The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
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Lisbon, Madrid, Italy and a private collection in the US, all of which requires a complex nexus of communication and mutual trust.
Then there is the nature of the permanent collections of the great museums. Not only are they drawn from many epochs, religions and countries, but the cultural values they enshrine have, historically, been widely shared. The art and antiquities amassed in museums as far apart as the Hermitage, the British Museum and the Met in New York, say, demonstrate a remarkable aesthetic consensus – despite having been put together at different times and in such different ways.
Then, as I discovered in the Eighties, there is tourism. Great museums – from the Hermitage to the Louvre, the Prado to the Vatican – dominate the lists of the world’s most popular attractions. They are a key reason why people travel – and it is through travel that we become familiar with, and fascinated by, other cultures. Sometimes we may be drawn to differences, sometimes we find unexpected familiarity.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Hermitage has been by far the most outgoing of the world’s museums in extending those bridges. Sure, Guggenheim has become an international brand and the Louvre now has a branch in Lens and lends its name to the Louvre Abu Dhabi. But Piotrovsky has not only been the most generous in loaning treasures around the world, he has instigated a series of international projects to enable people unable to travel to St Petersburg to see highlights of the Hermitage collection.
The Hermitage Amsterdam celebrates its 10th anniversary next year, there are satellite museums open
Our experts make your travel their business
SOPHIE BUTLER
TRAVEL INSURANCE EXPERT
Dear Kate
It is always a good idea to compare premiums from other providers when you renew an annual travel insurance policy.
Insurers tend to be less generous with existing
Beware fares that seem too good to be true – you could end up out of pocket and without a ticket
On Sept 6 I was supposed to fly from Martinique to Paris with Iberia. I booked the flight through Omega Travel, which sent me a flight-change notification in August. The only difference I could see was a different flight number.
Omega said I should call to confirm I was happy. I tried many times but nobody answered. A week before I was due to travel I checked Iberia’s website which showed my flight departing on time, operated by OpenSkies.
When I arrived at the airport in Fort-de-France my flight was not listed. I had no luck contacting Omega from the airport. I needed to return to London (I had a train booked from Paris) so I had to buy a new ticket. This cost £870 with Air France. The original had cost only £83.71.
On my return I contacted Omega Flightstore, which said that any claim must be addressed direct to the airline or through my travel insurance.
There has been no response after my complaint to Iberia. I am still out of pocket for both tickets. What legal rights do I have as Omega Flightstore says it has an Atol licence?
QAGILL CHARLTON
CONSUMER CHAMPION
EVA JAZ
Omega Travel ceased trading on Nov 12. Its huge debt combined with its continual flouting of ticket-sale rules had led to both its Atol licence and its IATA accreditation being suspended in September. This meant that Omega couldn’t amend, refund, revalidate or reissue tickets.
There is no claim under the Atol scheme as yours is a flight-only booking and not a packaged holiday. As you paid by credit card, there is a chance that you will be repaid for the unused Iberia ticket under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. If this doesn’t work, Iberia, which cancelled the flight, should give you a refund – if the airline was actually paid by Omega.
Unfortunately there is no refund due for the new ticket. This is a separate contract and your travel insurance policy does not cover the cost of replacement flights in these circumstances.
I was surprised to see Omega selling a one-way ticket from the Caribbean to Paris for as little as £83.71. This is a ridiculously low fare and too good to be true.
Any readers who have outstanding holiday or flight arrangements with Omega Travel should contact the suppliers or airlines involved directly.
Through travel we become familiar with, and fascinated by, other cultures
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