Budget travel

Nodin

draward wrote: »

:mad::mad:Budget travel is gone now what is wrong with this country:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

It's been ever diminishing returns for the last few years, and as of the end of 2008 or so, you could see the ass fall out of the market. 2009 as a season was a disaster for every tour operator, and the company that now own Budget obviously aren't waiting for things to pick up.

gav_69

Hey Guys have booked a holiday going out on the 26th Dec last week from budget travel. Was all done on credit card, did anybody hear of how you go about claiming back your money.

Thanks,
Gav.

Feeder

Does anyone know why vouchers aren't covered, surely they are as good as cash that was paid out on deposits.

I mean its not like I can use them elsewhere !"! :eek:

Also feel really bad for the lads who lost jobs today in the run up to xmas but I saved what small extra cash I had to get my vouchers as a present for my wife for our first family holiday :mad:

netwhizkid

Budget had a bad rep anyway for bad quality apartments in roughish areas, plus "Ballymun in the sun" was pretty much a term coined by respectable people who got landed into the sort of dives they dished out the proles at cut cost prices.

As for me, if it is in a Sun Holiday brochure then it can't be a good destination, most people who go on holidays have the money and Budget Travel would be the last crowd any half decent holidaymaker would fly with.

RxQueen

netwhizkid wrote: »

Budget had a bad rep anyway for bad quality apartments in roughish areas, plus "Ballymun in the sun" was pretty much a term coined by respectable people who got landed into the sort of dives they dished out the proles at cut cost prices.

As for me, if it is in a Sun Holiday brochure then it can't be a good destination, most people who go on holidays have the money and Budget Travel would be the last crowd any half decent holidaymaker would fly with.

you get what you pay for

im sick and tierd of people saying that about budget... okay we had some basic apts, we also had some lovely apts (which also frequent in the falcon brouchure).. absoluty sick of that being said the whole time..

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.... if you dont want to be pu in a basic apt, pay a little extra, you dont get 5 star quality accom for the prices that people expect to pay these days..

and for me and my shop, we never ever put anyone in a sub standard apt.. we always tried to sell them the best, if they wanted the substandard we made them fully aware of the area etc surrounding it, and i would believe that everyother budget travel was the same

meh anyways what does it matter now, say what you like..

j_nolan

j_nolan wrote: »

I rang Aer Lingus a minute ago to confirm that they were still valid--I assume they are since Aer Lingus charges up front and the print-outs are from their own website--but they couldn't tell me because of some bull**** security reason, i.e. I had booked through a licensed travel agent.

So I'm left wondering if the flights can still be used.

Anyone any ideas? I'm not worried about losing my money or anything. I just don't wanna turn up at the airport and be flightless.

P.S. My query seems pretty pointless in the face of people losing jobs

Firstly sorry for those who lost jobs in this.

To answer your question,Aerlingus is also bonded.
So you are double covered there.

Your flights should be fine.

If you have the pnr number they gave you then punch it into www.checkmytrip.com and your last name and the flight itinery should be there.

Benny_Cake

I know the Budget accommodation could be hit or miss - particularly if you chose to go to the post-leaving cert destination for the year (thats what Tripadvisor is for though). That said, for a last minute deal at the end of August or in September they were second to none. I would have thought that if anyone could have survived in the current climate it would be Budget. Really sorry for you and your colleagues Emo - I hope something comes your way.

Tippex

Deleted User wrote: »

Firstly sorry for those who lost jobs in this.

To answer your question,Aerlingus is also bonded.
So you are double covered there.

Your flights should be fine.

If you have the pnr number they gave you then punch it into www.checkmytrip.com and your last name and the flight itinery should be there.

That will only work if they were booked via amadeus.

If it was booked using the aer lingus site you could use the manage my booking facility (unless they use a screen scraper to make the booking which would mean you need the email adress used to make the booking)

Nodin

netwhizkid wrote: »

Budget had a bad rep anyway for bad quality apartments in roughish areas,

Let's see...a firm called "Budget Travel" sells cheap apartments (described in their brochure as "Basic") and people are suprised at arriving at basic cheap apartments.........

mikedragon32

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

Surely this is quite good news.

Consumers have realised that they can book cheaper better hotels, cheaper and more conveniently timed flights, organise their own airport transfers etc.

So the company who sent us to the hovel apartment blocks on flights departing and returning at 4 in the morning (times which meant you had to leave your apartment block 16 hours before your flight home), on horrible charter flights with mimimum leg room, whose travel reps gave zero support to the holidaymaker and often seemed to be on the side of the hotel owner - this company has gone busto?

I rejoice.

Nice.

Thankfully that doesn't seem to be the sentiment coming across in the thread.

For good or bad, Budget filled a niche in the market for those who might not otherwise have been able to get a holiday (or were too lazy to do some research). I know that it was BT who put the nail in the coffin for me with regard to taking package holidays but for every one like me there are dozens of folk who are perfectly happy with what they get from BT.

It's worth remembering too that Budget/Blueskies was initially a subsidiary of Aer Lingus and a lot of people would have retained loyalty to them for that very reason. I know the first sun holiday I went on was with them.

But, at the end of the day, a large number of people have now lost their jobs, not forgetting all those who worked in the branches that closed earlier in the year.

If the topic can't be handled with sensitivity, I will close the thread. And muppetry like that I've quoted will earn someone a ban.

@Emo, thanks a million for the advice you're giving on this thread, I'm sure those who need it will be very grateful.

aaronsbz

Hey

I booked with budget travel to go to new york on friday the 27th of november 2 days from now....

i booked it back in january and its full paid for i have the tickets and all.

were do i go from here i suppose my trip is cancelled yeah

by the time i found out they were closed and the phone number for the helpline was shut so can any1 help me out.

Nodin

aaronsbz wrote: »

Hey

I booked with budget travel to go to new york on friday the 27th of november 2 days from now....

i booked it back in january and its full paid for i have the tickets and all.

were do i go from here i suppose my trip is cancelled yeah

by the time i found out they were closed and the phone number for the helpline was shut so can any1 help me out.

It should be ok, as thats not a Budget Tourop package.

RxQueen

aaronsbz wrote: »

Hey

I booked with budget travel to go to new york on friday the 27th of november 2 days from now....

i booked it back in january and its full paid for i have the tickets and all.

were do i go from here i suppose my trip is cancelled yeah

by the time i found out they were closed and the phone number for the helpline was shut so can any1 help me out.

its not a budget travel package holiday , so your holiday is safe

Fratton Fred

Only used the company once, but sad to see them go. regardless of the lodd of jobs, which is never a good thing, the reduction in competition is not going to be good for the consumer.

I must say as well, we had an OK hotel, in an ok area in Gran canaria, going out on really crappy flights, but they were dirt cheap. For what we paid, i was quite impressed.

ArmaniJeanss

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

Surely this is quite good news.
Consumers have realised that they can book cheaper better hotels, cheaper and more conveniently timed flights, organise their own airport transfers etc.

So the company who sent us to the hovel apartment blocks on flights departing and returning at 4 in the morning (times which meant you had to leave your apartment block 16 hours before your flight home), on horrible charter flights with mimimum leg room, whose travel reps gave zero support to the holidaymaker and often seemed to be on the side of the hotel owner - this company has gone busto?

I rejoice.

emo!! wrote: »

Thank you for rejoicing that my job and jobs of people that i have worked closely with for the past few years are gone, and that we are now out in the cold without a proper redundancy package... thanks

emo!!, my holidays with Budget were between 1995 and 2002, so its quite possible that the company/staff/attitudes have changed in that time. Personally I had some dreadful experiences back then, blatant lies by staff both in Dublin and at the resorts etc. I also believe that their business model was archaic and illsuited to the internet age (e.g, a 'late booking fee' is the sort of thing that'll alienate customers) and its good that customers have seen that its not rocket science to 'do it themselves'.

Having said that my comments of 'rejoice' were definitely not at you or anyone else being made jobless, and I regret my choice of words.
I honestly would have phrased it differently if we have been on say the 'jobs' forum or a personal finances forum ; I was thinking in terms purely of the closures influence on 'rec and travel and holidays', and what it meant for the industry, ignoring the personal story.

I wish you the very best of luck getting a new job.

mikedragon32 wrote: »

Nice.
Muppetry like that I've quoted will earn someone a ban.

I think this is unfair but will PM the mod.

sold

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

The likes of Ryanair and online hotel booking has put these over the counter package holiday companies out of business.

Saved 800 euros on holiday last year to SAME destination SAME hotel as budget travel package. Pays big time to book flights and hotels yourself. However they did do great last minute deals, problem is with 3 kids and 2 working parents you have to organise in advance.

At the end its about competition and free market, if your offering does not have value for money then people go elsewhere. However I think the current issue is more related to recession, people as just not traveling at the moment.

Nodin

Aye, the 'Kiddies Club' was the main attraction for many people.

Bloody*Mary

Deleted User wrote: »

Firstly sorry for those who lost jobs in this.

To answer your question,Aerlingus is also bonded.
So you are double covered there.

Your flights should be fine.

If you have the pnr number they gave you then punch it into www.checkmytrip.com and your last name and the flight itinery should be there.

Aer Lingus aren't bonded. Airlines don't have to be. If for some reason Aer Lingus or any other airline went belly up you aren't covered and would loose your money unless your have schedule airline failure in your insurance. Should be pointed out to anyone to self packakes their own holidays on the internet.

On the voucher issue - the bond is in place to cover the repatriation of people abroad and to cover people who have travel arrangments in place. When applying for a bond, the amount you are covered for takes into account all travel. Vouchers aren't seen as 'licensable' so isn't covered. To be fair, vouchers aren't covered if any company goes into liquidation.

dee1dee2

my aunt has a holiday booked departing dublin to tenererife on dec 23rd it is a package holiday for 10 people 5 of which are children. she is so frustrated cant get through to anyone to tell her whats happening the holiday cost nearly 6,000e. these are not well off people it took a year 2 pay 4 and final installment was only paid 4 weeks ago. i really feel for the people who lost their jobs i know how that feels:( but i relly feel for this family it heart breaking to c children completely deflated:mad:

Davexirl

dee1dee2 wrote: »

my aunt has a holiday booked departing dublin to tenererife on dec 23rd it is a package holiday for 10 people 5 of which are children. she is so frustrated cant get through to anyone to tell her whats happening the holiday cost nearly 6,000e. these are not well off people it took a year 2 pay 4 and final installment was only paid 4 weeks ago. i really feel for the people who lost their jobs i know how that feels:( but i relly feel for this family it heart breaking to c children completely deflated:mad:

On the Aviation Regulator site,

Budget Travel has ceased trading with effect from 25 November 2009
(25 Nov 2009)

Budget Travel Ltd has ceased trading with effect from 25 November 2009. A helpline has been established at Budget Travel to deal with queries from customers. The number is 01-6613122.


Passengers are being devided into the following two groups:

* Those already abroad.
* Those that have not yet travelled.

Passengers abroad should stay in touch with their resort representative and check the Budget notice boards for updates. Return flights will operate as planned this weekend duly repatriating all passengers.

Customers of Budget Travel who have not yet travelled will not be able to do so. Passengers that have made bookings will be entitled to a refund from the bond. A claim form should be downloaded from this site. Refund claims will be prioritised by date of departure.

However, customers of Budget Travel should check their invoice; if this shows that their booking is through another tour operator, customers should contact that tour operator directly to find out if they will be able to travel.

Budget vouchers that have not been exchanged against overseas travel contracts are not refundable from the bond and persons are advised to either claim a charge back if paid by credit card or otherwise file a claim with the liquidator Mr Simon Coyle of Mazars at budgettravel@mazars.ie

Click here for claim form.

Updated 25/11/09 at 18.00

Bloody*Mary

dee1dee2 wrote: »

my aunt has a holiday booked departing dublin to tenererife on dec 23rd it is a package holiday for 10 people 5 of which are children. she is so frustrated cant get through to anyone to tell her whats happening the holiday cost nearly 6,000e. these are not well off people it took a year 2 pay 4 and final installment was only paid 4 weeks ago. i really feel for the people who lost their jobs i know how that feels:( but i relly feel for this family it heart breaking to c children completely deflated:mad:

Your Aunt's money will be safe. She will get her money back. If it's a Budget Travel operated package the holiday will no longer be operating but if she's booked with another operator such as Falcon, Thomas Cook etc through Budget her holiday will still be in place and it'll be a matter of someone else taking over the booking.

dee1dee2

dee1dee2 wrote: »

my aunt has a holiday booked departing dublin to tenererife on dec 23rd it is a package holiday for 10 people 5 of which are children. she is so frustrated cant get through to anyone to tell her whats happening the holiday cost nearly 6,000e. these are not well off people it took a year 2 pay 4 and final installment was only paid 4 weeks ago. i really feel for the people who lost their jobs i know how that feels:( but i relly feel for this family it heart breaking to c children completely deflated:mad:

she got through few mins ago and was told refund could be as late as may or june:eek:

vincenzo1975

people with big credit card bills will get caught out here in a big way.

If you made you holiday payments by credit card, you have to prove that the credit card was paid off in full before you can claim your money back.

personnally, I think this clause is unfair.

boggerboy

Here's what i found on the parent company website, Primera...
Surely if the parent company is doing well the poor unfortunates that lost their jobs could get an ok redundancy?
The closing down of Budget Travel in Ireland


November 25th 2009

To whom it may concern

As of today, Primera Travel Group has decided to wind down its business in Ireland, as due to the downturn in the Irish economy, it is not viable to continue operating Budget Travel with its current setup.
Primera regrets to announce closing down Budget Travel in Ireland, due to the Aviation Commission in Ireland refusing to extend its license to trade unless Primera would give full unlimited parent guarantee to all possible liabilities of Budget Travel. This effectively hinders Primera to restructure the business in Ireland. Primera will not sign any guarantees that might in the future possibly compromise the strong financial position of Primera Travel Group.
Aviation Comission holds 11.4 million EUR in security deposit towards the license. 4,5 million more than required. This amounts to 6 time’s current exposure of Budget Travel toward its bonds liability. It means that the company is being forced to close down despite having enough funds to cover all of its debt. It means at the same time the unnecessary loss of 170 jobs.
Primera has offered extended guarantees to the Aviation Commission, apart from the cash they are holding, including unlimited guarantee to any exposure to the aviation commission, relating to passenger protection. Primera has offered full financial support of Budget Travel, including all trade liabilities.
In order not to jeopardize Budget's Travel position towards its clients and to its suppliers, Primera has made the difficult decision to close down the company, in order to protect its customers and creditors. All clients of Budget Travel are protected and fully bonded, and all clients currently abroad are fully protected under the bond. Budget Travel will ensure that all passengers currently travelling with the company will not have any disruption to their current travel arrangements.
The closing down of Budget Travel does not in any way affect the operation of other companies owned by Primera. Fortunately all our other companies are profitable and successfully operating in their respective markets.

Sincerely,
Andri M. Ingolfsson
President and CEO
Primera Travel Group

amacachi

Loving the headline in the paper about people being stranded. :rolleyes:

I had a holiday with them a coupla years ago, flight out was early but plenty of legroom on the plane. To the apartment within an hour of getting off the place. Apartment was small and basic but clean which is all I wanted and about 10 minutes from the beach. Flight home was in the afternoon. Have to say I was planning on doing it again next summer money permitting.

Sorry to see them go, and sorry for the workers too.

dstar_ie

vincenzo1975 wrote: »

people with big credit card bills will get caught out here in a big way.

If you made you holiday payments by credit card, you have to prove that the credit card was paid off in full before you can claim your money back.



personnally, I think this clause is unfair.

i can confirm this it is stated in big bold letters. May/June is a extremely long time to have to wait for a refund. i thought i heard it would be a few weeks. Credit card charges will not be refunded either.

gravityisalie

i only booked with them 2 weeks ago , i did manage to make a booking with falcon this morning so at least my holiday isnt ruined (im leaving on sunday) what is/was the story with insurance? i travelled from clare to limerick to pick up my tickets ( local branch had already closed) didnt have my private travel insurance with me and they refused to give me my tickets , they gave in when i explained it wasnt a matter of dropping home and picking them up and there was no way i could get back to them that day and i would fone in with them, is this a way to try and force you to buy their insurance? falcon just said to make sure i had my details with me when i travelled

RATM

Feel sad for those who lost their jobs. However, Budget was offering a substandard product for a long time throughout the boom- stories of building sites next door to holiday apartments and massive cockroaches were not uncommom. They did bring cheap package holidays to the masses but eventually the masses got online and realised there was far better value elsewhere.

The fact Budget have collapsed is probably symbolic of the class of people this recession is truly affecting.

I guess its a progression, not for those who lost their jobs, but for the rest of us.

Nodin

boggerboy wrote: »

Here's what i found on the parent company website, Primera...
Surely if the parent company is doing well the poor unfortunates that lost their jobs could get an ok redundancy?

Nope, they'll get the statutory.

zagmund

Not directly Budget Travel related, but don't forget that it's not just travel agents that are going out of business - there have been a few airlines this year too, so those people (including me) that book directly are also at risk if the airline we book with goes to the wall.

There is no sure-fire way to make sure your holiday will go off smoothly these days as no matter which option you go for there is a chance of someone going out of business and leaving you in the lurch.

z