Terms of Business

Travel Nation (hereinafter also called ’the company’) aims to ensure all customers’ complete satisfaction in making travel arrangements. It is understood however, that the company are acting as agents on your behalf. It is important that you are aware of the following formal conditions. Please note that it is your responsibility to:

• Advise us immediately if the spelling of the first or last name of any traveller on the booking confirmation form we send you doesn’t correspond to the way in which it appears in the traveller's passport.
• Reconfirm your onward and return flights with airlines locally to check up to date departure times. There is no need to reconfirm your flight from the U.K.
• Check in at least 3 hours prior to departure (2 hours for domestic or European flights).
• Understand all amendment and cancellation charges.
• Be aware of the need for appropriate travel insurance. (See www.roundtheworldinsurance.co.uk)
• Ensure that you have any necessary visas for countries to be visited and transited through.
• Ensure that each traveller (including children and infants) holds a machine readable passport with enough blank pages for your trip and at least 1 year’s validity remaining after your journey completion date.

1) Booking details. Reservations are made on the understanding that you will check all details on your booking form immediately and advise us of any discrepancies. Each traveller's first and last name should be spelt exactly as they appear in their passport. As it is not usually possible to change names or spellings in airline reservations, if names are spelt incorrectly, the sooner we are advised of this, the better the chances are of us being able to make a fresh reservation at the same fare with the correct spellings. If airline tickets are issued with incorrect name spellings or middle names instead of first names, it is not uncommon for airlines to impose standard cancellation charges and insist that a new reservation be made and paid for. We will not be responsible for any costs incurred to correct them, please note this could be up to 100%. Please also check that your address and post-code are correct.

2) How to make a booking. Bookings can be made by phone, email, fax, letter, or in person. A minimum non-refundable deposit of £100 per person is payable on flight only bookings. A higher deposit may be required depending on the type of ticket purchased, your consultant will advise you on this. A non refundable deposit of 10% is normally required for hotels, tours, vehicle hire and bus passes. See www.travelnation.co.uk/procedure.htm for more details.

3) Your financial protection. Travel Nation ATOL number is 9828 and is a fully bonded member of ABTA (Membership number: J4916/Y1114) and abides by ABTA’s code of conduct. See www.abta.co.uk. Travel Nation is a member of IATA (9128116). We also act as a retail agent for other ATOL holders. In the unlikely event of insolvency, the Civil Aviation Authority 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 please visit the ATOL website at www.atol.org.uk. When you book flights with Travel Nation, you will receive an ATOL receipt. The ATOL receipt confirms that your money is protected by an Air Travel Organiser's Licence granted by the CAA. Moreover, if scheduled airline flights are booked we will include Schedule Airline Failure Insurance (SAFI) to your booking. This is a scheme introduced by the Civil Aviation Authority following a series of airline financial failures in recent years. This means that if an airline goes into administration prior to commencement of travel, you will receive a refund on it, or if you have part flown on a ticket, you are entitled to a pro rata refund.

Travel Nation will not accept responsibility for any persons who fail to take out adequate travel insurance.

4) Liability. All bookings are accepted by the company, and arrangements made, subject to the conditions imposed by the principals. All travel documents are issued by the company in its capacity as agents upon the express conditions that the company is not liable to any customers for loss, damage, delay, injury, cancellations or any additional expenses suffered by the customers whatsoever, or any cause beyond the company’s control shall be occasioned to the company or any of its officials and representatives.

Your contract is with the organiser noted on your booking confirmation who is supplying the tickets and travel arrangements. Travel Nation is acting as agent on behalf of this/these companies. All tickets, vouchers and coupons are issued, and arrangements made, subject to the relevant carrier’s or operator’s conditions. It is the customer’s responsibility to see that all travel documents are in order. The acceptance of receipts, tickets, vouchers and coupons shall be deemed consent of these conditions.

Please note that all services are provided subject to the conditions of the relevant service provider. These conditions may limit or exclude the service provider’s liability to you, usually in accordance with international conventions. Copies of these conditions are available from us on request.

Optional activities excursions and activities outside of the pre-booked itinerary are undertaken entirely at your own risk.

Service providers generally reserve the right to cancel arrangements at any time. We will notify you of any cancellation as soon as we are notified of it, but we cannot accept any liability in relation to any cancellation.

5) Payment. Final payment is normally due 10 weeks prior to departure, though on some bookings it is due within 10 days or less of booking. The date by which the balance is due is shown on the booking form which we email to you. You are also free to pay the balance before the final payment date shown on your booking form if you wish. Air tickets will be issued when payment is received. After tickets have been issued you will be protected against any fare changes that the airlines may subsequently announce, though please note that cancellation conditions are always more severe once tickets have been issued.

Payment can be made by debit card (e.g. Maestro, Solo or Visa Delta), by cheque, by electronic transfer or with cash. Payments made with credit cards are subject to a 2% surcharge (e.g. MasterCard, Visa or American Express). In accordance with mail order regulations, when payments are made by a third party, (i.e. where the cardholder is not travelling) travel documents can only be released when written authorisation from the cardholder along with a copy of each side of the card being used. Cheques should be made payable to 'Travel Nation'.

Please do not send cash in the post. If the balance is not paid on time, reservations cannot be guaranteed and we reserve the right to cancel your booking, retain your deposit and apply the cancellation charges set out in the paragraph headed ’Cancellation by you’. If we are able to re-book your arrangements, a re-booking fee will be charged. Reminders are not sent.

6) Despatch of travel documents. Our policy is to issue and email all of your travel documents together within 14 days of receipt of full payment in cleared funds.

You should let us know if you have not received your e-ticket confirmation within 10 working days of your departure.

7) Changes made by you. Before final payment has been made: Before tickets have been issued, we will do our best to help and will make limited changes for free where possible. The company reserves the right however to charge an amendment fee of between £10 to £100 per person depending on the amount of work involved. If you wish to cancel your original booking and make a completely new booking, all applicable deposits paid on the original booking will be forfeited.

After final payment has been made: Travel documents are issued when final payment is made. Amendment charges will be made if you ask us to make changes to your booking after tickets have been paid for and some changes at this stage may be treated as cancellation and can incur cancellation charges of up to 100%. Rerouting your itinerary, adding or reducing the number of stops, and changing the departure flight from the U.K. are likely to incur the most severe penalties at this stage. Some tickets have associated special ’add-on’ fares such as U.K. regional feeder flights or domestic flights in a stopover country or in the final destination. These cannot be added after the main ticket has been issued.

We strongly recommend that you take out travel insurance when you pay the balance on your booking. It may be that the reason for your booking amendment is covered under its terms (e.g. if a close relative becomes seriously ill and you have to delay your departure, or you sustain an injury that means you have to alter your plans).

8) Cancellations and Changes. If we are your Booking Agent, your contract with your suppliers may allow them to cancel or amend bookings. We will ensure that you are promptly notified of any significant changes, but accept no liability for any changes or costs incurred which may result.

If we make a significant change to your booking, we will inform you as soon as reasonably possible if there is time before your departure. You will have the choice of either accepting the change of arrangements, accepting an offer of alternative travel arrangements of comparable standard from us, (we will refund any price difference if the alternative has a lower value), or cancelling your booked arrangements and receiving a full refund. We will pay compensation in respect of any significant changes that we make to your booking, using the scale below. These may include (but are not limited to) the following changes: a change in accommodation to that of a lower official category, a change of UK departure airport, except between London airports, a change of supplier, a change in the time of your departure or return flight by more than 12 hours.

This standard payment will not affect your statutory or other rights. We will only make one payment for each full fare paying adult in the booking. Any children not paying the full adult fare will receive 50% of the listed amount. If the value of your booking is less than the compensation outlined, we will pay compensation only to the value of the booking.

Important note - changes beyond our control.

Compensation will not apply if a significant change is made for reasons beyond our control. These include: war, threat of war, riots, civil disturbances, terrorist activity, industrial disputes, natural and nuclear disasters, fire, epidemics, health risks, changes due to rescheduling or cancellation of flights by an airline or alteration of the airline or aircraft type; closed or congested airports or ports, hurricanes, volcanoes, and other actual or potential severe weather conditions, and any other similar event.

If you have booked a flight and we are alerted to a significant schedule change by your airline before you leave the UK, we will contact you by email to advise you of this.

Travel Nation has no control over airline schedule changes and accepts no liability for costs which may arise as a result of such changes. After you have left the UK, it is your responsibility to check with the airline that any onward flights you have confirmed are operating as booked. We strongly recommend that you contact your airline at least 72 hours before the scheduled departure of each flight to do this. Please note that for some airlines it is mandatory to confirm with them your intention to fly.

9) Reconfirming your flights. It is not necessary to re-confirm the first leg of your journey from the U.K. As airlines sometimes change flight times and flight numbers, it is your responsibility to reconfirm each of your subsequent flights, and at the same time check that they are aware of any special requests (e.g. meals / seating) that may be in your booking.

10) Failure to check in for a flight on which you are booked (no show). If you fail to show up for a flight on which you are booked, airline reservation systems are likely to auto-cancel all of your subsequent flight reservations. Whilst it may still be possible to re-book the seats, airlines may make a charge to re-book. Moreover, it may not be possible to get seats back on the onward dates that you had been holding. You are therefore strongly advised to let the airline know beforehand if you will not be taking a flight.

11) Special requests. If you have a special request, (e.g. dietary, seating, disability, entry of frequent flier numbers into your reservation) please let us know when you make the booking. We will do our best to ensure that your request is met by passing it on to your service provider. It is understood however that these cannot be guaranteed. Please note that airlines are unable to pre-assign emergency exit seats with extra leg room.

12) Cancellation by you. You or any of your party may cancel your booking at any time providing that we receive written notification. If you cancel prior to paying the balance on your booking, all applicable deposits will be forfeited. Once you have paid for your tickets, cancellation charges which may be up to 100% of the cost of cancelled arrangements will be payable depending on the nature of the booking. You are advised to check United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Office country advice relating to your destination prior to booking and prior to arrival in each destination.

See www.fco.gov.uk/knowbeforeyougo

We strongly recommend that you take out travel insurance when you pay the balance on your booking as this may provide cover for these costs.

13) Complaints. If you have a problem whilst you are away, you must immediately notify the service provider (e.g. airline, hotel, tour operator). If they are not able to resolve the problem, then please contact Travel Nation. (See www.travelnation.co.uk/contactus.htm). Please bear in mind that we will only be able to respond during normal U.K. office hours. If you remain dissatisfied, you should let us know in writing within one month of the arrangements in question.

14) Refunds. If you return any unused flight tickets or other travel documents to us, we will submit them to the supplier to be assessed for refund. Refunds are forwarded to you less any applicable cancellation and administration charges that are levied by the service provider and Travel Nation.

Refunds on unused portions of airline tickets and other unused services are always less than the pro-rata proportion of the fare paid. In some cases, tickets will have no refund value at all, even if they have not been used. Please note that refunds normally take at least 12 weeks to process. The refund value of unwanted tickets cannot be accepted by the company as credit on a new booking, until we have received your refund from our suppliers. We strongly advise that you take out travel insurance when you pay for your tickets as this may provide cover for cancellation costs.

15) Prices. Prices and associated taxes and fuel surcharges can change without warning. Airlines and other service providers are at liberty to change prices at any time. Prices are only guaranteed once travel documents have been paid for in full and issued. If we are notified of a pending price increase before your tickets or travel documents have been paid for, where possible, we will provide you with advance warning to give you the option to pay in full to avoid paying the higher rate.

If we are unable to contact you before a ticketing deadline expires or if no advance notice is given by the airline or other supplier, you will be liable to pay the new higher fare. You are free to pay the balance on your booking prior to the final payment date. If you do this, your travel documents will be issued and despatched early, though please bear in mind that cancellation conditions are always more severe after documents have been issued.

Prices quoted are inclusive of pre-payable taxes, scheduled airline failure insurance, booking fees, and fuel surcharges.

16) Airline ticket rules. Airlines and airline alliances are at liberty to change their ticket rules at any time. Changes to airline ticket rules can include, but are not limited to: alterations to flight numbers, destinations and airlines that can be booked, definition of fare seasons, date or route change charges and ticketing deadlines. Please note that the rules that apply to airline reservations are the ones that exist on the day the tickets are paid for in full and issued, not those that apply on the day that the reservation is made. If tickets are subsequently reissued with a different routing or a new departure date from the U.K. the prevailing rules on the date of the reissue will apply.

17) Passenger Taxes and Fuel Surcharges. These are mostly payable in advance and are included in your overall ticket price and are only fixed when your tickets have been paid for and issued. In a few locations however, taxes are still collected on departure. If you reroute your ticket whilst travelling, airlines will recalculate taxes and fuel charges at prevailing rates and pass on any increases to you. These taxes and charges are imposed by governments, airlines and airports and change without notice. The company has no control over this aspect of your travel arrangements.

18) Passports, visas and health requirements. Visa requirements shown are for people travelling on machine readable British passports who are travelling for holiday purposes with return travel to the U.K. booked. If you are travelling on a different basis to this, you should check your visa requirements for countries that you are both visiting and transiting through, with the applicable embassy or consulate. Whilst overseas you should never have less than 6 months remaining validity on your passport as some countries will not allow entry to people whose passports have less than 6 months validity when they are scheduled to leave. Please also make sure that you have sufficient number of blank pages in your passport: If you have no spare whole pages, you will be refused entry or refused boarding on flights to some countries.

See the Vaccinations / Health section of www.travelnation.co.uk/links.htm for up to date information or check with your GP or local clinic. See the 'Need to renew your passport?' section for a link to the U.K. Passport Service website.

Vaccination and visa requirements constantly change and you should check the up to date position in good time before departure. It is your responsibility to obtain proper and detailed medical advice and to ensure that you have the correct passport and visas to pass through any country or region included in the travel arrangements, which you purchase. If you fail to do either, the company has no liability for any cost, loss or damage which you suffer as a result and nor will we refund the cost of any unused portion of your travel arrangements.

19) Force majeure. We regret we cannot accept responsibility or pay any compensation where the performance of our contractual obligations is prevented or affected by reason of circumstances amounting to ’force majeure’. In these booking conditions, force majeure means any event, which we or the service provider in question could not, even with all due care, foresee or avoid. Such events may include war or threat of war, riots, civil strife, terrorist activity, industrial disputes, natural or nuclear disaster, adverse weather conditions or geological events, fire and all similar events outside our control.

20) Travel Advice. You are advised to check up to date travel advice about your destinations on the Foreign Office website www.fco.gov.uk/knowbeforeyougo.

21) Baggage Allowance. Weight and dimension limits of checked-in and carry-on baggage allowance varies between airlines and routes. Check-in baggage allowance information can be found on your tickets and on airline websites. See 'Frequently Asked Questions' on www.travelnation.co.uk for more details and links to the relevant airlines websites. Airlines reserve the right to impose excess baggage charges.

22) Smoking. Please note airlines these days don't allow smoking in any part of the aircraft. Smoking bans also apply to hotels in many countries around the world too.

23) Travel Insurance. We strongly recommend that you take out appropriate travel insurance. In addition to peace of mind, this may provide cancellation cover prior to your departure and practical and financial assistance should things go wrong whist you are travelling. Travel Nation offers 3 excellent insurance policies. Your consultant will give you details of these when you book.

See www.roundtheworldinsurance.co.uk for more details of travel insurance offered by Travel Nation. Travel Nation will not accept responsibility for any persons who fail to take out adequate personal travel insurance.

Travel Nation is an appointed representative of Campbell Irvine Limited who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Their registration number can be checked on the FSA's register by visiting the FSA's website at www.fsa.gov.uk/register or by contacting them on 0845 606 1234.

Privacy Policy. We will not collect personal information without your knowledge and permission

We will not knowingly disclose your personal information to third parties.

We will allow you to view, correct or remove your personal information and we will take reasonable steps to protect the security of the personal information we collect from you.