The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has confirmed luxury tour operator Luxtripper had almost 200 customers abroad when it ceased trading at the end of last week.
The CAA reports the company also had 849 forward bookings covering more than 2,000 passengers.
The numbers confirm the cost of the failure could run into millions, although not all the cost of refunds will be born by the Air Travel Trust which underwrites Atol protection.
The CAA is directing customers who paid Luxtripper by credit card for some or all of their booking to submit claims to their card issuer.
At the same time, negotiations on a possible sale of Luxtripper’s assets remain underway. Traveling For Business understands a successful deal could include a purchaser taking over advance bookings.
However, time is running out with a deadline of today set for completing any deal.
Luxtripper engaged business advisory group ReSolve to save or sell the business after announcing it was suspending trading on October 19.
The CAA confirmed the Atol holder’s failure on October 20. It has now updated its Atol failures web page with details of how Luxtripper customers with Atol-protected bookings can make a claim.
It advises those who paid Luxtripper in full by credit card to “submit a claim for the amounts paid by credit card to your credit card issuer”.
Consumers who paid by a mix of credit card and other methods should submit a claim for the amounts paid by card to their credit card issuer and a claim to Atol for payments made to Luxtripper by another method.
Luxtripper held an Atol for 4,437 package customers. The volume of any Luxtripper non-Atol business and bookings remains unclear.
The CAA has repeated its previous advice that customers with advance bookings who received flight tickets should check with the airline to establish the tickets are valid for travel.
It noted: “Only a small number of flight tickets have been issued and may be valid for use.”
The CAA also warned: “Overseas service providers have not been paid. If you choose to travel, you will be required to re-arrange and re-pay for these services again.
“Please note that if you choose to travel and use your valid flight, you are not protected under The Package Travel Regulations as your package travel provider has ceased to trade. You will therefore be responsible for any risks arising from each element of your trip which would have previously been protected.”
Consumers seeking an Atol refund have a year to submit a claim, with a deadline of October 19, 2024.