This is mainly what I'm trying to do, get JY to make it clear about connecting flights not forming part of your holiday 'package'. I wish JY were responsible for rebooking tickets and claiming on their insurance, it would make things go much smoother, and you would feel less stressed if you knew they were taking care of everything, which is why a lot of people book through JY.

I don't entirely agree with Bob as a lot of people don't actually have a credit card and some may not take them or debit cards abroad for fear of them being stolen. Fortunately I was at Heathrow so my card worked no problem, although I had told my bank, but I've heard of a few cases of that still not ensuring you could use your card on abroad.

I'd just like JY to make sure travellers are made aware of this so they can make sure they're fully prepared.

Regards

Caroline

That's a fair point - but I think that banks have improved their reciprocal arrangements over the last few years so hopefully that won't be a problem in the future - my bank has advised me that my debit card should be able to be used anywhere in the world with a standard ATM machine, I hope they're right!  And of course, I still advise them when I travel abroad for both my debit and credit card, even when they say it's not necessary.  Better safe than sorry.  Perhaps some may not feel comfortable doing this, but I also usually have a good amount of cash with me and only occasionally have to use either of my cards.

All the best,

Bob

I've followed this thread (and the other linked ones) with great interest !

Say I buy a new car (maybe a Ford), and add some extras to the basic model; then something goes wrong with one of the things I've added (say because of a fault with the main car damaging the add on). I would be very surprised for Ford to say it's not their responsibility to put it right, and to tell me to pay myself and claim it from insurance.

Anyway, it seems that if I buy connecting flights from JY as part of a holiday, and as a result of the main flight being delayed/cancelled, JY would (or might, given what has clearly happened) rebook the connecting flight, but I would have to pay the difference between the initial cost to JY (not the higher price I paid to JY!) and the new full price of the flight - in this case I can claim this money from my travel insurance (eventually).

As far as I'm aware most (if not all) travel insurance has an policy excess (usually £100), so will I get that back, or will I have to pay that through no fault of my own. Maybe JY can confirm what the situation is.

Stuart

Reading this thread I think you are making some important points, and I am relieved that I live near London and don't have to take a connecting flight.  I do agree that the point of booking it via JY, would be the assumption/expectation that this formed part of your package and that JY should sort it out/pay/claim on their insurance if there was a problem.  If this is not the case, I think JY should make it a whole lot clearer.

Strongly agree with your points re inexperienced travellers - part of the reason they book with JY is to give them confidence that there is someone there if things go wrong.  I saw much anxiety had been caused to some fellow JY travellers myself on a trip where a connecting flight was missed and the TM was not yet with us (waiting at the final destination ... sort of) and the more experienced had to get stroppy with the Delta flight desk.

On the point re debit and credit cards and having cash available, I only partly agree with Bob.  I would expect all of us to have some cards with us but when you're abroad, despite notifying banks etc in advance they don't always work.  It could be very worrying to be stuck in an overseas airport and your cards don't work.  I do remember last year being in an outlet mall in Nashville with other JY travellers;  a fellow traveller and I were trying to take advantage of a deal and 2 of my cards (banks etc notified) didn't work, was digging out the third to see if that would take, when my new JY friend's second card did work and we went with that and settled up between us later.

Regards

Katy

Every time I think I have understood this situation another post appears and I get confused again!  As I said on the other thread, my understanding is that if JY book the connecting flights and there is a delay/cancellation which results in the need for a new connecting flight, JY can re-book for us and if they are not charged by the airline (as may/may not be the case) then there is no charge for us; however if JY are charged, then they will pass this on to us and we can claim back on our insurance.  I did not realise this until this whole debate began, as I thought JY would cover it all and claim through their insurance if they incurred any costs.

My situation in Zagreb had nothing to do with connecting flights - it was the second flight as part of the package that we missed, so JY sorted everything out.  It appears that the connecting flights, when booked by JY, do not form part of that package - when I received an ATOL cert a while back for a tour and the connecting flights were not on it, I queried this with JY and they said this was because they were not part of the tour package although they would help me in case of any difficulty etc. etc. 

Apart from my first tour, when I booked the connecting flights myself (and ended up in difficulty as a result), I have not had any difficulty getting them when they have been booked by JY - there has either been an overnight stay involved or four/five hours between the two flights so I've had plenty of time to make my connection even if there has been a delay.  Fingers crossed for the future!  Finally, I take your points on board regarding inexperienced travellers but I would have to say that anyone who goes abroad without a debit and/or credit card is being very foolish indeed as who knows what unexpected events may occur, such as a visit to a doctor, hospital etc. and we would certainly need a card in those (hopefully unlikely) situations.

All the best,

Bob

It's not the extra money I'm bothered about, but more the issue that one of us had booked their own connecting flights, and the other had booked them through JY, and the outcome for both of us was the same, i.e. we both had to fork out for new flight tickets. My point being JY should have arranged for new flight tickets when the connecting flights were booked with JY.

I'm more concerned about this happening to someone who isn't used to travelling, and/or does not have or carry any credit card or extra cash. What would have happened then?

JY normally charge 'from' £169 for connecting flights between Newcastle and Heathrow return, whereas I can get them for about £109, and I wouldn't mind paying the extra £60 each time if I knew I was fully covered. But in this case I wouldn't have been anyway.

Since I book my own connecting flights I can't remember, but surely if JY fully covered all flights, then the ATOL certificate issued by them would state, for example, covers flights between Newcastle and Croatia, via Heathrow, or the equivalent? Otherwise JY are only responsible for getting you to the UK (say Heathrow or Gatwick) if anything happened, as far as I'm aware? I just think more clarification is needed around this whole issue really.

Regards

Caroline

Thanks Anitalaughs for bringing this up as I too thought getting my connecting flights through JY would cover me if my main flights were delayed.

Now I know I'm effectively 'on my own' if my flights were to be delayed, I'll be booking my connecting flights myself from now on. I've not been too bad up to now in that I paid £149 for my flights from Newcastle to Heathrow and back and I could have got them £6 cheaper booking them myself, but since Easyjet have recently begun flying to Gatwick I'll definately save quite a bit booking flights there and back in future.

Hi Magpie,

I know how you feel, although £6 is not very much.  I got a £139 return flight supplement down to just over £80 with a combination of booking my own flights (£30 saved) and using Avios.  I have never yet, touch wood, had any problems.

Sylvia

Many thanks for finding this thread for us - I have already put up another post on the other thread (which hasn't appeared yet) asking for further clarification, as the explanations so far have been quite confusing!  This does explain things clearly, but taken with the posts on the other thread, it appears that JY might be able to switch us to another flight without extra cost in some circumstances, but if they have to pay extra then we would be liable for this and have to claim back through insurance.  Think I've got that right!!

On reflection, I still think it is better for JY to book the connecting flights - on my very first JY holiday I booked them myself and to my horror I discovered that when my final docs arrived, the flight to the destination had been changed and I had to book a new connecting flight and accommodation myself at short notice and obviously at greater expense.  If JY had booked the connecting flights for me, then they would have found the new ones for me (thereby saving me a lot of hassle and possibly expense as well).  Also either on the outbound or inbound journeys if there is a delay/cancellation, the last thing I want is to be frantically trying to find customer service desks at an airport and having to try to work out the best thing to do.  Better that JY have to sort this out and just let me know the outcome!  If the problem is on the way out, JY would, I am sure, contact the TM to let them know that I had been delayed and arrange for me to be collected on arrival, rather than being left in limbo and not knowing what was going on.  Also, I think it would be difficult to check luggage through to the final destination if I book the connecting flights myself.  So for peace of mind and a lot less hassle, if not for monetary reasons, I think it is better for JY to book the connecting flights. 

All the best,

Bob

I'm resurrecting this thread for your information as I think Julia provides the answer you require.

Regards

Caroline

Now I know I'm effectively 'on my own' if my flights were to be delayed, I'll be booking my connecting flights myself from now on. I've not been too bad up to now in that I paid £149 for my flights from Newcastle to Heathrow and back and I could have got them £6 cheaper booking them myself, but since Easyjet have recently begun flying to Gatwick I'll definately save quite a bit booking flights there and back in future.