Travel cover against airline failures available soon

Later this coming week, travel cover will be offered in the UK that protects the holidays of the travelling public again airline collapse.

International Passenger Protection, an insurance company that provides protection for its policyholders against travel company failure, will start offering cover available from its website, starting at rates as low as £5 for 30 days.

If a traveller’s airline goes into administration before the holiday begins, or if the failure occurs during the policyholder’s holiday, the cost of replacement flights will be covered.

When trans-Atlantic carrier Zoom grounded its planes recently, 40,000 passengers were stranded with few options to help them find alternatives. The founders of Zoom, John and Hugh Boyle, commented that most of the passengers should be eligible for compensation from travel agents or credit card companies. Many of the passengers had not purchased their holidays through travel agents, however, and so were not covered. Additionally, only around 10 per cent of those involved carried the type of insurance that covered this eventuality.

Some credit card companies offer protection, but it is often limited in amount, and many additional costs, including fares for replacement flights, hotel rooms and car rental, are not covered.

Two dozen airlines have failed so far this year, and it’s not likely that Zoom will be the last one. The founders of Zoom have said that high jet fuel costs and the overall economic slowdown led to their airline’s failure and cite these conditions as factors that impact most all airline companies.