We are frequently asked to organise flights. We are able to do this, however we often find given the ease of booking flights yourself that we don’t add a lot of value to this. However for groups or complicated bookings, our experience may be of benefit.
We recommend the web site Skyscanner if you want to check your own flight options.
Read on for more information about using us for flight booking...
Flight strategies
The programmes we have outlined explicitly do NOT include flights. This is to permit people to make their own way to the destination and then use our services on the ground.
However for many of you coming to Europe for the first time, or simply want a complete service, you might wish to take advantage of our flight planning service.
Thus you have two broad strategies for planning your travel:
-
1.Plan your own flights or travel and simply inform us of your arrival and departure plans (we take over from when you land)
-
2.Let us put an integrated programme together, leaving you with only the worry of getting from your house to the airport and back!
Why use our flight service?
First, we must inform you that we are not an IATA agent; and carry no insurance/bonding for provision of air services. If we book flights for you it is as a consultancy service. The flights are paid for as we book them (either you pay them directly or we pay on your behalf; but in any case in the extremely unlikely event of our company going out of business, your flights are secured since they are pre-paid)
We are very experienced in travel to the destinations of MotoGP; not just obvious direct routes (such as flying to Jerez airport) but also alternative routes, possibly involving connecting trains, cars or internal flights, which may save considerable money or time. In particular, Europe has extensive and competitive networks of 'cheap' airlines; which we are pretty familiar with. You may find that a trip we plan for you costs less than something your home travel agent comes up with.
Also, it is in our interest, and part of our service, to find the least expensive means of travel for you and your entourage. We understand the underlying requirements, the need for suitable rest at the destination, and realtively hassle-free connection arrangements.
How does it work?
You essentially tell us which event you want us to plan travel for; your best point of origin and some alternatives; and of course who will be traveling. Also we need to know your date flexibility. In general, we will use our best judgement for exact flights/times/dates. If it turns out that flying a day earlier is significantly less expensive that an extra day at the destination, this is what we will propose (unless you give us a hard requirement, such as you cannot possibly leave on Tuesday...)
We will come back to you with specific proposals for each event travel. You will need to approve these quickly, as we can NOT generally put flights on hold; so we need to secure the flights as quickly as possible once we have a winning suggestion.
You can of course reject any proposals; we will keep working at it until we either have a solution, or you come up with your own arrangements.
For all travelers, we will need nationality, age, sex and full names in passport. Ideally a photocopy of the passport and the passport number will be useful. If there are any visa requirements, we will advise you; please let us know of any unusual situations that may affect your travel.
What does it cost?
For the Rookies programme (unlike our commercial clients) we have decided on a flat fee for flight booking.
The booking fees are:
-
•€75 per intercontinental segment
-
•€50 per European segment
A 'segment' is the same set of travelers on the same route, either one way or return.
For the majority of arrangements, such as a return for 2 people to and from Brno for the Brno event; the fee will be a single segment.
In the rare event that we propose two or more alternatives; and you end up not taking up any of the offers; we will still charge the fee (as essentially our work has been done) although of course we will always consider extenuating circumstances.
What do we promise?
-
•We will always seek the least expensive journey within reason (5 hops, 72 hour layovers in Cairo will not be booked even if it saves you €25!)
-
•We will always use our best judgement (how would we ourselves like to do this?)
-
•If we can combine Rookies to save money for all (notably on transfers) we will suggest this
-
•We will provide you with clear instructions, and of course all the necessary documentation (almost always electronic tickets these days)
-
•We will always try to be available on telephone while you are
