Booking Conditions
Booking Conditions & Travel InformationThe following booking conditions form the basis of your contract with All Ways Pacific Travel. We suggest that you read these carefully as they set out your rights and obligations.
All Ways Pacific Travel is a division of The Compleat Traveller Ltd which is licensed by the Civil Aviation Authority (ATOL 3485) to operate inclusive tour holidays. ATOL protects the customer from losing money or being stranded abroad. It does so by carrying out checks on the tour operators and travel organisers it licenses, and requiring them to take part in a financial guarantee scheme managed by the Air Travel Trust (ATT) which provides the funds to protect customers should a firm fail. The company is also a member of the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA V3991), International Air Transport Association (IATA 91 2 6691 0), the Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITO) and the Pacific & Asia Travel Association (PATA).
1. Your Financial Protection. When you buy an ATOL protected holiday package from us you will receive a Confirmation Invoice from us confirming your arrangements and your protection under our Air Traffic Organisers Licence number 3485. 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. Your Holiday Booking. Prior to completing your booking form please contact our office to ascertain that the chosen tour and additional requirements are available. Our staff are always happy to offer advice and help in choosing your holiday or tour and the suitability of certain destinations but please be aware that this is only an opinion. Further information should be sought from the relative tourist boards, libraries or the internet. Advice for disabled and less mobile passengers can be found at www.abta.com/consumer-services/accessible_travel. To confirm a booking the party leader (the person to whom all correspondence should be sent) must complete and sign the enclosed booking form and forward to our office along with the payments referred to in clause 2. By signing the booking form the party leader confirms that he / she is over 18 years of age and is authorised to act on behalf of all other persons listed on the booking form. Many airlines now require the full names (as they appear in the passport) of all passengers travelling and you will be asked to provide this information.
3. Payment of Deposit. Confirmation of your booking (in the form of an invoice), if requested services are available, will follow receipt by us of your deposit of £200 per person. In certain cases additional deposit and even full payments may be due and you will be notified in these incidents. This can apply to some specific airfares, special accommodation, cruise options etc and are non refundable in the event of cancellation. No contract shall exist between the Company and you until the confirmation of booking has been received by you.
4. Payment of Balance of Holiday Costs. Provided there are no changes to your holiday costs the confirmation invoice stands as a final invoice and must be paid on or before 70 days (10 weeks) prior to departure. Should it be necessary to make any changes then another invoice will be sent to you not less than 10 weeks prior to departure, otherwise your initial invoice stands as your final invoice. Balances paid by credit card are subject to a 2% surcharge. Should the balance not be paid by the due date then your booking may be cancelled without further notice and cancellation charges levied. On certain occasions flight prices are subject to tickets being printed at a specific number of days before departure. If this is within the period of the balance due date (10 weeks prior to departure) you will not necessarily be informed of this and tickets will not be printed until cleared funds appear in our bank account. Should the ticketing deadline be missed due to the balance not being paid by the due date you will be held responsible for any fees or charges relating to late ticketing. To take advantage of a special flight offer, ticketing may be required within a certain period after making the reservation and you will be informed of this on such occasions. The balance due date is shown on your invoice and no reminders will be sent.
5. Your Holiday Price.
a) Escorted Tours. Prices for All Ways Pacific Escorted Tours in this website are based on exchange rates applicable on 27th November 2009. These are: £1 = 1.55 US Dollars, £1 = 2.25 New Zealand Dollars, £1 = 1.80 Australian Dollars, £1 = 2.20 Singapore Dollars, £1 = 12.50 Hong Kong Dollars, £1 = 60 Thai Baht, £1 = 3.00 Fijian Dollars, £1 = 1.10 Euros. We reserve the right to change any of the prices from time to time. Prices can go up or down. At the time of your booking the cost of your holiday will be confirmed. Once you have received confirmation from us of your booking the basic holiday cost is fully guaranteed. The basic cost is the actual tour price for the applicable departure date chosen and any single room supplement. This guarantee does not cover any other element of your chosen tour: i.e. flight upgrades, flight variations due to itinerary changes, stopover options, additional nights or any other arrangement that is not included in the basic holiday cost. Airlines may also impose additional airport charges, fuel surcharges, foreign taxes or local taxes at any time which we will pass on to you. Provided the final invoice is paid within the time specified (see Clause 4) no further cost increases will be passed on to you.
b) Independent Touring. The "from" prices for all Tailor Made packages including accommodation, car hire etc are fluid prices and the current exchange rate is reflected in the price.When requesting a quotation from us we will quote a price that reflects the exchange rate at that time.The cost of your holiday may be surcharged for a decrease in the value of the pound sterling against other currencies, aircraft fuel, airport charges or taxes, increase in schedule airfares and governmental action. The company reserves the right up to 10 weeks before departure to increase the price of any holiday (or elements of a holiday) to take account of any increase in the above costs. Even in this case the company will absorb an amount equivalent to 2% of the holiday cost (or appropriate elents of the holiday cost). Only amounts in excess of 2% will be surcharged and there will be an an administration charge of £1. If surcharges amount to more than 10% of your total holiday price you may cancel your holiday without penalty and all monies paid will be refunded. Should the price of your holiday go down due to the changes mentioned above, by more than 2% of your holiday cost, then any refund due will be paid to you. However, please note that travel arrangements are not always purchased in local currency and some apparent changes have no impact of the price of your travel due to contractual and other protection in place. Provided the final invoice is paid within the time specified (see clause 4) no further cost increases will be passed onto you. You can, at any time, pay the final balance of your holiday to reduce the risk of future surcharges or supplements.
Errors can occur during the booking process and we ask you to check all invoices for their accuracy. An overcharge or undercharge can occur at any time and we reserve the right to correct such mistakes at any time. In obvious cases this will also apply after the final balance has been paid. Flight prices are based on specially contracted airfares with each appropriate airline and subject to a specific booking class being available. At the time of booking, if this specific booking class is not available we may be able to secure seats in an alternative class but at an applicable supplement. Should this be the case you will be advised of any supplement at the time of booking.
6. Amendment by you. Should you wish to make any changes to your confirmed holiday you must notify us in writing as soon as you can. An amendment fee of £25 per person / per change together with any communication charges or cost imposed by our suppliers will be charged. On certain occasions, and at our discretion, minor amendments can be made without charge prior to the balance due date.
7. Cancellation by you. All cancellations by the client must be confirmed in writing by personal or recorded delivery or registered letter, or by fax or email. A verbal message is insufficient; the cancellation is not effected until such confirmation is received by the Company. The following cancellation charges will apply:
More than 70 days loss of deposit(s); 31 - 70 days 50% of total holiday cost; 15 - 30 days 95% of total holiday cost; 1 - 14 days 100% of total holiday cost.
We would strongly recommend that you take out full insurance which in most cases will cover loss of deposit or cancellation fees. If you have taken advantage of a special airline fare where you have paid in full for your flight ticket, the cancellation charge payable by you will be higher than the normal deposit or the appropriate cancellation charge detailed above.
8. Variation of your holiday by the Company. Due to circumstances beyond our control it may become necessary to alter the arrangements you have booked. Should this happen, you will be notified immediately and an alternative of the same or higher standard will be offered. You have the choice of accepting the changed arrangements, purchasing another holiday or cancelling in which case we will offer you a full refund of all monies paid, except insurance premiums.
It is unlikely we will have to make any changes to your holiday, but we do plan the arrangements many months in advance. Occasionally changes may be made and we reserve the right to do so at any time. Most of these changes are minor and we will advise you at the earliest possible date. Flight timings and carriers in the brochure are subject to change as a result of airline procedures.
If a major change becomes necessary, we will inform you as soon as reasonably possible if there is time before departing. When a major change occurs, provided it does not arise from circumstances beyond our control (see below), you will have the choice of either accepting the change of arrangements or purchasing another available holiday. In all cases we will pay compensation per person as detailed below:
Period before departure within which a major change is notified to you More than 42 days Nil; 29 - 42 days £20; 15 - 28 days £30; 0 - 14 days £50
Changes due to circumstances beyond our control: We will not be liable to pay any compensation if we are forced to cancel or in any way change part or all of your holiday as a result of unusual or unforeseen circumstances outside our control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even with all due care. These include unavoidable technical problems with transport, changes imposed by rescheduling or cancelling of flights by an airline, the alteration of the airline or aircraft type, war or threat of war, civil strife, industrial dispute, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, bad weather, epidemic or terrorist activity.
Group tours will always be subject to minimum numbers (these will vary depending on the specific tour chosen). Should it be necessary to cancel a tour, we will endeavour to inform you 3 months prior to departure.
9. Unused Services. No refund for unused ground content will be made for any reason. If you make any alteration of any portion of the holiday, such alteration will be at your own expense. Refunds are not available for services provided in the holiday price but not utilised by you. The one exception is open accommodation vouchers but a fee of £25 applies.
10. Your Holiday Contract. The Company accepts responsibility should the services it is contractually obliged to provide be deficient or not of reasonable standard, whether it provides the same itself or does so through its agents or suppliers, but it is not liable for death, bodily injury or illness caused to the client or any of his party, except as provided under condition 10 below. Liability in respect of carriage by air or sea is governed by International Law and the liability of the specific carriers.
11. Liability. The Company accepts responsibility for the negligent acts and/omissions of its own employees or agents (but not air or sea carriers performing any domestic, internal or international carriage of any kind) in respect of claims arising as a result of death, bodily injury or illness caused to the signatory to the contract and/or any of the other persons named on the booking form. Claims under this condition, however, are subject to English Law in respect of any questions of liability or quantum and all proceedings shall be within the exclusive domain of the English Courts.
12. Your Participation. The Company will not accept responsibility or liability for any client who contravenes any law or regulation of any country visited. Clients detained as a result of infringement of any law or regulation may be excluded from the tour, without any right to refund or any other claim, by the appointed Tour Manager. We reserve the right to refuse to accept you as a customer or to continue to deal with you if your behaviour is disruptive or affects other travellers or is threatening or abusive towards our staff, agents or tour personnel. In exceptional circumstances we reserve the right to terminate your participation in any tour or tailor made travel arrangement if your behaviour is likely to cause danger, upset or distress to any other participant, staff or third party or damage to property. In these circumstances you will be asked to leave any accommodation or service immediately and we will have no further responsibility towards you including any future accommodation or return travel arrangements including onward flights.
13. Responsibility for Brochure. This brochure is issued on the sole responsibility of the Company. It is not issued on behalf of and does not commit the airline mentioned herein or any airline whose services are used in the course of the holiday. Such airline's own conditions of carriage will apply in all cases where its services are used.
14. Representative's Authority: No servant or representative of the Company has any right to alter, vary or waive any of these conditions or to undertake any liability whatsoever on behalf of the Company unless such be in writing and signed by a duly authorised person.
15. Insurance. All clients are required to take out adequate insurance cover against medical and personal accident risks. We offer the services of Travel & General Insurance Company plc (See Additional Services/Insurance). If you decide not to purchase this insurance, you must give us details, in writing, of your alternative policy (insurer and policy number). Please read you policy details carefully to ensure you are adequately covered, especially for cancellation cover, and that the policy meets all of your requirements.
16. Personal Injury. Any client who through misadventure suffers illness, personal injury or death during the period of their holiday arising out of any activity which does not form part of the foreign inclusive holiday arrangement or an excursion offered through the tour operator shall be afforded every assistance in the form of advice, guidance and initial financial assistance where appropriate up to a limit of £5,000 per booking form. If this is covered by any form of insurance policy then a claim should be made on this policy in the first instance.
17. Complaints & Problems. Should you have any reason to complain or should you experience any problems with your holiday you should in the first instance inform our representative or supplier concerned. Most problems are resolved quickly but should you remain dissatisfied you must write to us within 28 days of returning to the UK. Any dispute arising out of or in connection with this contract which cannot be amicably settled, may (if the customer so wishes) be referred to arbitration under the special scheme which, though devised by the Association of British Travel Agents, is administered quite independently by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. This scheme (details of which will be supplied upon request) provides for a simple and inexpensive method of arbitration on documents alone with restricted liability on the customer in respect of costs. The scheme does not apply to claims for an amount greater than £5,000 per person or £25,000 per booking form or to claims which are solely or mainly in respect of physical injury or illness or the consequences of such injury, although claims which include an element of minor injury or illness can be considered subject to a limit of £1,000 on the amount the arbitrator can award per person, in respect of this element. The application for arbitration and Statement of Claim must be received by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators within 9 months of the return date of the holiday. Outside this time the scheme may still be available if the company agrees, but the ABTA code does not require such agreement.
18. Flights. The flight numbers and times on your confirmation are for the purpose of guidance only and are subject to change. The latest times will be shown on your tickets when dispatched 10 days prior to travel - please check these carefully to ensure you are conversant with the times. It is no longer necessary to reconfirm your flights as you travel but it is prudent to check departure times as they can change after your tickets have been printed. We strongly recommend (particularly if flying in economy class) that you check in early if you have particular seat requests. We are able, in some cases and on some airlines, to pre-book flight seats in economy but these are not guaranteed and only a certain percentage are available for pre-booking - the rest are available to book on departure.
E-Tickets: You will find that all of your tickets are in the new E-Ticket format. This is where you do not have a paper ticket but just a confirmation of what is booked - at the check in all you need do is present you passport as all of your information is stored electronically.
19. Travel Delay. In the event of a delay on your touring itinerary, your Tour Manager will keep you informed and All Ways Pacific Travel will ensure that any inconvenience is kept to an absolute minimum. Should you incur a delay to your domestic or international flights, we will do all possible to assist in the communication of information provided by the airline and in liaison with the airline over welfare and provision. However, the actual welfare or provision provided will be determined by the airline concerned.
20. Security Abroad. We take the safety and security of our clients extremely seriously. If the Foreign Office advises that people should not visit a certain country or region, then we would act on this and reserve the right to cancel any part of your itinerary that visited this country or region. To make the planning of your visit abroad as trouble free as possible we recommend that you check the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) website before you book. Site address: www.fco.gov.uk/knowbeforeyougo.
21. The Proper Law of this contract is English Law.
Data Protection Statement Please be assured that we have measures in place to protect the personal booking information held by us. This information will be passed on to the principal and to the relevant suppliers of your travel arrangements. The information may also be provided to public authorities such as customs or immigration if required by them, or as required by law. Certain information may also be passed on to security or credit checking companies.
If you travel outside the European Economic Area, controls on data protection may not be as strong as the legal requirements in this country. We will only pass your information on to persons responsible for your travel arrangements. This applies to any sensitive information that you give to us such as details of any disabilities, or dietary/religious requirements. (If we cannot pass this information to the relevant suppliers, whether in the EEA or not, we will be unable to provide your booking. In making this booking, you consent to this information being passed on to the relevant persons.) Full details of our data protection policy are available upon request.
