Collective Commentary about the New Package Travel Directive

548 COLLECTIVE COMMENTARY ABOUT THE NEW PACKAGE TRAVEL DIRECTIVE associations, 195 travel and tourism operators’ or their associations and 14 providers of insolvency protection or their associations. The trade association Airlines for Europe is a member of the expert group, but neither this association nor its members contributed to the targeted consultation. This should be taken into account in the assessment of the results of the consultation, as the airline sector is one of those most concerned by ‘click- through’ bookings. From the information gathered during this consultation process, it appears that: • ‘Click-through packages’ within the meaning of the specific definition in Article 3(2)(b)(v) of the Directive, which implies the transfer of personal data (name, e-mail and payment details of the traveller) and the provision of the specific standard information form provided in Annex I, Part C of the Directive, are rarely offered, if at all, by those business operators who contributed to this consultation. However, nothing can be concluded on airlines’ practices so far. • Further assessment of business practices, in particular of airlines and large travel booking platforms, in relation to click-through bookings are therefore necessary, before drawing conclusions regarding a possible adjustment of the definitions provided in the Directive. • Stakeholders and authorities who contributed to the consultation raised the need to continue to work on effective and uniform application of the new rules of the Directive, including guidance to ensure unified implementation. o In relation to linked travel arrangements, stakeholders pointed to, inter alia, the lack of clarity regarding the meaning of “facilitation in a targeted manner” and the criteria for determining whether or not a second trader has concluded a contract with a traveller within 24 hours after the first contract. o The distinction between packages and linked travel arrangements seems to remain challenging for all travel operators, including hotels. o Finally, consumers need to be better aware of the extended protection brought by the Package Travel Directive.