XL fallout; some stories

We’ve read loads in the press over the last 10 days since the collapse of travel from XL. Here we share some of them with you;

Blackpool Firm, 60 Job Losses - at a Blackpool-based travel company have lost their jobs as part of the collapse of holiday giant XL. Employees at Travel City Direct arrived at work yesterday to be told they were being made redundant. Read the Full Story

Dream Job became a Holiday nightmare - A holiday rep has told how she lost her dream job and was left stranded in Kefalonia after the collapse of travel firm XL Leisure. Jenna Wood, had been employed for just five months with Kosmar Villa Holidays – a tour operator which was bought by XL in 2006. “I have wanted to do this since I left school at 16. It was my dream job and my first full season. Even though I am at home I feel lost being back here”. Read the Full Story.

Redundant Staff Sue for Wages - STAFF who lost their jobs when holiday firm XL collapsed plan to sue their former bosses, the Western Mail can reveal today. Around 150 staff at XL subsidiary Travel City Direct in Swansea's Enterprise Zone which sold XL holiday packages lost their jobs when the firm announced it had gone into administration on Friday. They are among around 1,700 cabin crew, engineers, baggage handlers, sales staff and check-in staff across the UK to have lost their jobs. Read the Full Story.

Collapse of Holiday Company Throws Thousands into Confusion - The UK’s third largest holiday group, XL Leisure ceased trading earlier this month, with the loss of 2000 jobs and countless holiday plans ruined. It is anticipated that more companies in the travel industry will follow, so what are your rights and remedies if either the tour operator or the airline you’ve used to book your precious annual holiday goes into meltdown? Read the Full Article.

That’s enough I think!! Tell us your story by EMAIL

XL Travel in administration

UK Travel firm has gone into administration today resulting in all the companies air plans being grounded. The firm, which is the third biggest travel company in the UK has blamed rapidly rising fuel costs and the economic downturn for the crises. XL flys to 50 different destinations mainly in Europe and the Caribbean. The collapse of the firm has left approximately 85,000 people stranded aboard and an estimated 200,000 losing out on holidays that have already been paid for.

XL Travel’s porfiolio of firms includes the following:

- XL Leisure Group

- XL Airways UK

- Excel Aviation

- Explorer House

- Aspire Holiday

- Freedom Flights

- Freedom Flights (Aviation)

- The Really Great Holiday Company

- Medlife Hotels

- Travel City Flights

- Kosmar Villa Holidays

The XL group, which is based in Crawley, West Sussex and has has 1,700 employees worldwide. If you are looking for work now, as a result of this collapse, please visit www.aviationjobsearch.com

If you have suffered due to the business folding, please let us know.

Thai Travel Warnings

It is rife in the news at the moment with plenty of warnings for people not to travel to Thailand, after a state of emergency has been declared in Bangkok. At least one death has been reported and there is the threat to close 7 airports (Hat Yai, Phuket, Surat Thani, Krabi, Samui, Trang and Nakhon Sri Thammarat).

Thousands of holidaymakers were delayed because of anti-government demonstrations at the weekend. It is also planned to block all roads leading to the south of the country and railway services in the northern region have been stopped after all northern line train services in Chiang Mai were suspended on Sunday following protests from rail workers.

For more on the Story, see Sky News