ATOL replacement Charge - All or Nothing

The Battle in the UK has raged for some time over the issue of when is a package not a package. it relates to the charges for ATOL protection administered by a legal quango called the CAA who also happens to be the Aviation Regulatory body for the United Kingdom.

With the recent win (now being appealed) by Travel Republic that effectively put a ring fence around dynamic packaging and enabled such dynamic products to be exempt the charge - the formal authorities are faced with a dilemma. What to do about customer protection and how to pay for it?

This seems logical enough. If the UK insists on having a scheme that protects consumers then surely it should implement a straight forward one size fits all protection scheme. Either flat fee or some scale based on the value of the product purchased.

Not so fast. The UK government already did that - its called the APD - the air passenger duty. A somewhat sneaky and clearly unpopular aviation head tax.

As the UK is an island and it is almost impossible to get from the country to another without some form of public transportation (although many have tried!) a comprehensive solution would seem to be the best way forward.

The UK Government will have to come clean and make it a once size fits all - recognizing the vast differences in pricing of the products. And that the APD issues need to be resolved. or they should pull both and put a commercial operation in place to replace ATOL.

There is going to be some head scratching in Whitehall

Cheers

UK To Up APD Levy

Rather than abolishing the APD levy the UK is raising it to GBP3.00 per pax. In the big picture scheme of things this is not going to cause holiday makers to change their behavior. However something needs to be done about the whole process of the a guarantee. Whether this is a head tax or a percentage tax will challenge even the best mathematician.

However I believe that the APD itself is flawed and a more generalist approach should be considered. Finding a solution to the LCCs products and including them along with accommodation only providers will be a challenge.

In the end - perhaps we should just accept that it is caveat emptor.

Cheers