Terms and Conditions

General Booking Conditions
These booking conditions will form part of your contract with Rockbird Travel Ltd (Registered office 2 Fairway Close, Worthing, BN14 9FG) for all the arrangements you book with us. Please study them carefully.
We hold an Air Travel Operator’s Licence (ATOL) with The Global Travel Group number 3973 issued by the Civil Aviation Authority. We also operate a client money trust account to safeguard any monies that you pay to us when booking holidays.

TRAVEL INSURANCE
It is imperative that adequate insurance cover is activated at the point of confirming your booking.

PAYMENTS
We require an initial non-returnable deposit normally £50 per person for the air travel element of your itinerary, or in some cases full payment will be required dependent upon the airline used. Please note that airfares, fuel surcharges and taxes are subject to increase until full payment is received and tickets issued. It is therefore to your advantage to finalise payment as soon as you can after booking.

PROVISIONAL RATES

If a rate is shown on an itinerary as being ‘PROVISIONAL’, this means that the airline, hotel or tour/ground operator has not confirmed the exact fare at the time of booking and any increases in cost must be met by the client. Trailfinders will always endeavour to advise you of confirmed rates as soon as possible.

DOCUMENTS

Your travel documents and confirmation of electronic tickets will be emailed approximately 2 weeks prior to travelling.

TICKETING & REROUTING

As a general rule airline tickets cannot be rerouted or transferred to another airline. All flights must be used in sequence, as booked. Failure to do so may result in cancellation of all remaining sectors and restrict any possible refund. E-tickets are only valid for a maximum of one year. Any lesser periods of validity will be detailed on your booking confirmation.

PASSPORT & VISA REQUIREMENTS

Please ensure that you are fully aware of all passport and visa requirements and that you allow adequate time to obtain them. We recommend that you travel with a passport that has a minimum validity of 6 months remaining at all times. This is an immigration requirement for many countries and airlines. Please check with your travel consultant if you will not have the recommended validity whilst travelling. Please also ensure there are sufficient blank pages to allow for any visas which may need to be obtained en route. Passports should be Machine Readable for travel to/via the USA.

AIRLINE PASSENGER INFORMATION

Please note that airlines are now required by laws introduced in the United States and other countries to give border control agencies access to passenger data. Accordingly any information that the airline holds about you and your travel arrangements may be disclosed to the customs and immigration authorities of any country on your itinerary. Please contact your travel consultant if you require further information.

FOREIGN OFFICE ADVICE
You are responsible for making yourself aware of Foreign Office advice in regard to the safety of the countries and areas in which you will be travelling and to make your decisions accordingly. For the latest travel advice including security and local laws you’re advised to visit gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice

HEALTH REQUIREMENTS
Health facilities, hygiene and disease risks vary worldwide, you should obtain health advice on your specific needs as early as possible. It is your responsibility to ensure that you have fully complied with all health and immunisation requirements of the countries you may be visiting. Information can be found at fitfortravel.scot.nhs.uk

DISABILITIES AND MEDICAL CONDITIONS
In some cases our destinations may not be suitable for those who use a wheelchair or have a lack of mobility. If any member of your party has any medical condition or disability which may affect your booking, please advise before you make your booking so that we can try to confirm suitability of your chosen arrangements. Regrettably, where you do not advise us in full prior to making your booking it may limit your rights under the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018. On occasions some of our suppliers may request completion of a medical form or a letter from a GP confirming fitness to travel.

AMENDMENTS/CANCELLATIONS/ REFUNDS
It is important that you are fully aware of the cancellation and administrative charges relating to your contract with Rockbird Travel.
Accuracy of name: It is your responsibility to check that the names and titles shown on your itinerary and booking confirmation match exactly with names and titles as they appear in the passports of the people who are travelling. You must contact us immediately to advise us of any discrepancies as you may be denied boarding on your flights. A minimum amendment charge of £30 per correction will apply although you should note that some airlines will not allow corrections and will require us to rebook the flights, this may affect the price of your holiday.

ALTERATION OR CANCELLATION BY YOU
If you wish to alter an element of your holiday prior to final payment we will do our best to make the change for you, subject to an amendment fee from £85. You must also pay any costs and charges incurred or imposed by any of our suppliers in making the change requested. Please note that where part payment or full payment has been made the airlines, tour companies, cruise lines and hotels may not allow the amendment that you have requested and may impose cancellation conditions. Changes to dates will incur higher fees whilst changes to destination will likely be viewed as a cancellation. Changes to dates will incur higher fees whilst changes to destination will likely be viewed as a cancellation. Subject to availability it may be possible to add additional hotel, transfers, tours, car hire etc. These additions will be charged at the rates available at time of booking and no amendment fee will apply. Amendments you wish to make to your holiday after final payment has been made will be subject to amendment fees depending on the changes required but will usually be between £175 and £350, you must also pay any costs and charges incurred or imposed by any of our suppliers in making the change requested.

AIRLINE RESERVATION & TICKET CANCELLATION

For all confirmed bookings cancelled before receipt of full payment on any particular ticket(s), the booking deposit is forfeit. For cancellation after receipt of full payment, cancellation charges are 100% of booking value. If a booking needs to be cancelled, written notice must be given by the person who is not travelling. In certain cases cancellation charges, if incurred involuntarily, will be covered by insurance taken out at the time of booking. This is strongly recommended. Please note all flight cancellations must be notified in writing to Rockbird Travel prior to the day of departure. E-tickets are normally non-refundable if the reservation is not cancelled prior to the first flight.

Please note that it is your responsibility to advise airlines if you do not wish to travel on a flight booked. Failure to do so can result in the cancellation of onward flights and the forfeit of any ticket refund.

AIRLINE TICKET REFUNDS

As soon as we receive a refund from the issuing airline, we will forward it to you less any cancellation or administration charge. Please note most e-tickets are non-refundable if part used. Refunds usually take 8-12 weeks but in isolated cases may take longer. E-tickets expire one year from the date of issue and at this point have no refund value at all. Refunds will be processed via the original method of payment, except for cash transactions where refunds will be provided by cheque. Please note all amendment charges are non-refundable when a booking is cancelled for any purpose.

AIRLINE RESERVATIONS

All flight reservations are subject to seat availability of the relevant booking class, which at certain times may be limited. Any alterations you may wish to make to a confirmed itinerary after departure should be addressed to the airline as soon as possible. Airline reservations are non-transferable.

CARRIAGE BY AIR

Carriage by air is subject to the terms and conditions of the carrier with whom you travel and to international conventions, which may limit liability. Transport timings and routings are provided by the airlines and other carriers concerned. They are subject to change as a result of air traffic control restrictions, weather conditions, operational/maintenance requirements and the requirement for passengers to check in on time, over which Rockbird Travel has no control. We cannot make any special arrangements for you if you are delayed since such matters are at the sole discretion of the airline concerned.

In addition, if FCDO advice or travel and entry requirements change which means you no longer wish to travel, the airline may still operate the flight and may not permit a refund. It is your responsibility to keep up to date on what is required of you to travel and gain entry to your destination(s) and any transit points.

CHANGES AND AMENDMENTS TO FLIGHT SCHEDULES

Airlines from time to time alter the schedules of their flights, this may happen either before you depart or while you are travelling. We strongly recommend that you check your onward or return flight details using the Latest Flight Timings facility in ViewTrip at least 24 hours prior to departure.

TICKETING & REROUTING
In most instances a reissue fee from the airline will apply if they allow you to remove a flight from an itinerary.

TAXES
Rockbird will advise all mandatory pre-paid taxes. Countries may also charge departure taxes that can only be paid locally. It is therefore recommended that clients retain sufficient local currency to meet such charges.

SEAT REQUESTS
Where an airline offers advance seat assignment we will endeavour to accommodate individual preferences. However these preferences cannot be guaranteed even when confirmed and all airlines reserve the right to change or cancel seat allocations. Where an airline is in the process of improving or refreshing a cabin service or has indicated a specific aircraft type it is not possible to guarantee the improved product or the aircraft type will be available on the day of travel. These factors are due in part to aircraft rotation, equipment servicing and other operational reasons.

BAGGAGE ALLOWANCE
If you are unsure of the baggage allowance on the flights you have booked please contact your consultant or the relevant airline.

COMPLAINTS
If you have a problem during your holiday, please inform the cruise line, hotel, tour company, vehicle supplier or our local representative immediately, to ensure that they have the opportunity to put things right. If they cannot resolve the problem, you must contact Rockbird Travel immediately by telephone or by emailing info@rockbirdtravel.com so that we are given an opportunity to help. Rockbird Travel will not hold themselves responsible for the non-performance of an itinerary through causes beyond their control or when they are not notified of a problem at the point when remedial action can be taken. In the unlikely event that a complaint cannot be resolved at the time, you should write to us within 28 days of returning home, giving your original booking reference number and all other relevant information. If you fail to take any of these steps this will hinder our ability to put any problem right and/or investigate it fully and any right you may have to receive compensation will be reduced or completely invalidated.
YOUR CONTRACT

We both agree that English Law will apply to your contract and any dispute, claim or other matter which arises out of or in connection with this contract or your holiday, will be dealt with by the Courts of England and Wales only unless, in the case of Court proceedings, you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland. In this case, proceedings may be brought in the Courts of your home country and you may choose to have your contract governed by the law of Scotland or Northern Ireland as applicable.

FINANCIAL PROTECTION

All package bookings are ATOL protected, a financial protection scheme operated by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Rockbird Travel are licenced (via The Travel Network Group) by the CAA as an Air Travel Organiser. This ensures that in the very unlikely event of our insolvency you will be able to continue your travel arrangements as planned (if already abroad) or refunded in full if travel has not already commenced, if you have booked a package holiday with us. This protection does not apply to flight only bookings.

Rockbird Travel provides an ATOL Certificate to certify that you enjoy the comfort of this financial protection. We recommend you print a hard copy shortly before your departure date so you will have a personal record of this financial protection covering all elements of your final package itinerary.

For flight only bookings, or travel arrangements not in conjunction with air travel, all monies paid to Trailfinders will be legally safeguarded by being held in trust in a Trust Account, thus ensuring that in the very unlikely event of our insolvency, they will be protected and refunded in full.

GDPR STATEMENT
Rockbird Travel Ltd. takes the collection, processing and management of customer data very seriously. The company strives to be fully GDPR compliant and we routinely review our data management policies. We have measures in place to protect the personal booking information held by us and passed on to the relevant suppliers of your travel arrangements. These may include public authorities such as customs and immigration along with security or credit card services. If you travel outside the European Economic Area (EEA), controls on data protection may not be as strong as those within the EEA. Unless required to do so by law, we will only pass on your information to persons responsible for your travel arrangements, which may include sensitive information such as details of disabilities, dietary or religious requirements. When making a booking you are consenting to the relevant information being passed on as above.