Travel question: Why did Tui wait to tell us about a change of plane?

Have a question? Ask our expert Simon Calder

Thassos: several carriers have had to reshuffle their fleets this summer

Q We booked a holiday to Thassos. Now just five days away we have received an email to say that the flight will now be operated by Albastar. The reason given is that this is due to the grounding of the Boeing 737 Max. However, I have noted that the Tui fleet has been grounded since 12 March 2019. So why has it taken them almost 10 weeks to notify passengers of a change to the operator? Upon reading reviews on TripAdvisor the airline is absolutely slated in terms of service and delays.

Tui’s terms and conditions indicate that if a major change is made, a refund is possible along with just £40 per person compensation.

We seem to have no choice but to accept a second-class service or lose out on a holiday away completely. What do you think?

Hazel E

A I hope I can put your minds at rest. I have not had the pleasure of flying on Albastar, but it is a professional airline offering its planes and crew for charter flights to a range of tour operators. Like its counterparts, Albastar is having a busy summer because of the grounding of the Boeing 737 Max, following two tragic crashes.

Tui, like the other significant European owner of the aircraft, Norwegian, has had to shuffle its fleet and charter in ad hoc capacity from airlines such as Albastar.

Earlier this year, before the Boeing 737 Max was grounded, I flew on this latest version of the plane as well as its immediate predecessor, the Boeing 737-800. There was no discernible difference between the two. You will be flying on a 737-800, with a journey time of about three hours. From my experience I cannot see that you will have a materially different trip.

Don’t believe everything you read on TripAdvisor. But if you are worried about the quality of the in-flight food, then I suggest you take some on board.

In terms of delays: should the plane be three hours or more late on either the outward or homebound leg then you will be entitled to €400 (£350) in compensation, unless the airline can demonstrate the cause was beyond its control.

No tour operator would ever concede that swapping one plane for another constitutes a “major change”, so were you to decide to cancel then you would lose most or all of your cash. So I urge you to look forward to your holiday.

Every day our travel correspondent Simon Calder tackles a reader’s question. Just email yours to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder