Delayed arrival passengers now eligible for compensation

Air travellers whose flights arrive at their destinations three hours late or more are now eligible for compensation.
Yesterday, the European Court of Justice ruled that the damage sustained by air passengers in cases of long delay is comparable with that of cancellation.
The Court said: “There is no justification for treating passengers whose flight is delayed any differently when they reach their final destination three hours or more after the scheduled arrival time.”
However, if the delay is caused by “extraordinary circumstances” airlines will not be obliged to pay out.
Such circumstances have to be beyond the control of the airline, meaning they could not have been avoided by “reasonable measures”.

Whilst this is excellent news for all airline passengers, it should be remembered that all foreign trips need the protection of good quality travel insurance as well. Holidaysafe.co.uk has an extensive range of travel insurance, why not get a travel insurance quote or buy travel insurance.

No excuse for not buying travel insurance

Four of the most common reasons why people do not buy travel insurance and things to consider:

It costs too much
There is no end to the places you can go to buy travel insurance these days. From supermarkets to car repairers and everyone in between and with so much competition it is easy to understand why travel insurance is, compared to many other financial service products, such a bargain. Its hard to believe therefore why so many people feel that it is too expensive and so do not bother. With single trip travel insurance available for just a few pounds, this really is a surprise.

I am covered already
If this really is the case, that’s a good thing. However, many people believe that they have adequate cover, even when they do not. For example, relying on the EHIC card as your sole method of protection is risky as it may not cover the complete costs of any medical treatment and will not cover repatriation, cancellation, baggage and other such important sections. If you get “free travel insurance” with your bank or credit card, make sure it really is travel insurance and not a stripped back version of travel insurance to allow them to be able to give it away.

I forgot to buy travel insurance
This happens of course. But buying travel insurance, although not a compulsory act, should be second nature - much like buying car insurance is. If you really do struggle to remember, perhaps it would be wise to buy an annual multi trip travel insurance policy. This will cover you for the year and if you wish, will automatically renew, so you are never without cover.

I will never need it
Famous last words. Travel insurance is made up of many sections, although the three most claimed on are cancellation of the trip, medical expenses and lost baggage. Taking a chance on lost or damaged baggage is almost understandable, although when you add it up, you will probably be taking several thousand pounds of belongings with you. Medical expenses is however not one to gamble on, as an example, we have just paid a claim for £130,000. A man simply tripped in Florida, but was unfortunate enough to fracture his hip and arm. What would you do if you were faced with a bill of this size, without an insurer to cover the costs?

With travel insurance starting from as little as £4.00, why not give us a try and get a quote or better still, buy travel insurance.

Get fit for skiing

Because, for most of us, skiing is a once a year experience you should think seriously about getting fit for the trip. Clearly we do not mean an Olympic standard of fitness, doing just a few exercises regularly before leaving could help you to enjoy the skiing a lot more. Plus, for those people who are poorly conditioned prior to setting off to the slopes, very sore and aching muscles could ruin the fun and limit the amount of time that you will be able to spend skiing. That's not to mention that most skiing accidents and injuries occur in the afternoon and many can be attributed to tiredness as a result of the morning exertions.

There are many ways to get started, from ski based yoga to more traditional aerobic exercises such as running. Everyone should be able to find an enjoyable way to improve their fitness ready for their skiing holiday. There are three key areas of skiing fitness that all training sessions should focus on, these are strength, flexibility and aerobic capacity.

There are many training program's that you can follow on the Internet, or if you are a member of a gym, speak to one of the instructors as they should be able to tailor a fitness program especially for you and the holiday. You don't have to be a gym member however, there are plenty of things you can do in the comfort of your own home, from walking the stairs a few extra times each day to exercise DVDs and even the wii fit! Whatever you plan on doing you should ideally start at least seven weeks before you leave.

Don't forget to buy travel insurance

With one weeks European cover starting from a very reasonable £14.67 for skiing, snowboarding and wintersports travel insurance, can you afford to be without it. To get a quote or to buy travel insurance, please go to our winter sports insurance page.