Riviera Travel’s operations chief has urged airlines to give the operator more time to react to flight cancellations after a “nightmare” bank holiday weekend.
Robin Shaw, chief operating officer, confirmed “99%” of customers were able to get away but admitted the touring and river cruise specialist was sometimes in “reactive mode”.
He outlined how Riviera would like to work with airlines to prevent cancellations when customers were at the embarkation gate.
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“It’s quite incredible the number of late cancellations that we get,” he said, during a media call on Tuesday (June 7). “It does not help our situation.
“If you get a cancellation seven to 10 days out that gives you time to plan.”
He added: “The last few days have been a bit of a nightmare. The number of late cancellations, on the morning of [departure], we’re in reactive mode.
“We’ve often had situations where we’ve had customers at the airport or at the gate when the flight is not going.
“As you can imagine telling people when they’ve got up early for a flight at 4am and got to the airport at 6am and been told the flight is not going until the following day or the following morning, it’s not the best start to a holiday.”
Shaw also defended airlines and explained how the travel industry was reacting to “extreme situations” which have prompted national headlines about widespread delays and cancellations.
“I fully appreciate the situation the airlines are in,” he said. “We just need a bit more time to make it a less bad experience.
“It’s not as though the airlines are doing the best possible job. It’s not an easy fix.”
He said as “a customer of the airline industry”, Riviera needed “a bit more time”.
“This is not a situation where people can’t go away on holiday, but it just means the start and end are disrupted,” he added. “It’s not ideal.”
Riviera will return to profitability this year, predicted Shaw, who added there was a “lot of strength” in the late bookings market.
“As we cast our eye forward, we do see good levels of engagement with 2023,” he said. “There are going to be headwinds; cost pressures and Ukraine are still there.”
Shaw said he believes demand for 2023 departures would “outpace” any headwinds the industry faced.
“We’re looking forward to building on a solid year in 2022 and having a good year in 2023,” he added.
In 2022, Riviera has already sent more than 20,000 customers away on holiday, according to Shaw.
He added that, in December, fewer than 40% of Riviera customers were put off travelling due to Covid, but that figure has now dropped to “12%, 13%”.