Collective Commentary about the New Package Travel Directive

82 COLLECTIVE COMMENTARY ABOUT THE NEW PACKAGE TRAVEL DIRECTIVE reduction granted is inadequate. Where a lack of conformity substantially affects the performance of the package and the organiser has failed to remedy it within a reasonable period set by the traveller, the traveller may terminate the package travel contract without paying a termination fee and, where appropriate, request, in accordance with Article 14, price reduction and/or compensation for damages. If it is impossible to make alternative arrangements or the traveller rejects the proposed alternative arrangements, the traveller is, where appropriate, entitled to price reduction and/or compensation for damages without terminating the package travel contract. If the package includes the carriage of passengers, the organiser shall also provide repatriation of the traveller with equivalent transport without undue delay and at no extra cost to the traveller. As long as it is impossible to ensure the traveller’s return as agreed in the package travel contract because of unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances, the organiser shall bear the cost of necessary accommodation, if possible of equivalent category, for a period not exceeding three nights per traveller. Where longer periods are provided for in Union passenger rights legislation applicable to the relevant means of transport for the traveller’s return, those periods shall apply. Article 14 regulates, as we saw in section 2.3- ‘price reduction and compensation for damages’ and, Article 15 provides for the traveller the ‘possibility to contact the organiser via the retailer’ through which the trip was hired and to send messages, requests or complaints regarding the performance of the package directly to the retailer through which it was purchased. The retailer shall forward them to the organiser without undue delay. For the purpose of compliance with time limits or limitation periods, receipt of the messages, requests or complaints referred to in the first subparagraph by the retailer shall be considered as receipt by the organiser. Finally, Article 16 regulates the ‘obligation to provide assistance’ from the organizer without undue delay to the traveller in difficulty, in particular by:(a) providing appropriate information on health services, local authorities and consular assistance; and (b) assisting the traveller to make distance communications and helping the traveller to find alternative travel arrangements. The organiser shall be able to charge a reasonable fee for such assistance if the difficulty is caused intentionally by the traveller or through the traveller’s negligence. That fee shall not in any event exceed the actual costs incurred by the organiser. The Court of Justice (EC) in ECJS March 12, 2002, no. C-168/2000 is silent on the preliminary question regarding the interpretation of art. 5 of