Turbulence Ahead

How to mitigate crew travel disaster when things don’t go to plan

Marine airfares and a reliable specialist travel agent really come into their own in a crisis. The recent unforeseen war in the Middle East provides an unfortunate but perfect example of this.

While many other non-marine agents or those booked independently were left hanging on the phone to airlines and scrambling to rearrange flights, most of those booked on specialist marine airfares could effectively leapfrog the system and simply have their tickets refunded or amended to new routes, even before airlines’ emergency policies had been announced.

“We had hundreds of our customers’ seafarers urgently needing to get to or from ports around the world who were booked via Middle East hubs…

Thankfully, given our access to marine fares, our round-the-clock team were able to proactively and relatively simply, rearrange their flights without the hassle of a standard ticket” explains Neil Payne, Reservations Manager at Marine Travel.

“We had to get a bit creative at times; one of our customers had almost a hundred crew members in port in Southeast Asia following a refit but were urgently needed back in Europe to join another vessel. We worked with our partner airlines and had to split them into groups but were able to successfully get them all back safely via the Americas for their next assignment with minimal disruption and cost to our customer. We’ve always offered a 24/7 service to our customers at no extra charge, that way our own staff can immediately deal with issues anytime and anywhere they arise. We can then take the strain whenever necessary to get things sorted- these issues tend not to work on a 9-5 schedule so neither do we.”

Although not always the perfect fit for every trip in the presence of some low-cost routes, these negotiated marine and offshore one-way airfares, which are exclusively accessed by a small number of specialist agents, are available to personnel travelling to or from ships, yachts, platforms, rigs, energy installations, etc. The often-unpredictable nature of our industries means that short notice changes are commonplace, and most marine fares are appropriately built to allow easy date changes and are often fully refundable, even after the planned date of travel. Extra luggage is also included on such tickets at no extra cost; particularly useful for those carrying tools or on long placements.  

The recent Middle East scenario and air traffic-control problems, along with other current ongoing and dynamic geo-political issues such as witnessed in Ukraine, not to mention extreme weather and natural disasters, are important reminders that appropriate travel arrangements are increasingly critical for ships’ crews and other marine personnel. Those involved in risk and crew management with long enough memories to recall the Icelandic ash cloud that hung darkly over Europe for a week in 2010 will inevitably remember the week-long shutdown of European airspace and will again have reaped the benefits of utilising marine fares.

“We’ve had a lot of things thrown at us over the years and each time, and with each customer, it’s different. There’s always a solution out there, it’s just being able to access it and thinking outside the box - this is our job. It’s at crunch times like these that we can use all our specialist tools and experience to fully mobilise and offer our customers a service that very few can.” – Adam Lowe, Senior Travel Consultant/ Business Development Executive at Marine Travel.

Wars and natural disasters aside though, it’s often the mundane things that can, and do, regularly cause delays and even severe disruption to our maritime travel plans. A part delivery being delayed, port congestion, or a repair or refit simply overrunning. This is when the flexibility that’s built into such fares becomes crucial and saves crew management teams so much time and extra expense that can be put to far more productive use elsewhere. The savvy travel booker will be rewarded for planning ahead. In times of crisis, the combination of specialist fares and a trusted marine agent provides not only peace of mind but can sometimes mean the difference between successfully fulfilling a contract or not.

Marine Travel, a UK-based agent with other offices in Dublin and Manila, offers a comprehensive specialist travel service to the maritime and offshore sectors around the world. The business, which has been operating as the UK’s leading independent marine-specialist travel company for around the last quarter of a century, offers a tailormade service and bespoke accounting for each of its customers. Their experienced in-house team of specialist marine travel consultants operates around the clock to provide reliable, efficient, and cost-effective travel logistics 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. www.marine.travel