch me every time she needed the loo - which is quite often as a result of her medical condition. The situation was saved by the kindness of a couple wh were sat nearby who offered to swap seats with us. So please, never exploit the fact that an airline will be reluctant to split up a family if you make a fuss - they can end up sitting you together but at the expense of others who have just as great a need to sit together as you do.

SM

can't think of a username wrote:

All yours money its upto you if you want to waste it.

I don't pay it either. But I am sure many people would not consider it a waste of money if they are on a four hour flight and wish to ensure they are sat with their children or an elderly relative that they wish to look after. It's the Tour Operators taking advantage of people in a vunerable position.

Sorry SMa posting at the same time.

can't think of a username wrote:

All yours money its upto you if you want to waste it.
.

No need to be offensive! We have explained why it is not a waste of money in our opinion. You are welcome to take the chance. If others do not wish to take this chance it is entirely up to them. People's circumstances are different. And I think we are

I pre book as I always pay for extra leg room seats We usually fly with the budget airlines as we do DIY holidays and it suits us to pre book if the facility to do so is there. I don't see it as a waste of my money it's worth it for us to have extra room. Each to their own.

I take it no one has actually done this then!? LOL.

We are a family of 5 travelling. I called whilst at work today, but was on hold for too long, then forgot to call when I got home, so I'm none the wiser LOL!

I'm travelling via Gatwick airport.

ETA: Doh, it's on their site! LOL - Seems I won't be able to do it as we're going in Feb.

Checking in - Gatwick

Customers travelling from Gatwick before midday, can check-in from 1600-2200 the day before departure.
All departures up to and including 12:00 midday the following day (excluding cruise passengers).

This applies for departures from Wednesday 19th March right through until Saturday 19th April inclusive.

All passengers must be present at check-in. This service will be situated in Zone E

BAA Gatwick official website