Port Erin based travel agent Antony Guy, who runs his own home-based travel business as part of leading independent travel company Travel Counsellors, is celebrating after the company was confirmed as the first organisation in the UK to be recognised by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) as an accredited body for the Government new scheme to protect customer money further when booking their holidays.
The new Flight-Plus scheme has been introduced by the Government as part of the ATOL (Air Travel Organisers' Licensing) reform in order to provide clarity to customers and remove the risk of increasing financial detriment to consumers. Travel Counsellors, which has over 700 agents operating their own travel businesses from home throughout the UK and a further 400 plus overseas, has met all the criteria required which will mean that the company can provide ATOL cover for it Travel Counsellors, including Antony, under the new scheme which will come into effect on April 30th.
“Financial protection for the customer has always been paramount to us as a company so we are delighted to be the first to be recognised as an accredited body by the CAA,” comments Antony, “The problem many consumers face is that they are able to buy both package holidays, which have full financial protection under the CAA’s ATOL scheme, and holiday arrangements which are sold as separate components and which are not all ATOL protected, and in many instances they cannot tell the difference. Fortunately this has never been a problem when selling holidays to my customers, as Travel Counsellors launched its own customer Trust in 2004 in order to ensure that we could provide a full financial guarantee to our customers, which meant that we were best placed to meet all the requirements for full accreditation when the flight-plus scheme was introduced.”
Within its official statement the CAA thanked Travel Counsellors for their co-operation and commitment throughout discussions, and stated that they believe the company has set a great example of how organisations can prepare effectively for when the reforms come in.
Antony adds; “It’s so important that I am are able to assure my customers that everything they buy from me is financially protected because of our Trust, so this highlights my commitment to them and is extremely reassuring amongst all the confusion about what is and isn’t protected. I believe Flight-Plus is another step by the Government towards complete financial protection for the customer, and am so proud that Travel Counsellors is the first company to be accredited. However the initiative still leaves a vast amount of travel outside of its scope, and our Trust covers these components.”
Further to offering his customers this unparalleled level of financial protection, Antony can tailor-make trips to specifically suit his customers’ needs and is available at a time to suit them – meaning unlike high street agencies Antony can be contacted during the evenings and at weekends.
For more information or to discuss your future travel plans please contact Antony on 01624 833551 or e-mail antony.guy@travelcounsellors.com
