EXCEL PULLS OUT OF CARIBBEAN

[SimonRickwood]

As a Travel Agent and a Tobago fan I thought I would let you all know that as from November Excel is NO LONGER FLYING.

All existing bookings made will be refunded. This doen't help people I know (like me going on Excel One for Jazz) but you should re book on Virgin and BA as prices are going up by the minute as the word gets out

Excel Customer Services is sending out letters of explanation on Tuesday as weel as some that left last night


Simon Rickwood

Anders Travel Ltd 01273 207422

[Steve Wooler]

Hi Simon

What a shock! I take it from what you say that this isn't just Tobago - but ALL XL services?

[John Walker]

Is this confirmed?

[Steve Wooler]

Hi John

No - but I have just written to the M.D. of XL and hope to hear back - although I suspect that if it is true, perhaps I won't hear anything. Mind you, that will be confirmation in itself. All I can tell you at the moment is that their online system is not allowing me to book anything from December on. That seems to confirm that something is wrong.

[SimonRickwood]

Steve,

Excel is definately stopping all their services to the Caribbean. Letters offering refunds have already been sent to clients with the remainder going out on Tuesday.
A new aircraft had been muted..an Airbus however I expect that the current economic climate scuppered those plans.
I hope another low cost airline steps in with a direct service to Tobago. I have been travelling there annually for the past sixteen years and reckon there is a definate market for an alternative to BA and now Virgin...maybe Monarch ??

[Steve Wooler]

Thanks Simon

Yes, the XL online system is not offering any Caribbean or North American flights as of the end of this year. Looks like they are limiting services to their traditional European short-haul services.

Well, that's scuppered a lot of people's plans - including mine. As you say, there is surely a market for an alternative to BA/Virgin. Come back Monarch!!!!

[SandraK]

Oh Sh-t.! Last week changed our flight due to work commitments, paid in full . Am not a happy bunny. Steve, who would you recommend now ? So very cross as obviously while taking my money they knew it was a no go.

[John Walker]

Sorry Simon I wasn't questioning you, just wanted a second confirmation.

I guess we should be grateful, we're going in October, but that's not the point, I was already planning for February.

[AHStewart]

I have just booked World Traveller Plus flights instead of my Excell1 flights. Surprised that the price difference is less than £100.
Relief that we do not have to change again.
Sea Breeze & Alibaba here we come.

[Steve Wooler]

Hello Folks

I have just received official confirmation from XL.com confirming that they will stop flying to Tobago this winter due to the current high fuel price and the softening of demand with the UK economic situation.

This is very bad news for Tobago. We can only hope that things recover soon and some other charter option takes up the service.

[Susanne Thomsen]

Hello from Denmark.
I am new here, and i would like to you all, that I was very surprised, when i saw this, because i have Booked and payed for 13 tickets with XL to Tobago in November.
I wrote to them, and today i got an e. mail that they promessid me to pay back.

But right now i am a litlle bit confused, because we have booked from Denmark with Sterling to Gatwick, and then a Hotel from d. 18 of Nov. and the we schould have flyed next morning to <Tobago.

Can anyone tell me about who else is flying to Tobago from Gatwick????
Hope to hear from some off you. And thank you for this forum who told me about this problem, so that we could take care off this and find some outher way to go.
Hope every understand my bad English.
All the best Susanne Thomsen from Denmark

[Patrick Dankou]

Hi Susanne,
Virgin Atlantic and British Airways are flying from Gatwick as well, maybe you could fly with Condor from Frankfurt. There are efforts to get a replacement for XL, if I have any news I will post them here.

Regards
Patrick

[Susanne Thomsen]

Hi Patrick.

Thank you very much.

The problem is that we have already bought the tickets from denmark to Gatwick. And we have booked a Hotel in gatwick for one night and payed for it..
So i hope we can find all the tickets from gatwick to a good price.

regards Susanne

[Ronald]

Hi

I say that BA should be your first choise, they leave in the morning from Garwick and arrive in the afternoon to Tobago, but they go via Antigua both directions. At least it was so for me this summer.

Virgin Atlantic aslo use Gatwick, but a Swedish friend of my who tried to buy a ticket last winter was told that he had to have a bank card connected to an English bank account. He was going to Barbados together with an english family so they bought his ticket and he payed them!

KLM has some flights to South America with connections back to Trinidad & Tobago, but I believe they all leave from Amsterdam. Don´t knwo if there´s a KLM-connection between Gatwick and Amsterdam.

//Ronald

[Paul Tallet]

Oh poops ... that's me scuppered for the New Year.

Best let my good host know. I wonder what effect this could have on Tobago businesses?

I await news ... is there a saviour out there?

Regards

[SandraK]

I feel this will be a terrible blow for Tobago, as we all know although not a mega tourist destination it is obvious the local population rely on tourism. While getting there for an acceptable price dollars / sterling keep on rolling in. Should it become prohibitive in terms of cost or time then people will look elsewhere.

[Sue Wright]

Oh no! We've booked and paid for our flights in February, booked accommodation at the Toucan Inn and paid the deposit and got the time off from work. This is terrible. I think it must be all the Caribbean because one of the girls I work with was told that her St Lucia flights with XL in November have been cancelled and she was going frantic because she is actually getting married out there.

Don't know if we will be able to get comparable flights dates-wise from BA or Virgin, or even if we will be able to afford their prices. This is really bad news for Tobago and those of us who love going there.

[Paul Williams]

We had our flights for late January booked and we have now had to book flights with Virgin as an alternative and it is costing us nearly £130 more each but it is such an important holiday for our friend that we consider it a small price to pay although it will mean a lot fewer Caribs for us.
Hope all of you can get sorted as Tobago will need us even more now.
Paul

[Lisa Keith]

Hi all,

Yes, XL are stopping quite a few of their long haul flights (don't know whether it's all, or just several), but it's not exclusively Tobago that's being dropped. Here's hoping someone else steps in...

Lisa.

[Sue Wright]

It's going to cost us an additional £250 each with BA - more with Virgin. We'll still be going but it will definitely be a lot less Caribs and eating out and a lot more Pizza Boys on the beach!