September 16 2009 I No. 2075
Southern Africa’s Travel News Weekly
INSIDE
TRAVEL NEWS WEEKLY
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News
Report
Kenya airways
State of the industry survey
GBE - NBO route rivals JNB hub
The art of itinerary building
Page 2
Confused?
Page 6
Feature Mozambique
A cultural kaleidoscope Page 12
Airline staff add to confusion over UK transit visa rules, reports Melody Brandon
I
T should be a simple enough rule to understand: If your SA clients are transiting the UK en route to North America and have a valid Canadian or US visa in their passport they do not need a transit visa provided their UK stay is a maximum of 24 hours. There it is, in black and white. But confusion still reigns as passengers who fit the bill are denied boarding by airline staff unaware of this rule. Worried that their clients will be denied boarding if they do not have a transit visa, many agents now insist their clients apply for a transit visa, or send their clients via a different hub. “We tell our clients to get a transit visa, irrespective of what the High Commission says. That way we know they will not have any problems boarding their flight,” says Dieter Moller from STA Travel, Morningside. Despite efforts by the British High Commission to educate airport staff, agents continue to receive contradictory information from airline reservation call centres. “I contacted British
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Airways to confirm that my client did not need a transit visa as she was flying to Miami and transiting through Heathrow and I was told by the airline that she did need one. “Luckily I checked whether the airline would board her or not, otherwise my client would have been stranded,” says Colette Botha from Jet Travel, Port Elizabeth, adding that airline representatives had told her the airline would be fined heavily if the passenger did not have the correct documentation and was allowed to board the aircraft. Vernon Munnik, key account manager at Sure Ritz Travel Namibia, says a consultant’s client was refused boarding on an Air Canada flight at Heathrow en route to Toronto because they did not have a transit visa. “It was obviously very embarrassing for our client and was extremely costly for us, as we had to fly the client back to South Africa.”
Heard firsthand
TNW listened in while an agent contacted British Airways, South African Airways and Virgin Atlantic
reservation call centres to confirm whether a client flying via Heathrow to America or Canada would be allowed to board the aircraft without a transit visa. A call centre agent at British Airways was adamant that the agent’s passenger would need a transit visa or an official letter from the British High Commission saying that the passenger did not require a visa. The message from South African Airways, who have a code share agreement with Air Canada, was the same. The call centre agent said the passenger travelling to Toronto would not be allowed to board the aircraft, irrespective of the fact that they were not changing airports and would be transferring flights within 24 hours. Virgin Atlantic gave the agent a completely different answer. The consultant who assisted said the passenger did not require a transit visa, as long as they were not transferring from Heathrow to Gatwick and would be leaving within 24 hours. To page 16
Beat the 2010 rush! Trafalgar has opened its Europe and Britain 2010 summer pre-registration bookings, offering clients substantial savings when they book their 2010 holiday early to beat the World Cup rush.“By opening pre-registrations, we are enabling clients to take full advantage of our early payment discount of up to 10% by booking 12 months in advance as well as the Rand recovery offer,” says Trafalgar gm, Nicolas le Roux. Final prices will be confirmed once the 2010 brochure prices are released and discounts apply to tours only. If your client wants to take up the offer, they need to book and pay in full for their holiday by October 31 to take advantage of Trafalgar’s great savings. Getting ready to enjoy 2010 from afar are (from left) Trafalgar sales manager, Alex Bunton, area sales manager, Petro Janse van Rensburg and marketing support, Darsha Soobramoney Photo: Melody Brandon
Amex Africa deal in the bag - Tourvest Jeanette Phillips TOURVEST Travel Services has announced that it is in the process of finalising a master franchise agreement with American Express for the rights of the American Express Travel Services brand in Africa,
excluding North Africa. All American Express Travel Services franchisees in the rest of Africa would report directly to Tourvest. According to Andrew McDonic, Tourvest travel and financial services divisional ce, this will enhance the quality of corporate To page 16