Flights

For the majority of our land tours tours, the price includes the cost of return Economy Class seats on scheduled flights (usually from London) unless otherwise stated or it is a tour where no flight is involved.  Very occasionally, we use charter flights or ‘no frills’ airlines but usually only where these offer either the best schedule or provide the only service to that destination.

We are currently unable to offer flights for the expedition cruises that we sell and recommend contacting Sacha Barbato ([email protected] / 01603 360099) who we liaise closely with to ensure your flights tie in with the arrival and departure requirements of the ship operator.

Most airlines now issue e-tickets (rather than old-fashioned paper tickets) and when you book a flight inclusive holiday, we will send/email a copy of your e-ticket receipt for your trip along with our Pre-departure Information Pack approximately 3-4 weeks prior to your departure.

Managing your flight booking

If you need to know your airline booking reference prior to this (eg if you wish to reserve seats or otherwise manage your booking), please contact our office, although please note that we are unable to provide you with a booking reference until after the tickets have been paid for and issued by the airline.

An increasing number of airlines now exclude the cost of in-flight meals and refreshments from their ticket price, particularly on short-haul flights, so please assume that these are always excluded/not included from the WildWings tour cost.

Most long-haul flight tickets include meals and/or refreshments, and where available information about the in-flight meal plan will either be stated on your e-ticket or may be reviewed via the ‘Manage Booking’ section on the airline’s own website.  Your booking locator is need for this and this information will be included with our pre-trip information.

In some cases, our leader will fly out with the group, however, many of our leaders are based in the destination country or may have travelled in advance of the group, so they may not always accompany participants on the group flights.

Interim Flight Payments

Airlines sometimes impose an early ticket deadline, requiring full and non-refundable payment of the airfare before they will confirm the flight booking.  This can mean we have to pay in full and issue flight tickets many months in advance of the tour departure date, and well before payment of the balance for the tour would normally be due from you.

In such cases, we may require an interim payment to cover the full cost of your flight tickets which is in addition to our standard tour deposit.  We will notify you if this is required and reduce the amount of the final balance accordingly.

Land Only Prices

For participants not requiring flights from the UK, and those wishing to make their own travel arrangements to join our tour at the tour destination, we are usually able to quote a “Land Only” price (ie without flights).  Where a Land Only price is available, this will be clearly shown within the tour dates/costing panel on our website for that particular tour and in the relevant Tour Information Pack.

For certain destinations, we may not offer flight-inclusive prices and in these instances, we recommend booking through our recommended flight agent, Sacha Barbato, at Travel Counsellors whose contact details are above.  Where this applies, Sacha’s contact details are listed on the relevant page of our website and in our Tour Information Packs.  

There are a few tours where a land only option is not available due to the destination we are visiting.

If you require alternative flight arrangements to suit your particular needs (eg travelling from a different airport, in business class etc) please contact the office before booking.  Depending on the nature of the request, we may recommend booking the land only holiday and then contacting Sacha Barbato.

Please contact our office if you have any questions.

If you wish to book as Land Only, please be sure to make this clear on your Booking Form at time of booking.

IMPORTANT

Participants making their own flight reservations should be aware that flight tickets will normally need to be paid in full at the time of booking, and that these will often be non-refundable.  

If you are booking your own flights, you must contact us first for written confirmation of the exact details of the tour that your own flights must comply with (ie alternative flights must arrive before the group flights and depart after the group flight) and you should only book these once we have informed you in writing that the tour is confirmed.

Please do not commit to a flight booking until we have written to you confirming the tour is guaranteed to run.  We will then advise you of the timings your flight will need to comply with (ie alternative flights must arrive at least one hour before the group flights and depart after the group flight).

If you do choose to book your own flights, please remember to satisfy yourself regarding the suitability of ticket cancellation and amendment terms should unexpectedly changes or enforced cancellation of the tour be necessary due to events beyond our control as we do not accept liability for these costs.

If you book your own flights and the outbound flight is delayed, please note that it may not be possible for the group to wait for you at the airport.  Although we will endeavour to provide assistance where we can, you will be responsible for organising and paying the costs of catching up with the tour.

Should the time of your return flight change and this result in you needing to get to the airport earlier than the time required for the group flight, you will be responsible for the cost of getting to the airport from our last hotel.

Additional or Alternative Flights

For some destinations, we are able to quote for flights from a UK regional airport (rather than London).  We charge a fee of £50 per person for booking separate, different, additional or upgraded flights to the regular group flights to help offset the associated additional administrative costs and charges.

If you wish to book a tour with a connecting flight from a regional airport, or would like us to book you flights other than with the group, please contact us by phone or email prior to booking.

For participants who wish to fly out in advance of the start date of our tour and/or return home later than the date on which the tour concludes, we generally recommend booking the land only tour and then using Sacha Barbato for your flights, however, for some tours we are able to book flights independent of the group, although again, we charge a fee of £50 per person to help offset the associated additional administrative costs and charges involved.