EUROMANX

Advice from the Isle of Man Office of Fair Trading

The Isle of Man Office of Fair Trading is offering the following advice to passengers affected by Euromanx cessation of trading on 9th May 2008.

Manchester/ Liverpool passengers

If your flight is to a destination served by Flybe (Manchester, Liverpool), call the rebooking number which is 0871 522 6157. Only passengers trying to fly in the next 10 days should call before 12th May. More information can be found at www.flybe.com

London City passengers

Flybe will offer seats to passengers booked to London City up to the end of May. The rebooking number is as for Manchester/Liverpool. It is hoped that VLM will be able to provide assistance after that date.

Belfast passengers

Manx2 will offer a free of charge transfer to the nearest available Manx2 Belfast flight to those who have bookings with Euromanx made before 9th May. Passengers must write in or send an email to Belfast@manx2.com including their booking details. The airline will offer passengers a free of charge transfer to the nearest available Manx2 flight. Further details can be found on Manx2 website www.manx2.com

In all cases these offers from the airlines are subject to the availability of seats. Passengers are advised to monitor updates on the airlines websites and in the media as the situation may change over the coming days.

Passengers who are no longer able to travel have the following rights:-

Direct Booking with the Airline

There is little protection where flights are bought directly from an airline. However, if passengers paid directly by credit card and the amount is more than £100 they might be protected by S.75 of the UK Consumer Credit Act 1974. Passengers should check with their card issuer for further advice.

Booking via a Travel Agent

If passengers booked the flights through a travel agent or tour operator, they should speak to the agent who may have airline failure insurance from which they can make a claim.

Travel Insurance

If passengers travel insurance policies cover journeys from the Isle of Man to the UK, they should check whether their policy provides protection for scheduled airline failure. Most policies will just cover the cost of the original tickets purchased and not the additional costs incurred in purchasing new flights.

If protection is in place it is important that passengers obtain and keep all relevant paperwork so that they can make a claim for a refund if necessary.

If passengers are not covered by the protection above then it may be useful to contact the liquidators in writing and register as a creditor of the company. However their position as an unsecured creditor means that they will be one of the last people to be paid out and may only receive a small proportion of the original cost of the tickets, if any payment is made at all.

Passengers should be aware that if they are able to rebook with another airline under the rescue arrangements they should not also try to reclaim money from their credit card provider.

Chairman of the Office of Fair Trading Quintin Gill commenting on Euromanx’s cessation of trading said “It is very worrying for both staff of the company and passengers. We appreciate that arrangements are being put in place to try and support passengers as far as is possible. If anyone requires any further information on their consumer rights they should contact the Office on 686500 or visit our website www.gov.im/oft”