3.
I note your comments about "bucket shops" (whatever
that term means). But no-one is suggesting that the FCO
should purchase tickets from disreputable or unreliable
companies. Quite the contrary. The fact is that there are many reputable companies in London whose business it is to sell, in cooperation with the airlines, surplus tickets at
discount prices (rather like theatre tickets are sold at discount prices). The sort of horror stories quoted in your minute simply do not apply.
4.
Incidentally, when I telephoned Thomas Cook's main
London office for a quotation for a cheap ticket to Hong
Kong, they offered me a "bucket shop" price of £651! The
"bucket shop" ticket which I eventually purchased for my
wife (at a cost of £630, after negotiation) enabled her to
travel with me Club Class, thanks to the kindness of the
Cathay Pacific staff.
LOPAFI/2
Alan Paul
Alan Paul