Terms and Conditions

YOUR OBLIGATION TO US

1. YOUR HOLIDAY BOOKING - When you make a booking with us, you enter into a contract with Argo Holidays Limited trading as Jetlife. This is made once the following steps have been fulfilled: a) you have provided a deposit of £125 per person (£200 if taking a cruise) together with the correct, non-refundable insurance premium (if required) and; b) Jetlife's confirmation account has been sent to you or your travel agent. When you make the booking you guarantee that you have the authority to accept and so accept on behalf of your party the terms of these booking conditions.
Late bookings made within 8 weeks of travel are accepted at the time your holiday arrangements are confirmed to you or your travel agent. Written confirmation will be sent to you as soon as possible. You must check Jetlife's confirmation carefully and raise any queries with Jetlife immediately upon receipt. Your contract with Jetlife is governed by English law and is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts and is deemed to have been made at Jetlife's offices in London. Upon receipt of your final invoice or confirmation, a binding contract will then come into effect between both parties.
If you had not seen these terms and conditions when you made your booking and you are not happy to proceed with the booking now that you have seen them please return all documentation to us or to your travel agent, within 7 days of receiving these booking conditions. Your booking will be cancelled and your monies will be returned in full, provided you have not commenced your travel. This clause does not apply if your booking was made within 10 weeks of travel.
If you book through a travel agent, any advice given to you by the agent which is not based on advice given by us to him, is his responsibility.We do not accept liability if incorrect advice is given to you in these circumstances. Even if you book with a travel agent, the contract for your holiday is with Jetlife and not the agent.
2. YOUR HOLIDAY PAYMENT - Full payment must be made to Jetlife at least 8 weeks prior to departure. If you book less than 8 weeks prior to departure you must pay the full price of the holiday when you book. In the case of certain 'Special' airfares a deposit equivalent to the full price is payable immediately. If this is so you will be advised at time of booking. Payment may be made by cash, cheque (provided there is time to clear the cheque) or by any major credit card (2% surcharge) acceptable to us or your travel agent. Please note your holiday may be cancelled if you fail to make payment on time and if it is, cancellation charges as set out in paragraph 6 will be payable by you. Monies paid to your travel agent for a holiday arranged by Jetlife are held by that travel agent as agent for Jetlife.
3. IF YOU HAVE A SPECIAL REQUEST - If you have a special request that does not form part of the arrangements described in this brochure, please inform us in writing.We will do our best to comply but in view of the large number of requests received, cannot guarantee to do so and it will not form part of our contracted obligations.We regret that we are unable to advise you prior to departure if special requests cannot be met. Requests for wheelchair assistance at airports, special in-flight meals or seats, adjacent rooms for families, non-smoking rooms, the choice of Main or Second meal sittings in smoking or non-smoking areas for cruise passengers etc, should be made at the time of booking and clearly indicated on your booking form. Special requests made after your booking date must be confirmed to Jetlife in writing within 3 days of the request. We will make every effort to comply with your requests and inform the airline or hotels concerned. However, we cannot guarantee that special requests will be provided, and strongly recommend that you repeat your request to the airline or hotel at the appropriate time.
4. YOUR HOLIDAY INSURANCE - Adequate insurance is essential. Your booking cannot be accepted until insurance arrangements have been made.You may take our special holiday insurance or arrange comparable or greater cover under ALL sections. Premiums will be automatically added to your invoice unless your booking form specifies the details of alternative insurance taken by you. The insurance scheme offered by Jetlife provides adequate cover for normal circumstances but it is your responsibility to arrange additional cover to meet your own personal requirements.
5. IF YOU ALTER YOUR CONFIRMED BOOKING - If you wish to alter any holiday arrangements after we have sent you our confirmation we will do our best to arrange this. You must write to us or your travel agent with details of the alteration requested.Any alterations will be subject to availability plus agreement by relevant supplier(s) and there will be an administration charge of £25 per person per amendment.You will also be required to pay any additional costs arising from the alteration. In many cases a transfer or a name change will mean the cancellation and rebooking of flights and hotels and a significant additional charge. You should be aware that these costs could increase the closer to the departure the changes are made by you. If you change the number of people in your party the holiday price will be recalculated for the new party size. This may mean that accommodation is under-occupied and the other members of the party may have to pay an increased price (i.e. room sole occupancy charge). Please note that such increases are not cancellation charges, even though they may arise because a member of the original party has cancelled, and are not covered by insurance. If you wish to make a change to your arrangement whilst on holiday this is your sole responsibility and any additional cost must be paid by you in resort. It is not possible to make refunds for any services or accommodation booked but not used. Notice of any alterations must be given to Jetlife in writing and signed by the person who signed the original booking form and sent with payment for the appropriate charges.
6. IF YOU CANCEL YOUR HOLIDAY - Should you wish to cancel your confirmed booking, the person who signed the booking form must notify Jetlife in writing as soon as possible. The following charges will apply from the date on which written notification is received by Jetlife to compensate Jetlife for its estimated losses and expenses:

More than 56 days prior to departure -
deposit and insurance premium (Holidays with Cruising 20%)
56-43 days prior to departure - 30% (Holidays with Cruising 50%)
42-29 days prior to departure - 60% (Holidays with Cruising 70%)
28-3 days prior to departure - 90% (Holidays with Cruising 100%)
Within 2 days of departure and after commencement of the holiday - 100%

7. IF YOU HAVE A COMPLAINT - If you have cause for complaint whilst on holiday, this must be brought to the attention of Jetlife's local appointed representative/agent or the hotel management immediately so that action can be taken to remedy the problem. Should your representative/agent or the hotel management be unable to resolve the problem in the resort, details of the complaint should be notified to Jetlife in writing within 28 days of the end of the holiday. Please remember to quote your holiday booking number. It is strongly recommended that you communicate any complaint to the supplier of the services in question as well as to our representative service without delay and complete a report form whilst in resort. If you fail to follow this simple procedure we will have been deprived of the opportunity to investigate and rectify your complaint whilst you were on holiday and this may affect your rights under this contract.

OUR OBLIGATION TO YOU

8. JETLIFE HOLIDAY PRICES - We reserve the right to change our prices at any time before you book. If we do, you will be told of the revised price applicable to your booking before you commit yourself. Thereafter the price of your travel arrangements is subject to surcharges on the following items for increases in: transportation costs eg fuel, scheduled airfares and other airline surcharges which are part of the contract between airlines (and their agents) and us, security charges, government action such as increases in VAT or any other government imposed increases, currency in relation to adverse exchange rate variations. Even in this case we will absorb an amount of equivalent to 2% of the holiday price which excludes insurance premiums and any amendment charges. Only amounts in excess of this 2% will be surcharged but where a surcharge is payable there will be an administration charge of £1.00 together with an amount to cover agents commission. If this means paying more than 10% of the holiday price, you will be entitled to cancel your holiday with a full refund of all money except for any premium paid for holiday insurance and amendment charges. Should you decide to cancel because of this, you must exercise your right to do so within 14 days from the issued date printed on the invoice. The price of your holiday was calculated using exchange rates quoted in the Financial Times Guide to World Currency on 01 December 2005 in relation to the US dollar. Please note that in the event of the government or other regulatory body imposing a levy in order to provide additional protection we reserve the right to pass this on in full and will not be subject to the surcharge requirements.
9. IF JETLIFE ALTERS YOUR CONFIRMED BOOKING - Whilst everything will be done to provide the holidays shown in this brochure, Jetlife may occasionally have to change your holiday arrangements or part of them. Jetlife reserves the right to do so. Most alterations are minor and should not affect the overall enjoyment of your holiday. In the case of minor alterations, we will do our best to notify you before departure. If Jetlife has to make significant alterations to your holiday arrangements, we will notify you as quickly as possible. You may then: a) accept the change and the contract will be varied to incorporate the change; or b) take an alternative holiday subject to availability. If the alternative holiday is of a lower price than that originally confirmed, the difference will (if already paid by you) be refunded to you. If the alternative holiday is more expensive then you will have to pay the difference; or c) withdraw from the booking completely, in which case Jetlife will make a full refund of all monies paid by you. In addition Jetlife will pay compensation as follows:

More than 42 days prior to departure - Nil;
41-28 days prior to departure - £10 per adult;
27-14 days prior to departure -£20 per adult;
13 days to arrival in resort - £30 per adult.
Note: If the substitute holiday is of a lower price than the one originally booked, we will also refund the price difference.
If the substitute holiday is of a higher price we will deduct the price difference from the compensation payable.
Significant changes include the following: change of UK departure airport other than between Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and London City; change of time of departure or return by more than 10 hours; change of resort; change of accommodation (but not room type) to that of a lower category.
Please note that Jetlife will not pay compensation for flight delays of less than 12 hours or schedule changes by the airline or other circumstances beyond Jetlife's control. As factors affecting flights stopping at an airport en route are not normally known in time for notification, such alteration is not regarded as a significant change and neither are changes in carrier or aircraft type or where a designated smoking flight is changed to nonsmoking. Jetlife is not liable to pay compensation where the change is by reason of unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond Jetlife's control and which could not have been avoided by the exercise of all due care. The compensation scales shown above are for adults only. Children will receive compensation pro rata based on the child price of the holiday against the full adult price as shown on the confirmation.
10. IF JETLIFE CANCELS YOUR HOLIDAY - Cancellation may be necessary in exceptional circumstances and Jetlife reserves the right in its absolute discretion to cancel your holiday. If this occurs you will be offered the choice of an alternative holiday of comparable standard (if available) together with a refund of any price difference or a full and prompt refund of all monies you have paid. In no case except for circumstances outside our control or where you fail to make payment in whole or in part will your holiday be cancelled within 8 weeks of departure. Circumstances outside our control include but are not limited to war, threat of war, riot, civil strife, industrial dispute, terrorist activity, natural or nuclear disaster, fire or adverse weather conditions. If cancellation or curtailment of your holiday occurs as a result of circumstances beyond Jetlife's control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even with all due care, Jetlife will not pay any compensation, nor be responsible for costs and expenses incurred by you as a result.
11. JETLIFE'S RESPONSIBILITY TO YOU - We accept responsibility for ensuring that your travel arrangements, which you book with us, are supplied as described in this brochure. If any part of your travel arrangements are not provided as promised, due to the fault of our employees, agents or suppliers we will pay you appropriate compensation if this has affected the enjoyment of your travel arrangements. Subject to paragraph (iii) below our liability in all cases shall be limited to a maximum of twice the price paid for your travel arrangements.
Jetlife accepts liability for any loss or damage suffered by you or any person in your party by the failure to perform, or the improper performance of, the contracted holiday arrangements unless the failure or improper performance is attributable to: a) you or some other person in your party; or b) a third party unconnected to the provision of the holiday arrangements contracted for and is unforeseeable and unavoidable; or c) unusual or unforeseeable circumstances beyond Jetlife's control the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all due care had been exercised or to an event which Jetlife or the relevant supplier of the services could not foresee or forestall even with all due care.
Jetlife's liability to you is (except in the case of damages for personal injury or death) limited to twice the price paid for the holiday by you or any member of your party claiming (exclusive of insurance premiums paid).
In the case of services provided by air and sea carriers, Jetlife's liability is limited as if it were a carrier within the appropriate international conventions and the contractual terms of the companies that provide the transportation for your travel arrangements will apply to this contract. These may contain terms which affect your rights to compensation (see paragraph 12).
Should you or any member of your party suffer illness, bodily injury or death through any misadventure arising out of an activity which does not form part of your holiday arrangements nor part of any excursion sold through us, we shall offer you every assistance we can.This includes, in Jetlife's reasonable discretion, advice and guidance and, where appropriate, initial financial assistance in pursuing a legal claim for compensation against a third party provided that the request for assistance is made within 90 days of the date of misadventure. The aggregate cost to Jetlife of providing such advice, guidance and assistance shall not exceed £5,000 per person and a maximum level of £25,000 per booking form. In the event of a successful claim for damages or costs against a third party and/or a suitable policy of insurance in force, the costs actually incurred by Jetlife or its insurers must be repaid to Jetlife. If you have taken Jetlife's recommended insurance cover, you must make an insurance claim under the legal expenses section to recover any legal fees incurred abroad and if you have taken alternative insurance, you must claim under the legal expenses section of that policy.
12. YOUR HOLIDAY TRAVEL - Transport on an aircraft, coach or ship is subject to the conditions of carriage of the Company providing that transport, some of which limit or exclude liability. These conditions are often the subject of international conventions between countries and copies of the conditions which apply to your holiday journey will be made available for inspection either at our offices or at the office of the carrier concerned. By its contract with you, Jetlife does not enter into an agreement for carriage by air but only undertakes to reserve on your behalf accommodation on board an aircraft operated by one or other of the airlines mentioned in this brochure or such other airline as may be substituted. Please note that the Civil Aviation Authority regulations allow all scheduled/charter flight times and details to be changed by the airline or operator without prior notice. Jetlife cannot be held responsible for such changes. Timings of flights in this brochure are provided for guidance purposes only.The latest available schedule will be provided with your travel tickets approximately 3 weeks prior to your departure. Check-in at airports is usually at least 3 hours before takeoff. The airline may refuse check-in if you arrive late which may result in full cancellation charges being levied. Any additional costs incurred in assisting you to travel in such circumstances will be your responsibility. You are reminded that captains of aircraft have absolute authority over the aircraft and its passengers whilst boarding or in flight.The captain or other authorised representative of the airline can refuse to carry anyone who is deemed to be disruptive, unfit to travel or a danger to the flight or other passengers. If you are refused carriage in these circumstances, your holiday arrangements will terminate immediately and Jetlife will have no further responsibility or liability to you. There are times when a flight is delayed for reasons completely beyond Jetlife's control. When this happens we will do our best to provide refreshments or meals (dependent upon local availability) appropriate to the time of day and the length of your delay, and to provide accommodation overnight if necessary. Additionally, if you take our recommended insurance, you have the right after 12 hours delay to your outbound flight to cancel the holiday and receive a refund or to continue on your holiday and receive compensation.
13. OUR COMPLAINTS ARBITRATION PROCEDURE - In the unlikely event that a dispute arises out of or in connection with this contract which cannot be amicably settled, the complaint may (if you wish) be referred to arbitration under a special scheme which, though devised by arrangement with the Association of British Travel Agents, is administered quite independently by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. The Scheme (details of which will be supplied on request) provides for a simple and inexpensive method of arbitration on documents alone with restricted liability on the customer in respect of costs. The Scheme does not apply to claims for an amount greater than £5,000 per person. There is also a limit of £25,000 per booking form. The Scheme can, however, deal with compensation claims which include an element of minor injury or illness subject to a limit of £1,000 on the amount the arbitrator can award per person in respect of this element. The rules of the Scheme provide that the application for arbitration and Statement of Claim must be made within 9 months of the date of return from the holiday. Outside this time limit arbitration under the Scheme may still be available if the company agrees, but the ABTA Code does not require such agreement.
14. CONSUMER PROTECTION - The air holidays and flights in this brochure are ATOL protected, since we hold an Air Travel Organiser's Licence granted by the Civil Aviation Authority. All Jetlife holidays are operated under ATOL number 0324. In the unlikely event of our insolvency, the CAA will ensure that you are not stranded abroad and will arrange to refund any money you have paid to us for an advance booking. For further information, visit the ATOL website at www.caa.co.uk. Jetlife (a trading name of Argo Holidays Ltd) is a Member of ABTA with membership number V0688, ABTA and ABTA Members help holidaymakers to get the most from their travel and assist them when things do not go according to plan.We are obliged to maintain a high standard of service to you by ABTA's Code of Conduct. For further information about ABTA, the Code of Conduct and the arbitration scheme available to you if you have complaint, contact ABTA, 68-71 Newman Street, London W1T 3AH, Tel: 020 7637 2444 or www.abta.com.