Collective Commentary about the New Package Travel Directive

COUNCIL DIRECTIVE OF 13 JUNE 1990 1235 (c) the provision under (b) shall not preclude the belated conclusion of last-minute reservations or contracts. 3. Where the consumer is prevented from proceeding with the package, he may transfer his booking, having first given the organizer or the retailer reasonable notice of his intention before departure, to a person who satisfies all the conditions applicable to the package. The transferor of the package and the transferee shall be jointly and severally liable to the organizer or retailer party to the contract for payment of the balance due and for any additional costs arising from such transfer. 4. (a) The prices laid down in the contract shall not be subject to revision unless the contract expressly provides for the possibility of upward or downward revision and states precisely how the revised price is to be calculated, and solely to allow for variations in: – transportation costs, including the cost of fuel, – dues, taxes or fees chargeable for certain services, such as landing taxes or embarkation or disembarkation fees at ports and airports, – the exchange rates applied to the particular package. (b) During the twenty days prior to the departure date stipulated, the price stated in the contract shall not be increased. 5. If the organizer finds that before the departure he is constrained to alter significantly any of the essential terms, such as the price, he shall notify the consumer as quickly as possible in order to enable him to take appropriate decisions and in particular: – either to withdraw from the contract without penalty, – or to accept a rider to the contract specifying the alterations made and their impact on the price. The consumer shall inform the organizer or the retailer of his decision as soon as possible. 6. If the consumer withdraws from the contract pursuant to paragraph 5, or if, for whatever cause, other than the fault of the consumer, the organizer cancels the package before the agreed date of departure, the consumer shall be entitled: (a) either to take a substitute package of equivalent or higher quality where the organizer and/or retailer is able to offer him such a substitute. If the replacement package