Flights and transfers
Flights & transfer information
Baggage allowance
Remains specified by charter airlines and must be strictly complied to avoid excess baggage charges or luggage being off-loaded from the aircraft, as we will not accept claims in the respect.
Thomson Airways: From 1st May 2009 the maximum weight for one item of luggage will be reduced from the current EU limit of 32kg to 23kg. Those who have pre-paid for an allowance exceeding 23kg must check-in another bag. Baggage allowances will no longer be pooled (e.g. having 60kg shared between 3 pax). Each allowance is now an individual allowance. Infants under 2 yrs will now have their own luggage allowance of 10kg.
Base Price Supplements:
The basic holiday price shown on each page below the hotels is based on departures with no Holiday Supplement, which means there is no Flight Supplement and no 'Base Price Supplement'. Departures that do not attract a Flight Supplement are shown as £0 or NIL supplements in the Flight Supplement tables. If you choose to fly from a different airport, or on certain days, a Flight Supplement may apply, as shown on the Holiday Supplement and Flight Information page (pg 418) and will be included in the Holiday Supplement on your booking. Flights not listed in this brochure, but which become available after it is printed, may also attract charges, worked out in the same way. Please note that some holidays are only available with flights with extra charges, either because the accommodation is available only on certain days of flying, or because onwards travel arrangements are only available at certain times.
A Base Price Supplement will be included in the Holiday Supplement according to demand. This 'supplement' can be a discount, if the holiday demand is lower than expected or it can be a supplement if the holiday demand is higher than expected. We reserve the right to increase or decrease the Base Price Supplement and therefore the Holiday Supplement, according to demand.
Airport/resort transfers
Approximate timings: In order to keep prices low and still offer you as many UK departure airports as possible, we often need to combine transfers to and from the resorts for passengers from several arriving and departing flights. This means you may incur additional waiting time on arrival at the airport and on your return, though we will do our best to keep waiting times to a minimum. Transfer times listed on resort pages, which apply to the actual journey time after leaving the airport/station, are approximate and can vary due to poor weather, traffic conditions or transfer routes. Please note that some transfers to your resort may not be accompanied by a rep and may include transferring onto a smaller vehicle to take you into the resort and your accommodation. Due to customer demand we are offering express direct transfers on certain routes and trains in Switzerland (this is why these flights carry a larger supplement). Border controls: Please note that transfers which involve crossing national borders may be subject to delays as a result of immigration control and customs. Therefore, approximate timings as advertised may sometimes be longer than anticipated. we recommend the customers contact the Embassy of the destination country for any Visa requirements prior to travel.
Flight delays:
- In the event of a flight delay over 2 hours, we will endeavour in conjunction with the charter airline, to provide light refreshments and, over 5 hours, a main meal, though this will depend on local circumstances. In the event of extended delays, we will try to make arrangements for overnight accommodation for you, though this is not guaranteed, and again depends on local circumstances. You should be able to reclaim the costs against your insurance policy. Please note we may not always be aware of delays on some scheduled or internal flights in which cases welfare arrangements will be made by the airlines. If you are travelling in the USA or Canada utilising connecting flights and experience a delay, please telephone the relevant Area Office to inform us of your amended travel details.
- Airlines do not offer compensation for inconvenience or loss of holiday time caused by flight delays. Similarly, it is not possible to obtain refunds for any unused accommodation or facilities in the event of an extended delay.
Border Controls
Airlines are now required to provide passenger details to government authorities in advance of travel for the purpose of border control. This includes information contained within your passport. If you are travelling on a charter flight you must provide this data between 6 months and 5 days prior to your departure by visiting www.eapi.thomson.co.uk quoting your booking reference. Customers travelling within 4 days of booking will be unable to use the online facility, so will therefore be required to provide necessary information upon check-in at the airport. If you are travelling on a scheduled carrier please contact your ailine directly to supply this information. Failure to privde this information may result in you being unable to travel.
Seat only
For those who have their own accommodation, return flight seats are available at extremely competitive prices starting from just £149. Some transfers can also be pre-booked.
Accommodation only
If you are overseas on business, using up your Air Miles, or visiting friends and just need accommodation only, this is available, normally by deducting up to £60 for European or £100 per person off the brochure price on North American holidays respectively. Please call for an individual quotation on 0871 231 5655, (calls to 0870 and 0871 numbers cost 10p per minute plus network extras) subject to availability.
Coach transfers
At Crystal, we are proud of our record of shorter waiting times at our overseas airports, with transfer coaches over last few winters leaving within an average 30 minutes of the first passengers boarding.
Private or helicopter transfers
Why not take the opportunity to pre-book a private or helicopter transfer for your group or family, taking you directly from the airport to your accommodation. Private transfers are available to most European resorts.
Pre-book your seats on our Thomson Airways flights
Seats together: Guarantee that your party sits together on both the outbound and homeward Thomson Airways flight. Exact seat numbers will be given at check in. Prices are just £15 per person.
Travel - important information
Eurotunnel: There is a ticketless system with Eurotunnel. We will send you with your final documentation the 8 digit booking reference number.Please quote this at the automated check-in lanes (by typing in the number) or to the Eurotunnel staff at the manned check-in lanes.
All land and air travel arrangements, airlines and aircraft types, timings,routings and arrival airports are provisional until confirmed with your tickets and may change after this due to circumstances beyond our control. We reserve the right to substitute airlines/aircraft and make any necessary alteration to your travel arrangements, including method of carriage, in a force majeure situation to enable us to fulfil our obligation to transport you to/from the resort or your UK departure airport. Pregnant women are usually eligible to fly up to 28 weeks of the pregnancy on the date of return travel but, as this may vary, please check beforehand with your doctor, holiday insurer and the relevant airline.
Operational decisions: May be taken by carriers and/or airports,port authorities and other competent authorities, resulting in delays, diversions or re-scheduling. When such situations occur, this is not within our control and we do not accept liability for them.
Carriage of skis/snowboards and boots by air: With a growing number of skiers and snowboarders taking their own equipment on holiday, charter airlines are finding it increasingly difficult to cope with the extra weight and handling of these items. This has increased the risk of luggage being off-loaded from aircraft. In common with all other major winter sports operators, we have therefore introduced a system to improve the reliability of ski/snowboard carriage, at a cost of 35 per ski/snowboard bag up to a maximum weight of 15kg per bag.
If you wish to have skis or snowboards added to your booking, these must be registered at the time of booking and if they should fail to arrive on your flight, the charge will be refunded and skis forwarded to you in resort free of charge. We will also provide superior skis for your use until your skis arrive. If you do not pre-book your skis/board carriage, there is no guarantee that they will be carried, but if accepted, a minimum £45 charge will be levied at the check-in desk by an appointed rep. This charge does not apply to scheduled airlines, unless operating as a charter, where ski equipment may be included in the total baggage allowance and additional charges may be levied if this is exceeded. Please note ski/snowboard boots contribute to the overall luggage allowance and must be checked in as hold luggage.
Seats with extra space: You may be able to reserve seats with extra space for your journey. Some of these seats are located close to Emergency Exit doors, and some are situated behind a 'bulkhead' or dividing wall, where there's extra space from not having a seat in front of you. For safety reasons, Emergency Exit seats are only available to passengers who are able bodied and of suitable size. You must have no medical conditions and, in the opinion of the cabin crew or check-in staff, have the strength and full mobility to open the Emergency Exit door. It is a Civil Aviation Authority requirement that only customers aged 14 yrs and over occupy these seats. Extension seatbelts cannot be provided on Emergency Exit rows. Only a limited number of seats with additional space are available.
Complimentary Executive Lounge Access for Premier Customers
This service is available with Servisair at the following UK airports:
Birmingham, Newcastle, East Midlands, Cardiff, Manchester (T1 & T2), Edinburgh, London Stansted, London Gatwick South, Leeds Bradford, Bristol, Luton, London Heathrow (T1, T3 & T4). Aviance provide the executive lounge at London Gatwick North.
This facility is available for all passengers over 12 years old, although some lounges do accept children. Please check at www.executivelounges.com for full details. Please note that as from 1st March 2011 Servisair will no longer be accepting children into their network of lounges. Only children over the age of 12 years or invited by an airline on business class will be allowed access. Any groups over 10 people must advise if they wish to use the Executive Lounge. The lounges will not accept large bookings over 10 people if not advised. You will find your Executive Lounge access voucher within your Crystal Finest ticket wallet.
Please note: There is no complimentary access to Manchester T1 Executive Lounge between 0900am -1200pm and at T2 between 0900am-1100am. We endeavour to make this service available throughout the winter season, however there may be some times when we are unable to confirm the availability. We reserve the right to cancel the complimentary access at any time.
Carriage of helmets
Helmets are not permitted in your hand luggage if you are flying in to/out of Chambery or Grenoble airport.
Personal property
From the point of arrival to transfer vehicle and from transfer vehicle to accommodation, and return, remains your responsibility to ensure that it is loaded/off-loaded from the transfer vehicle. Please note that porterage is not included, unless indicated otherwise.
Name change on tickets
If a name change is requested on charter tickets once tickets have been issued, a charge of up to £50 per ticket will be made. There will also be a charge for the re-issue of charter tickets and this will be £50 per ticket.
Infants
An infant is defined as a child who is under the age of 2 years on the day of return travel. Children 2 years and above must have their own seat booked and paid for on the aircraft. Infants under 2 years as defined above can either sit on an adult's lap with the appropriate seat belt or alternatively you can book a seat at the child price or the airfare price, if this is lower than the administration charge of £39 for Europe, or £179 for USA and Canada, for children under 2 years. If you do book a seat you must use a purpose-designed car safety seat as long as it has a proper restraining harness and can be fixed facing forward on the seat in the plane (you are required to bring your own car seat, in good condition and provide the instruction leaflet for the cabin crew). We recommend you call the airline direct to check for any restrictions and further advice.
Air carriers
"In accordance with EU regulation 2111/2005 please note that there is a'community list' which contains details of air carriers that are subject to an operating ban within the EU community. This list can be seen at www.dft.gov.uk." We have listed below the code and full name of the carriers to be used or likely to be used in our ski programme. AA - American Airlines; AC - Air Canada; BA - British Airways; BD - BMI; BE - FlyBe; DL - Delta Airlines; EZY - Easyjet; IB - Iberia;JL - Japan Airlines; JP - Adria Airways; KL - KLM Royal Dutch Airlines; LH - Lufthansa; LS - Jet2; LX - Swiss International; MON - Monarch; NW - Northwest Airlines; OS - Austrian Airlines; SK - Scandinavian Airlines;SN - SN Brussels; TCX - Thomas Cook Airlines; TOM - Thomson Airways; UA- United Airlines; VS - Virgin Atlantic; ZT - Titan Airways;
