Seriously if you value your health you will not book your holiday through travel city, whom are now part of the xl leisure group plc, and use xl as their airline carriers! My family and i, two adults and three kids youngest aged 6 thought we had a reasonable deal when we booked our recent holiday to orlando. It was our fourth visit and the first time we had booked with T.C.D, we also purchased sunshine first seats aswell as house and car hire as a package. When we first boarded the xl boeing 767 on the 1st feb 07 our first impression was reasonable seat pitch and that im afraid to say is the only positive thing to say. There was no meal choice for 1st class passengers and all my daughter and i was offered was salmon? 8 hrs into the 10 hr flight my daughter aged 6 violently vomitted and my husband and i started feeling very unwell. within 48 hrs we had presented severe flu like symptoms, breathing difficulties and respiratory symptoms that i have never experienced before in my life, we was delerious and the wheezing and crackling noises that came from my chest people could hear across the room, obviously we seeked medical attention and i was admitted to the emergancy room in a florida hospital. Our whole holiday was riuned and we paid around £10,000.00 inclusive of expenses for this trip.
After two weeks of misery we went back to a desolate sanford airport for our return flight, to find out our flight had been cancelled or as T.C.D AND XL insist delayed for 27hrs! we were coached to the most grottiest bug infested hotel they could find with no representation at all from t.c.d or xl.
It was here the passengers that had been put back together that we realised we were not the only people whom had suffered severe ill health in fact MASS amounts 40 plus that i spoke to had suffered the same symptons within the same time frame.
We were coached back to the airport at 2pm for a 2100 flight?
and given $6.00 to feed and water ourselves with for 7hrs?
8 mins before boarding 58 first class passengers were also informed that we were being downgraded to economy and premium and £50 per pass was being sent to our homes that day for our downgrade comp!
on our return obviously i started lodging complaints to xl, t.c.d and enviromental services, i have recieved numerous letters from them, stating no cancellation comp was to be paid and no other reports of ill health have been recieved, blatant lies as i have copies of other passengers ill health complaints, and total contradictory responses as to what was wrong with the aircraft which i wont go into just yet for legal reasons, however i can say that under ec regulations 261/2004 article 10, if you are downgraded to a seat lower than what you have paid for you are entitled to 75% refund of the full airfare, and if no extaordinary circumstances can be supplied for the cancelled aircraft you are entitled to 600 euros per passenger comp, and are supposed to recieve this within 7 days.
Travel city and xl are still continuing to publicly lie and we have instructed a solicitor, we are still experiencing ill health and i am under a lung specialist at present.
TO SUMMARISE
tcd and xl reps useless and very rude including cabin staff, not at all prepared for these situations.
mass amounts of passenger ill health,
breach of ec regs regarding downgrade and cancellation,
Dont be naive and expect truthfull answers to your questions and DONT except teqh difficulties enquire and demand engineering reports!
58 passengers downgraded on our flight a further 58 on the cancelled inbound and two planes full of passengers cancelled yet all they want to pay is £50 after the paying public have trustingly handed over there cash.
A great money maker i would say! for them!
always query a delay situation as they dont have to pay any comp for this, if you fly on a different flight no you no you have been cancelled even if they say its amalgamation.
If anyone travelled on this journey from hell please get in touch!
To the people who are considering travelling with tcd and xl i have one statement for you DONT DO IT!