XL Holidays is a trading name of The Really Great Holiday Company PLC

Please read carefully as these booking conditions form the basis of the contract between us.

1.The contract

Your contract is with The Really Great Holiday Company Plc. whose registered office is Mitre Court, Fleming Way, Crawley, West Sussex RH10 9NJ. The Really Great Holiday Company Plc is a member of the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA No.V7600) and holds Air Tours Organisers Licence 3827 issued by The Civil Aviation Authority for which it is fully bonded for your financial protection. This contract will be subject to English Law and the jurisdiction of the English Courts.

2.Your Financial Protection

When you buy an ATOl protected air package or flight from us you will receive a confirmation invoice from us confirming your arrangements and your protection under our Air Tour Organisers Licence number 3827 . In the unlikely event of our insolvency the CAA will ensure that you are not stranded abroad and will arrange to refund any money you have paid to us for an advance booking. For further information visit the ATOL website at www.atol.org.uk

3.Booking

Your booking with us becomes effective when you have paid us or your travel agent the required deposit and any applicable insurance premiums and booking fees and we have issued your confirmation invoice. Please check your confirmation invoice carefully when you receive it and advise us if you think anything is wrong since this confirmation invoice details what we have agreed to provide. Please note: The person making the booking must be at least 18 years of age at the time of making the booking and as the lead name on the booking it will be assumed that the lead name has accepted these booking conditions on behalf of all passengers included in the confirmation invoice.

4.Passports and visas

It is your personal responsibility to ensure that you have a valid passport and any necessary visa for your chosen destination and that you comply with immigration requirements. You should confirm these with the relevant Embassy or Consulate as we will not accept liability for any additional costs arising from your failure to meet with these requirements. With your confirmation invoice you will be sent a copy of our Passport and Visa leaflet detailing current general requirements. If you do not receive this leaflet then contact Customer Services for a copy.

5.Payment

A minimum deposit of £50 (£130 long haul) per passenger plus any applicable insurance premiums and booking fees must be paid at the time of booking. Please note a deposit is payable in respect of children taking advantage of a free child place which is credited against your holiday balance. If you book through a travel agent then all monies you pay to your travel agent are held on our behalf at all times. Under certain circumstances a larger deposit may be required which will be advised to you at the time of booking. These circumstances include, but are not limited to, holidays which include a cruise arrangement or flights on charter or scheduled airlines where the applicable fare or cabin upgrade requires an additional deposit. At certain times of year we may offer a part deposit facility when only a part deposit is paid at the time of booking with the balance of the minimum deposit payable at a later advised date. Please note however that as advised in section 7 cancellation by you more than 56 days before departure will incur a cancellation charge of £50 (£130 long haul) per passenger plus any additional deposit paid above the minimum deposit required. The balance payment due must be received by us at least 8 weeks before your date of departure. If you make a booking less than 8 weeks before the departure date then full payment of the holiday costs and any applicable insurance premiums, booking fees and credit card charges must be made at the time of booking. Please note that late bookings may also incur a late booking fee of which you will be advised at the time of booking and which is applicable whether travel documents are provided in advance or for collection at the departure airport. If payment is not received within these timescales then we may cancel the booking and apply cancellation charges as detailed in section 7. Please note that any applicable insurance premiums, booking fees and credit card charges are not refundable and are excluded from any calculation of cancellation charges. Travel documents will not be released until full payment has been received by us and wherever possible will be provided in good time prior to your date of travel but if this is not possible then arrangements will be made for their collection at the departure airport or on arrival in resort.

6.Holiday price

The price of your holiday is as shown on your confirmation invoice but we reserve the right to alter that price of your holiday where changes occur in exchange rates or transportation costs including the cost of fuel, dues, taxes such as landing or security taxes or embarkation or disembarkation fees at ports and airports. However there will be no change in your holiday price within 30 days of departure.

We will absorb and you will not be charged for any increase up to the equivalent of 2% of the holiday price excluding insurance premiums, amendment and part cancellation charges and credit card charges. You will be charged for the amount over and above that plus an administration fee of £1.00 per person together with an amount to cover travel agent commission. If this means that you have to pay an increase of more than 10% of the holiday price you will have the option of either cancelling the holiday, and receiving a full refund of all monies paid except for amendment and part cancellation charges, booking fees and credit card charges, or accepting a change to another holiday. If we are able to offer one of equivalent or higher quality you will not be required to pay any more but if it is of lower quality you will be refunded the price difference. If you decide to cancel your holiday then you must exercise your right to do so within 14 days from the issue date of your final invoice.

Should the price of your holiday go down due to the changes mentioned above by more than 2% of your holiday price then a refund will be paid to you. However please note that travel arrangements are not always purchased in local currency and some apparent currency changes may have no impact on the holiday price due to contractual and other protection in place.

Please note that some hotels make small daily local charges for additional room facilities eg. an in-room safe or for hotel facilities eg car parking or for resort facilities. These charges are not pre-payable and are not included in you holiday price but are advised at hotel check-in and payable locally.

7.Special requests

We will endeavour to pass on requests, e.g. flight seat location, special meals or hotel room location made to us at the time of booking and at least 30 days prior to departure. We regret however that such requests cannot be guaranteed and therefore compensation claims will not be considered if your request is not honoured.

If anyone in your party has any special requirement for assistance or facilities arising from a medical condition or disability then advise us at the time of booking. We will provide a form which you should complete and return within 14 days and we will make every effort to arrange the assistance and facilities required.

8.Cancellation by you

We start to incur costs for your holiday from the time your booking is confirmed. So if you cancel your holiday we make a charge and the later the cancellation, the more that charge will be. Your cancellation can only be accepted if it is in writing from the lead name on the booking. Cancellation will be effective from the date it is received. Please note that in the event of cancellation by you no insurance premium, booking fee or credit card charge will be refunded and you will be liable for cancellation charges as follows. If any individual passenger on the booking wishes to cancel please refer to clause 8 below.

For notice of cancellation received more than 56 days before your holiday departure date the cancellation charge per passenger is £50 (£130 long haul) plus any additional deposit paid above the minimum deposit required. Please note that these cancellation charges will apply even when only a part deposit has been paid. For notice of cancellation received 56 days or less before your holiday departure date the cancellation charge per passenger is in accordance with the following scale:

In addition please note that we reserve the right to levy an additional cancellation charge where the above charges are insufficient to cover our liability to airlines or other suppliers arising from your cancellation where no additional deposit has been paid. For example schedule flights, cabin upgrades, cruise arrangements.

9.Changes by you

Any change you wish to make to your confirmed booking must be submitted in writing by the person shown as the lead name on our booking confirmation, to be received by us no less than 56 days before departure and be accompanied by payment of the applicable amendment fee. We will do our best to arrange the change you request subject to availability and subject to the payment of the amendment fee and any additional holiday costs arising from the change. We normally charge an amendment fee of £25 per person for each item you want to change but please note that a change of departure date can only be made within the same programme season and not from a summer season holiday to a winter season holiday or vice versa or from one year to another or from one destination country to another. Winter 06/07 season commences 01 November 2006 and ends 30 April 2007. Summer 07 season commences 01 May 2007 and ends 31 October 2007. Winter 076/08 season commences 01 November 2007 and ends 30 April 2008. Any member of the party prevented from travelling may transfer their booking to another suitable person provided that written application by the lead name on our booking confirmation is received by us at least 21 days before the departure date. The new member of the party will be equally liable with the original member of the party for the additional cost arising from the transfer. If any member of the party cancels without offering a replacement as above, then the holiday price will be recalculated on the basis of any amended party size. Any increase in price per person for the remaining members of the party as a result of part cancellation, is not a cancellation charge and is not normally covered by insurance. A separate cancellation charge detailed in section 6 will be made against the cancelled element and the booking will be re-invoiced accordingly. Name changes or changes of departure date may not be permitted by a charter airline or cruise company and are treated as cancellations and charged accordingly and these charges will be passed on to you. Schedule airlines may not permit name changes and name changes may be treated as cancellations with cancellation charges applied and similarly changes of departure date may also be treated as a cancellation and will also be subject to any additional costs incurred by ourselves eg change of season, weekend supplements etc. Always check possible costs before making any flight changes. You may not change your holiday to a late availability or other special offer holiday.

10.Programme accuracy

Our holiday programmes are prepared many months in advance of your holiday and therefore the facilities shown may not always be available particularly at the beginning and end of the season. We will endeavour to advise you of any withdrawal or limitation of facilities as soon as possible prior to departure. Similarly we will endeavour to advise you prior to departure of any building work or noise source of which we are aware likely to seriously affect the enjoyment of your holiday. If such pre-advice is not possible then you should follow the complaints procedure detailed in section 15 of these booking conditions.

11.Cancellation by us

In the unlikely event that cancellation of your holiday by us becomes necessary we undertake that notice of cancellation will be given as soon as possible and subject to availability you will be offered the choice of an alternative holiday of comparable quality or a full refund of all monies paid. Should notice of cancellation unavoidably fall within 8 weeks before your departure date then compensation will be paid by us in accordance with the scale in section 12 unless the reason for cancellation falls within the definition of force majeure in section 17 or arises from your failure to meet the payment deadline.

We reserve the right to terminate the holiday immediately if any member of your party whose behaviour in our opinion or that of an airline pilot, accommodation manager or any person in authority is likely to cause distress, damage, danger or annoyance. In the event of such termination we will apply full cancellation charges and you will be liable for any costs you or we may incur.

12.Changes by us

It is unlikely that we will have to make changes to your holiday arrangements but we do plan the arrangements many months in advance and occasionally we may have to make changes and we reserve the right to do so at any time. Most of these changes will be minor but if we find it necessary to make a material change to your holiday before departure then we will notify you as soon as possible. A material change is for example one involving a change of destination resort, a change to accommodation of a lower classification, a change of confirmed flight times by more than 12 hours to your outbound or return flight or a change of airport (other than between Gatwick, Stansted, Luton and Heathrow or Cardiff and Bristol ) resulting in a change of confirmed flight times by more than 12 hours. A change of airline or aircraft type or en-route stops, a change of in-flight cabin location or facilities or upgrade benefits or where a change of airport plus transportation results in a delay of less than 12 hours will not for example be considered a material change. If a material change to your holiday is necessary you will be offered the option to accept the change or choose an alternative from our programme subject to availability and the acceptance of any holiday price adjustment or cancel the holiday and receive a full refund of all monies paid. If a material change is notified to you less than 8 weeks before departure then in addition to whichever option you choose to take, you will be paid compensation on the scale below except that no compensation will be payable where the change arises due to force majeure as defined in section 17.

Please note that flight times are subject to change and we will not accept responsibility for any resulting re-arrangement of connecting transportation which is outside our contract with you.

13.Compensation for cancellation or changes by us

If we cancel or make a material change to your holiday and you accept the offered change or alternative holiday then we will pay you compensation in accordance with scale A in the table below. If you decide to accept instead a refund of your holiday cost then we will pay you compensation in accordance with scale B.

*Children or adults travelling at reduced prices receive compensation on a pro-rata basis.

14.Flight delays

Unfortunately, flight delays do sometimes occur. When these are beyond our control any resultant arrangements during the delay will be the responsibility of the airline. We will not accept responsibility for any resulting re-arrangement of connecting transportation which is outside our contract with you. If you have taken out our recommended personal travel insurance then you may be eligible to claim compensation for the delay under certain circumstances.

15.Personal travel insurance

We strongly recommended that you arrange adequate travel insurance cover for you and your party from the time of booking. If you have purchased travel insurance from us then you and all members of your party must read the insurance schedule of cover carefully as the policy contains a number of restrictions of cover including pre-existing medical conditions of the party travelling and also of any close relatives or friends whose health may lead to cancellation or curtailment of the holiday. If in any doubt you must contact the insurers direct on 0870 060 6469.Take your insurance schedule on holiday with you.

16.Complaints

If you have cause for complaint whilst on holiday you must advise our local representative or agent and the relevant supplier of the service immediately since the opportunity will then exist to resolve the problem on the spot. If they are unable to resolve the problem then obtain a Holiday Report Form from our local representative which you should complete, they should sign and your should retain a copy. On your return home if you wish us to consider your complaint further then send a copy of the Holiday Report Form together with your booking reference and any additional comments you wish to make to our Customer Relations Department, Matrix Alpha, Swansea Enterprise Park, Swansea SA6 8RE. You should do this within 28 days of your return home so that any investigation can take place whilst memories are still fresh and failure to do so may affect your rights under your contract. We undertake to deal with your complaint promptly and fairly. However, if you fail to follow this procedure then we cannot accept responsibility, as we will have been deprived of an opportunity to investigate and rectify the problem. In the unlikely event that your complaint is not resolved to your satisfaction you may with to consider referring it to arbitration under an ABTA scheme administered totally independently by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. The scheme is simple and inexpensive being based on documents alone and your liability for costs is limited. The scheme is not available for claims greater than £5,000 per person or £25,000 per booking form: nor does it apply for claims, which are solely, or mainly in respect of injury or illness. Full details of the scheme can be obtained from ABTA, 68-71 Newman Street, London WIT 3AH. As members of ABTA we are bound by the decision of the appointed Arbitrator.

17.Conditions of carriage

Your holiday may include international carriage by air and sea and the terms and conditions of carriage of the airline and cruise line apply which are themselves the subject of international agreements and which may limit or exclude liability. We will provide a copy of these conditions on request.

18.Force majeure

We accept no liability to pay compensation in respect of any loss or damage or changes arising from unusual or unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control or that of our suppliers including (but not limited to) war, or threat of war, riots, civil strife, industrial disputes, airline technical problems, terrorist activity and its consequences, natural or nuclear disaster, fire or adverse weather conditions.

19.Assistance

If any member of your party should unfortunately suffer some mishap whilst on holiday resulting in injury, illness or death and arising from an activity not forming part of the holiday arrangements contracted with us then every assistance will be provided at our discretion. Such assistance may include financial provision up to a maximum of £5,000 per party to cover immediate expense, which you may not be able to meet from your own resources at that time. We reserve the right to reclaim such expenditure from the member of the party concerned.

20.Our liability

We accept responsibility for ensuring that your holiday arrangements are supplied as confirmed to you in your confirmation invoice. If you have a justified complaint and have followed the complaints procedure in section 15 then we will pay you reasonable compensation if the enjoyment of your holiday has been affected. However we will not be liable where any failure in the performance of the contact is due to you or a third party unconnected with the provision of the holiday arrangements and where the failure is the result of unforeseeable or unavoidable or unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all due care had been exercised or an event which we or our suppliers even with all due care could not foresee or forestall. In any case our liability in all such cases shall be limited to a maximum of 3 times the holiday price. Our liability will also be limited in accordance with the contractual terms of suppliers of your travel arrangements and any relevant international convention.