Fears for package holiday firm XL
Tour operators have been hit by soaring fuel costs
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Package holiday firm XL has filed for administration after experiencing financial difficulties, reports say.
The firm is Britain’s third biggest tour operator and flies to 50 destinations, mainly in the Mediterranean and the Caribbean.
XL is the latest travel firm to face financial difficulties as the industry struggles with sky-high fuel costs and an economic downturn.
Low-cost transatlantic airline Zoom collapsed last month.
A Civil Aviation Authority spokesman said the company currently continued to hold a license to operate as a tour operator and commercial airline.
He said: “It has not been confirmed to us that XL have filed for administration.”
Financial protection
The carrier had already cancelled its schedule of flights to the Caribbean.
If the firm were to collapse, package holidaymakers would be protected under the Atol scheme, a financial protection package.
Administrators might be able to help the company continue.
“But many companies have gone into administration and not survived, it’s a sign there is severe problems with the company’s accounts,” he said.
“Other airlines who have had similar problems have had aircraft impounded.”
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 If the news is true, it is a major, major thing for the industry  Bob Atkinson, Travel Supermarket
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Travel writer, Simon Calder, described XL’s airline operation: “A pretty large airline with 21 aircraft, [it] flies all over the world, the Caribbean; Mediterranean; North Africa and North America, from airports across the UK.
“It does most charter work, but also quite a lot of – effectively – no-frills, scheduled work.”
Bob Atkinson, of the price comparison website Travel Supermarket said XL’s troubles would be blow for the travel trade.
He said: “If the news is true, it is a major, major thing for the industry, the British travel industry. They are a very large operator and this will send serious shock waves through the industry.
“And what it’s going to do more than anything, it’s going to highlight how precarious the airline industry is at the moment.”
XL customer Marion Foster of Thame, Oxfordshire, has a flight booked to Rhodes next week and was contacted by customer services on Wednesday to ensure her tickets had arrived.
She said: “At the time I thought it was a nice customer service touch to receive such a phone call but now I don’t know what to think.
“As I only booked flights with them it looks like I will lose my money which seems somewhat unfair.”
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