Teamwork pulls off crisis couple’s rescue

Andrew Rowdon (pictured), of Andrew Rowdon Travel, worked with Kirker Holidays’ senior reservations consultant David Lugg to organise a flight back to the UK for the husband and wife after they were left facing a 48-hour delay.

Agency director Rowdon exclusively told TTG how he had received a call from the clients, who had been staying in Nimes for a week-long historical tour, on a Saturday evening after their easyJet flight from Montpellier to Gatwick – due to depart that night – was cancelled.

The next available service for which the couple could purchase tickets was scheduled for Monday morning.

“We never found out why the flight was cancelled but with the French ATC strikes going on and loads of fans coming back from the Euros that could have had an effect.” Rowdon said. “One of the customers was a doctor and had to get back to see her patients.

“They had had no contact from easyJet so decided to book themselves some British Airways flights to Heathrow from Lyon which was hours from where they were staying.”

Working with Lugg, Rowdon cancelled the flights with a full refund and found the London-based couple seats on an Air France service from Avignon to London City airport the next morning.

The agent then arranged for overnight accommodation in the town and an extension to the couple’s car hire free of charge. Upon their return to the UK on Sunday, the clients were also given complimentary transfers to Gatwick to collect their car.

“It just reinforces how important booking through agents and good operators is these days,” Rowdon said. “There’s a good chance that 98% of times nothing’s going to go wrong but when that 2% does happen that’s when travellers need our help and any good agent is always willing to help.”

In a thank you message the clients praised the work of Rowdon and Kirker for being “straight on the case” adding: “Most people we talked to during our ‘crisis’ did not have the luxury of this assistance and were struggling to cope.”