Got a Flybe ticket and wondering if you can claim a refund? The short answer is yes, if you bought a ticket through an ATOL protected agent.
Although it’s still the case that your flight, hotel or the entire package may we refunded if you paid on a credit card, that is unlikely to help you if stranded overseas, require local medical treatment or a taxi to the airport. The CoronaVirus will hit the travel industry hard this Spring, but in the longer term everyone who acts as their own travel agent by shopping online for ther best deals, also needs to spend money on getting truly comprehensive travel insurance.
In a very tight market, where every holiday flight is effectively auctioned off online, it seems likely that we are entering a period of consolidation within the airline industry.
There will be fewer airlines by the end of the 2020s, even if there are more flights, but in the meantime, the collapse of Flybe is another salutary lesson to those who risk travelling without any insurance.
The official word from the Civil Aviation Authority is;
“Flybe has entered administration. All Flybe flights are cancelled. Please do not go to the airport as your Flybe flight will not be operating. For flights operated by franchise partners, passengers should make contact with their airline.”
Rory Boland, Which? Travel editor, said:”This will be terrible news to Flybe passengers, many of whom were loyal customers and used the airline regularly. Unlike Thomas Cook’s collapse, most people flying Flybe won’t have Atol protection so the government is unlikely to step in and repatriate those abroad or provide refunds.
Instead passengers with travel insurance should check if their policy includes scheduled operator failure cover. Alternately, those who booked tickets costing more than £100 with a credit card will be able to claim from their credit card provider. If the tickets were under £100 or booked with a debit card, passengers can try to use chargeback from their bank or card provider.”
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