Council Travel says tickets being honored

Posted 4:07PM on Tuesday 26th February 2002 ( 22 years ago )

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Council Travel, the nation's largest student travel agency, says airlines are honoring its tickets and insists that customers have nothing to worry about, even though it quietly filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this month. The company specializing in discounted student fares made its Chapter 11 filing on Feb. 5, the victim of an ill-timed sale and the post-Sept. 11 travel slowdown. Council's creditors include at least 13 airlines owed a total of $18.6 million, court papers show. Continental Airlines, the largest creditor, has argued that it shouldn't be forced to honor tickets it hasn't been paid for, but a judge issued a temporary injunction requiring it to do so. Michael Burns, a spokesman for Council, says no more than 20 travelers have had problems with tickets and those people were ``inconvenienced more than stranded.'' Still, New York-based Council hasn't publicized the bankruptcy to its Web, telephone and walk-in customers, though it says it does plan to post a note on its Web site. Nathalie Bellato, who bought a ticket Monday to visit her family in Milan, said she wishes Council's office in Cambridge had mentioned the bankruptcy. But she took the news philosophically. ``Actually, I'm feeling really nauseous right now, but whatever,'' she said with a laugh. Burns said a blanket message to customers would cause more problems than it would solve. ``What we didn't want was a 'sky is falling' statement,'' he said. Council, which has 76 mostly college-town offices, is issuing tickets through STA Travel because the airlines have locked Council out of their reservation system. STA is attempting to purchase Council's assets. Because of the STA deal, Burns said, the only area of concern is tickets issued before the filing, and the few customers who had problems have been reimbursed. ``Bottom line ... customers are not getting stranded, airlines are honoring all tickets issued through Council Travel,'' he said. Despite Council's assurances, at least one air travel expert said customers should consider having a backup plan. ``Absolutely it's something people should worry about,'' said Terry Trippler, a Minneapolis-based travel consultant. ``Don't make any rash decisions, but start looking at what your options are.'' Council dates back more than half a century and has its roots in groups such as the American Youth Hostel Association and World Council of Churches, which amalgamated following World War II to try to revitalize student exchanges. It sells student ID cards and heavily discounted tickets the airlines make available to fill unused seats and get youngsters in the habit of traveling. Some customers, like Bellato, 29, keep coming back after their school days are over. In 1999, usitWORLD PLC of Ireland bought a 40 percent share in Council, then purchased the rest in a deal that went through Sept. 1. Burns said the parent company, now in receivership, stopped reimbursing the airlines for tickets Council bought, just as air travel slumped after Sept. 11. Neal Walden, a former president of the Student and Youth Travel Association, said the attacks hurt the student travel business as those who pay the bills insisted students stay home. ``We had the president saying you should go and travel, live life as it is, but we had school boards saying, `We live 18 miles from New York City but you're not going to be able to take a trip there,' `` he said.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/2/198265