Thomson is to refund only the £10 premium paid by passengers per flight if their holidays are affected by delayed delivery of the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
Boeing has told Thomson that its first Dreamliner will not be delivered as scheduled this month because of on-going safety tests which have grounded all 50 aircraft in service around the world.
Thomson has warned consumers that if delivery is delayed beyond March it may not be able to offer Dreamliner flights to Florida and Mexico as planned from May.
The Tui Travel airline is working on contingency plans which may include using 767s on the long-haul services.
Holidaymakers paid extra for Dreamliner flights, and many booked premium seats that they may or may not be able to get on the replacement flights.
Thomson has said that if it can’t offer customers the Dreamliner flight they paid for, it will refund the £10 per person per flight premium it charged.
The company will also try to offer customers who paid for premium seats on the Dreamliner an equivalent seat on a replacement aircraft. If this is not possible, it will refund the difference.
Thomson says normal terms and conditions apply to anyone wanting to change flights or cancel their holiday because they no longer want to fly on the Dreamliner.
This means paying an amendment fee of £50 per person, up to 21 days before departure, to change flights. After that it would be 90% to 100% of the original cost.
Anyone wanting to cancel their holiday would lose their deposit. Those opting to cancel 69 days or less before departure would lose their deposit and have to pay a cancellation fee.
Thomson said normal terms and conditions applied because it had every faith in Boeing’s ability to fix the safety issues, and once the Dreamliner was back in service Thomson would have “absolutely no hesitation in flying it,” consumer watchdog Which? reported.