Firstly, the group is well and in good spirits. We have successfully arrived in Paris from Avignon and managed to negotiate the French train strike without disruption to our schedule.
As we are now in Paris, we are best placed to deal with the cancellation/disruption of flights out of Europe. Our flight is Tuesday morning and the Airports are re-opening on Monday morning at the moment.
We have been pro-active and have been seeking the best solution possible from as many angles as possible. We consulted the Airline, Travel Agents and The Principal to make a decision. As it stood, our only option was to continue with the Tour as planned. For your information:
1. Should it be the case that we have to stay, I have arranged with the MIJE (our current accommodation) to block out Tuesday night and there is a possibility to extend.
2. Malaysian Airlines will provide extra flights to deal with demand once the airports are open. They are dealing with each case on a day by day basis. They will also provide accommodation if possible.
3. Our insurance policy should cover extra accommodation expenses arising from the delay of our flight.
4. As of Saturday, it was not possible to purchase tickets for other flights from other parts of Europe. If you have seen that airports are open, this is correct, though it is not possible to get tickets for these flights. We did consider all options including cutting the trip short and returning home - it was not possible.
5. Rest assured, we are staying up to date and doing the absolute best we can to get everyone home safely. The media are relaying a range of information, so at this stage it is difficult to pinpoint the exact departure times and dates. We can only rely on official confirmation from the airline - as stated, the flight is still scheduled to depart on time.
I thank you for your patience and support throughout the Tour and especially during this time. I look forward to seeing you all shortly.
Shawn Kasbergen
thanks Shawn - am sure you have been working solidly behind the scenes...completely at ease with your decisions know they are all in very capable hands...and there are worse places to be stranded if it comes to that!! Difficult to have contigency plans for every event and this one definately left field...thanks again to you and your team, hope you can get a little bit of down time to relax and enjoy Paris!
ReplyDeleteThanks Shawn for the comprehensive update. If it turns out you experience delays, there could be no better city in the world to kill time! Enjoy your remaining time there, and we look forward to seeing you all when you get back. Bon chance!
ReplyDeleteWell done team Scotch, Shawn, Melissa, Seb & all. I concur with Jenny. We had no doubt you were doing your utmost. Champagne will be free flowing when you return and I shall add a bottle to your collection for being sensational chaperones. What will be will be and we hope you can all continue to thoroughly enjoy your time in France. We will see your smiling faces soon enough and it is a great lesson to experience that no all goes according to plan when you travel. We are proud of you all. You have our total support. Happy days folks x.
ReplyDeleteIt was most reassuring to receive your blog and to hear that morale is high and everyone's well - which I'm sure is in no small part due to the positive way in which these ongoing setbacks have been handled. The plan of action you have laid out has our support and here's hoping everything will fall into place as envisaged and we will see you all soon. Thanks once again to all three of you for doing such a wonderful job (and to our children for being so delightful!) Enjoy your remaining time in Paris!
ReplyDeleteHi guys All sounds good to us. Make the most of your extended holiday that you're lucky enough to have! Better than sitting around worrying about how to get away from somewhere you've tried so hard to get to. Rich & Jo
ReplyDeleteNice work Shawn and team, I guess there are worse places to be stuck than in Paris. I'm sure you've already discussed the option of riding back!!
ReplyDeleteCheers
Marty Coombe
Hi all. I'm sure that you are making the most of your extended stay in Paris, there are so many wonderful things to do to keep you busy. Thanks Shawn, Seb and Melissa.
ReplyDeleteWell done and much gratitude also from the McAuliffe's. We cannot feel worried when we know LIam is in the hands of such a professional team that has calmly explored all the possibilities and made decisions accordingly. Melissa already has a gift waiting for her due to her Florence Nightingale efforts - but I am with Dawn, there will much more than this to celebrate and congratulate you for!
ReplyDeleteFiona
Hi Guys! Make the most of your extra time in Paris, it may have been a little unexpected - but enjoy, as you never know it could be a long time before you're ever back there again! Thanks Shawn, Melissa & Seb for doing such a wonderful job and for your outstanding commitment to our children. We look forward to seeing you all on your return! x
ReplyDeleteThank you Shawn, Melissa and Seb for your excellent handling of this difficult situation. I feel happy knowing our kids are in such capable hands. Enjoy your time there and thank you again.
ReplyDeleteBelle xx
PS Oscar aren't you proud of me doing my first blog comment, and I worked it out all on my own - I'm growing up too!!