Booking Conditions - Lapland 2008

1. THE CONTRACT
The terms and conditions set out in these Booking Conditions together with the confirmation invoice, form a contract between you (party leader and all those named on the booking form/booking) and Magic of Lapland. Please note that the party leader must be over 18 years of age.

2. BOOKING CONFIRMATION
When you have made the choice of your day or short break departure date, if we are able to meet your request we will confirm the booking to you. However please note that the contract between us does not exist until you receive a confirmation invoice with the date of travel, price and all the extras that you have booked. Quotations given over the telephone are always subject to written confirmation. Once we have confirmed your booking over the telephone, fax or web and received your deposit or full payment whichever applicable (see Para 3. Payment) we will issue the confirmation invoice. If you do not receive your invoice within 10 days of payment please contact us to ensure that your booking has been made. Once you receive the confirmation invoice please check all the details. If there are any discrepancies please notify us within 7 days, otherwise we will assume that the details of your chosen Day/Short Break are correct.

3. PRICE
Prices on the website/brochure are based on exchange rates and known costs at the time of going to press and may be subject to change. However, if you have paid for your Day/Short Break and we have confirmed your travel details with the confirmation invoice, your price is guaranteed and will not be changed unless you amend the booking in any way or there is an undue cost increase imposed by a government policy and/or fuel, currency fluctuations. Only increases in excess of 2.5% of your day/short break price will be applied.
a) Price includes services of your chosen itinerary as per our website/brochure, VAT , UK and overseas service charges, security tax, airport taxes and Air Travel Duty at the current rate.
b)  Price does not include transaction fee of 2.5 % if you pay by credit or debit card, amendment fee of £ 50 per person if you amend any details of your travel and/or insurance cover or any personal expenditure outside the contract.
c)  In the current uncertain fuel price market we reserve the right to introduce Fuel Surcharge as necessary.

4. PAYMENT
a) Deposit
When you confirm your booking you must send us a deposit of £ 100 per person (infants to 2 years excluded) in order to enable us to issue a confirmation invoice. If your booking falls within 10 weeks of departure you will need to settle the amount of your Day/Short Break in full.
b) Travel insurance
Travel insurance is essential and it is a condition of the booking that you have the same or better cover as the Magic of Lapland policy. Insurance must be in place at the time of the booking. Magic of Lapland will not accept any liability for anyone travelling without adequate insurance. Please check whether your policy covers you for winter activities. Please note that in case of any damage to the snowmobile/ice rally car there is an excess of 505 Euros to be paid per snowmobile and 1037 Euros per rally car.
c) Balance
Your balance (the difference between deposit and the full price inclusive of any surcharges) must be paid at least 10 weeks prior to departure. Please note that we will not issue a separate invoice for the balance. If you are paying by credit or debit card please note that you can authorise us to automatically take payment from your credit/debit card 10 weeks prior to departure. If your booking falls within 10 weeks of departure date you will need to settle the amount in full. Please note that if you fail to pay your balance at least 10 weeks in advance and fail to do so despite any reminder, we reserve the right to cancel your booking, and withhold your deposit as per our cancellation terms. We reserve the right to charge you £ 20 per booking for the late payment.

5. IF WE CHANGE OR CANCEL YOUR TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS
a) Before travel
As we plan travel arrangements many months in advance it is sometimes necessary to make changes or cancel the arrangements altogether. Therefore we reserve the right to change the arrangements after we have entered into this contract.

Minor changes are:
- Changes in aircraft type, size and flight numbers
- Change in operating airline
- Change of provisional flight times of up to three hours (departure or return time or both departure and return flight times)
Major changes are:
- Change in the date of travel
- Change of UK departure airport

In the case of major changes you are entitled to accept new travel arrangements or cancel your travel. You must advise us within 7 days whether you wish to accept the alternative offered to you. If we do not receive any correspondence from you within that period we will assume that you have accepted the alternative arrangements that we offered and we will re-book you accordingly.

Whichever option you choose you will be entitled to compensation per person as follows:

70 days or more:........ nil
29-69 days................ £ 5
15-28 days................ £ 10
0-14 days.................. £ 15

Except where changes have been caused by force majeure: war or threat of war, riots, civil strife, terrorist activity, industrial dispute, technical problems with the transport, natural or scientific disasters, health risk, fire, adverse weather conditions or any other unforeseen circumstances that are beyond our control.

b) On the day of travel (Day/Short Breaks)
Flight delays, diversions and changes in itinerary can occur for reasons outside our control. If the delay is over 3.5 hours and will result in reduction of your time spent in resort for over 3.5 hours, we will not be in a position to complete the programme. We will refund to you all the monies you have paid to us except insurance as applicable to Magic of Lapland policy. Please note that you will not be entitled to any compensation.

Day/Short Breaks within our brochure operate in Artic conditions. Day/Short Break content and duration of the activities will be adjusted to fit local conditions. Activities featured within a Day/Short Break are dependent on specific Artic conditions and satisfactory levels of snow. Lack of snow however would not be an acceptable reason for cancellation, as the programme would be adapted and alternative elements would be provided to fit the local conditions. Parents and guardians are fully responsible for the supervision of the children travelling in their party for the total duration of the Day/Short Break and especially during any and all activities.

6. IF YOU CHANGE OR CANCEL YOUR TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS
a) Booking Amendment
If you wish to make any changes to your booking outside the cancellation period, we will endeavour to meet your request. Cost of your travel will be re-calculated to effect the changes. We will however charge you an amendment fee of £ 50 per person. You can transfer your booking to another person or group or change the name(s) of the party member(s) as long as the arrangements remain exactly the same as in the original booking and the change is made not later than 28 days prior to departure. Transfer of the booking and/or change name will attract amendment fee of £ 50 per person.

b)  Cancellation of the booking
If you wish to cancel your booking your party leader must advise us in writing. If you cancel prior to your scheduled date of departure following cancellation fees will apply:

70 days or more: ........................deposit and insurance cost
29-69 days................................. 55% of total cost
15-28 days................................. 75%
0-14 days ..................................100%
On the date of travel/no show ......100%

(It is your responsibility to ensure that you and your party are adequately insured)

7. FLIGHTS
a) Flight times
Please note that the flight times on your confirmation invoice are provisional. Your final flight times will be shown on the ticket or flight confirmation advice. Please check these carefully as they may differ from the flight times on your confirmation invoice.
b) Flight Delays
If the flight from the originating UK airport is delayed for less than 3.5 hours we will endeavour to extend your stay in destination and provide all the activities in full. This might result in Day Break flights departing from Lapland in the early hours of the following morning in order to comply with the air crew hours regulations. In the case of the delay or flight being unable to depart from your overseas destination airport in the evening/early morning the following day, due to force majeure we will endeavour to place passengers in accommodation of a reasonable standard and to provide an evening meal and breakfast. In the case of flight delays, meals, refreshments and/or overnight accommodation will be in accordance with the conditions of carriage of the respective airline being used. You will not be entitled to compensation due to delays outside our control and force majeure.
c) Flight Diversions
Due to unexpected conditions and/or force majeure in both departure and/or destination airport it might be necessary to divert your flight and where distances allow, you will depart from an alternative airport and/or spend the day at alternative location. We will endeavour to operate the programme at an alternative location that mirrors the programme you have booked. You will not be entitled to any compensation due to this change.

8. FLIGHT ARRANGEMENTS
Our Day/Short Break programme is based on using charter aircraft. Day/Short Breaks are operated subject to a minimum number of clients - equivalent to at least 85 % occupancy of the aircraft seating capacity. We reserve the right to cancel the Day/Short Break up to 30 days prior to departure date in the case where minimum numbers required to operate the aircraft are not achieved. All flights operate direct to Lapland , however they may not be non-stop flights.

9. OVERSEAS ARRANGEMENTS
We contract our overseas services with local agents who comply with the local safety requirements and operate on guidelines of strict client safety. Coach companies used for transfers and overseas agents as suppliers of transfers, husky dog rides, reindeer rides, snowmobiles and any other arctic activity offered under the agreed programme have public liability insurance. Snowmobiles are insured as required by Finnish law. Magic of Lapland and overseas agent are not liable for the personal injuries or the material damage arising from the negligence caused by a client. Please note, there is an excess of up to Euro 505 per snowmobile as a personal liability of the client. Local agents provide snowmobiles that are easy to handle, in the good condition and developed for the demanding arctic conditions. Arrangements are made for the supply of suitable clothing, safety and protection. Technical and operational instruction on the manoeuvring of the snowmobiles will be provided in English before each safari and supervised by approved instructors. The driver of the snowmobile must hold a valid driving licence and present it to the local agent representative prior to taking part in snowmobile safari. Finnish law prohibits driving a snowmobile under the influence of alcohol. Similar regulations are in force for other arctic activities including reindeer and husky dog rides. Equally we reserve the right to discontinue the safari if the participant is seen as potential danger to him/herself or to others or is in poor health. Parents and guardians are responsible for the supervision of the children in their party throughout the stay and at all times. Children participating in any of the arctic activities with their parents/guardians, inclusive of individual children arctic/snow activities such as snowmobiling (children snowmobile), kick-sledging and tandem skiing, are deemed to have parents' consent. Parents are responsible in assessing the ability of their child to participate in any/all activities, together with the parents/guardians or on child individual basis.

10. ACCOMMODATION AND MEALS - SHORT BREAKS
Senior staff have inspected hotels in our brochures. Descriptions contain factual as well as personal opinion. Beds for children i.e. extra beds, may be sofa beds or folding beds. Satellite TV will normally have limited selection of English speaking channels. The first meal is lunch provided on arrival in your hotel. Please note that not all meals are provided in the hotel of your stay and that certain meals will be taken on the activity venues. Festive dinner is buffet style dinner and consists of selection of Lappish and international dishes and is not a traditional British Christmas dinner. Any special dietary requests must be submitted at the time of booking, are subject to availability and cannot be guaranteed.

11. ATOL AND MAGIC OF LAPLAND PROTECTION
The air holidays in this brochure are ATOL Protected, under Magic of Lapland Air Travel Organiser License granted by the Civil Aviation Authority. Our ATOL number is ATOL 6809. In the unlikely event of our insolvency, the CAA will ensure that you are not stranded abroad and will arrange to refund you any money you have paid to us for an advanced booking. For further information, visit the ATOL website at www.atol.org.uk .

Magic of Lapland holds the relevant public liability insurance.

12. VISAS AND PASSPORT
Full 10-year and valid passport is required for each individual (5-year passport for children). No visas are required for the holders of UK passport.

13. QUALITY COMMITMENT
Our interest lies in providing an enjoyable Day/Short Break to our clients. Therefore, if in our opinion any person and/or party who threaten disruptive action prior to commencement of Day/Short Break and/or during the holiday, that causes disruption to the Day/Short Break and the enjoyment of others and/or any disruptive behaviour towards the staff of Magic of Lapland and/or its agents before commencement or during the Day/Short Break, Magic of Lapland reserves the right to refuse its services to the client(s). No refund or compensation will be paid should this occur.

14. COMPLAINTS
Any problems should be brought to the attention of our representative, who will make every effort to achieve a satisfactory solution whilst you are on your Day/Short Break. In the event that a solution cannot be achieved or you remain dissatisfied with the service provided to you, you will be required to formerly register your complaint in a report form, which you can obtain from a Magic of Lapland representative. You should then write to us within 21 days of your return, quoting your booking reference number. We will acknowledge receipt of your complaint within 14 days, investigate the points and respond to you within 28 days. Should we be unable to collate all the relevant details within this time we will send you an interim letter advising you on the progress of our enquiries. Our aim is to achieve an amicable solution to any issues that may arise.

These Booking Conditions are under the jurisdiction of English law.

Edition: December 2007

Back