XL – Dealing With The Aftermath

I noticed the first headline on my RSS reader at 12.32am from the BBC website – “Fears for package holiday firm XL” it read. Within a few hours it was announced that the XL Group had gone into administration. Here’s how our day has gone so far.

8.40am First thing this morning we added a page with information on the administration linked from our homepage. We also compiled lists of customers in resort and customers with advance bookings. At this point we’d already received half a dozen emails from customers. Numbers – we currently have a total of 122 customers who are in resort and had been due to fly back with an XL flight. Over 700 have advance bookings with either flights through XL or accommodation bookings with Medlife.

9.30am As soon as we received relevant information from the CAA we emailed all affected customers. Our customer service team are already fielding calls and helping customers re-book/cancel and providing information to those currently abroad, although we have no actual details from the CAA as to getting them home yet!

10.30am Everyone is working on the phones, answering emails and working on some technical changes to our admin system to allow us to rebook current bookings with new suppliers. Necessity is the mother of invention!

11.41am We receive our first notification from one of our accommodation suppliers that they are going to waive any cancellation fees where possible. Well done to hotels4u!

12.30pm We email all our unaffected customers to reassure them their booking(s) aren’t affected. This is pre-emptive as we’ve fielded a few calls / emails from customers generally worried about bookings. Still nothing from the CAA about getting those abroad back home, and having watched the CEO of XL’s press conference he thinks it could have been handled a lot better.

1.30pm The majority of our advance bookings have now been contacted. Most customers are now looking for new flights around the dates of their previous booking and we’re sorting out their new accommodation dates and transfer amendments. The sunshine.co.uk office will be open late this evening (Simon says he isn’t leaving until the phones stop ringing, that’s dedication) and open a full day tomorrow and possibly Sunday. There’s an article on the Travolution blog saying how this is going to be good for business for some companies, I’m pretty certain it won’t be for ours!

1.46pm Ryanair have provided the CAA with a spare plane to help rescue XL customers. It wouldn’t be Ryanair without also sticking the boot in -

This is proof positive that passengers should not book their holidays with flaky, financially stretched airlines such as XL. Passengers should only book reservations with financially strong airlines such as Ryanair whom they know will be here for the long term.

Spare plane? I bet those who’d booked their flights from Edinburgh will be pleased to hear that!

2.05pm Phones still pretty hectic, but customer service emails are now going down in volume! While a few airlines and tour ops are releasing PR’s that they’ll help get XL’s customers home, it’s worth noting anyone trying to book a flight in the next few weeks is going to be hit in the wallet. Some crazy prices out there. 

Also, since I haven’t mentioned it already, we won’t be cancelling any affiliate commissions affected by the XL situation. We have no intention of taking advantage of our customers during this time, so we certainly won’t be doing it to our affiliates either! 

3.00pm Spoke too soon, emails on the up again. Our customer service peeps are getting their first break of the day, rotating for ciggies, cuppas and whatever else they need to do! Everyone is working hard and will be working well past their normal hours tonight and in again tomorrow. Can’t wait to see the bill for ordered-in pizzas! All of our suppliers have confirmed that they’ll waive canx charges where possible, it’s good to see no-one trying to take advantage of the situation. 

4.25pm Phone calls and emails still coming in. While the numbers of holidaymakers affected are staggering, you can see the human faces of the saga in a few interviews on the BBC website here and here. 

5.45 pm Pizzas ordered in Fleet, still manic. 

6.45pm Pizzas arrived! Phones quieting down.

7.05pm CAA update: imminent Repatriation flight details released

8.14pm Working our way through the mountain of emails, phones still ringing. 

9.22pm Closing the office, everyone going home to come back and do it all again tomorrow.