A major cruise and cheap package holiday provider has been plunged into administration.
Jetline Travel, a London-based company established in 2000 and parent company of Jetline Cruise, ceased trading as an ATOL holder in March. Now it has been taken into administration, according to TTG. It reported that Alan Clark, of financial recovery specialist Carter Clark, and Neil Bennett, of restructuring and insolvency firm Leonard Curtis, were appointed on 28 March.
Administration occurs when a business can no longer meet its debt obligations, leading to a licensed insolvency practitioner to be appointed to either restructure the business and come to an arrangement with creditors, or to sell off assets, pay off creditors and liquidate the business.
The move likely signals the end of for Jetline Travel, which took hundreds of thousands of people on holidays over its 25 years trading. In that quarter of a century the firm also traded under several other names including Bargain Late Holidays, Best Priced Holidays, Cruise and More, Elegant Getaways, Our Best Holidays and Save on Sun.
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In 2023, the agency had a transaction turnover of £28.1 million and an operating profit of £655,000, according to TTG. When the Jetline Travel stopped trading as an ATOL operator in March, it was estimated that around 5,000 customers would be affected, with the majority being cruise holidays.
These include cruises with Princess, Cunard and Holland America, most of which have now been cancelled due to a ‘breach of contract’ with Jetline. The CAA advised at the beginning of March: “If you are currently overseas and you hold a scheduled flight e-ticket, the flight remains valid for the return journey. You are advised to check-in with the airline as per the existing flight ticket. We are currently collating information from the company, and we will update this page shortly with instructions for Jetline Travel Ltd ATOL protected bookings on how to make a claim.”
However, the CAA warned that bookings sold as accommodation only, non-flight packages and cruise only bookings which do not include a flight element, would not be protected by the ATOL scheme.
In a statement, representatives clarified: “We understand that Jetline Travel Ltd acted as agents for other ATOL holders, these bookings are not protected under the ATOL of Jetline Travel Ltd. Check your ATOL Certificate under the ‘Who is protecting your trip?’ section, this will show who the responsible ATOL holder is. If the protector of your trip is still trading, you should contact that ATOL holder for further assistance.”
An Advantage Travel Partnership spokesperson, representing Jetline in the travel industry network, expressed deep regret about the situation. They told The Independent: “We are greatly saddened that Jetline Travel has ceased trading. They have been a highly valued member of the Partnership since 2015, and our thoughts are with their customers and staff who have been impacted.”
The Mirror has attempted to contact Jetline Travel.
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