Agency consortium Advantage will launch a trust account for members who dynamically package holidays by the middle of the year, which will avoid agents applying directly to the Civil Aviation Authority for individual ATOLs.
Advantage chief executive John McEwan said the trust account meant agents wouldn’t have to provide individual bonds to protect clients’ money when the Civil Aviation Authority introduces a new Flight Plus licence next year.
"We have been working on this for the past six months and it is still a work in progress, but we will offer this facility to our members from the middle of this year," said McEwan.
Although Advantage has not yet worked out the cost to individual agents, McEwan said it was likely to be the cheapest and most cost-effective solution for those who will require an ATOL in the future.
"The cost won’t be that significant and it will be a lot cheaper than trying to get an individual ATOL," he said. While some Advantage members already have their own ATOLs, McEwan said the majority do not.
Details have yet to be finalised, but McEwan said the CAA was ‘comfortable’ with Advantage’s proposals so far.
Money paid by clients will be protected in the trust account and passed to suppliers on the due date for payment and members will be assigned individual ATOL numbers for trading purposes.
The trust account will not offer customers protection against the collapse of suppliers so agents will be required to take out insurance against supplier failure as a condition of joining the scheme. They will also have to pay the £2.50 per passenger ATOL Protection Contribution, which will be passed onto the Air Travel Trust Fund, and a "modest administration fee", said McEwan.
By Linsey McNeill
