Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT): Force Majeure or Gross Negligence?
Apr 16th, 2024, 05:54 PM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2024
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT): Force Majeure or Gross Negligence?
Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT) purports, "We have always taken the safety of our travelers seriously - and always will. With over four decades in the adventure travel industry, we have experience navigating historical crisis situations around the world." The opposite happened on this trip where my welfare and protection did not take priority! Safety took the backseat to convenience and financial interest.
Early into the OAT pre-trip in Tasmania, Cyclone Jasper manifested. Our Travel Experience Leader, GH expressed concern on what impact Cyclone Jasper might have on the Cairns/Port Arthur segment of our tour (December 16, 2023 - December 20, 2023). All of us on the pre-trip encouraged him to write an email to the OAT Sydney office with this concern. About one to two weeks prior to the Cairns/Port Arthur segment, G wrote an email to the OAT office in Sydney about the impending Cyclone Jasper with the recommendation to divert our group from the Cairns/Port Arthur segment of the tour to another location in Australia
During the trip, G had a family emergency. The plan was that G would leave the trip for the Cairns/Port Arthur segment and another tour guide, PC would fill in.
From a meteorological perspective, Cyclone Jasper made landfall at Port Douglas on December 13, 2023 where its winds had weakened back to tropical depression strength. The storm then stalled over the Cape York Peninsula where its cyclonic circulation brought warm, moist northeasterly winds from the Coral Sea onshore, resulting in heavy precipitation along the coast for several days. Cyclone Jasper was last noted over Cape York Peninsula on December 18, 2023.
Evacuation centers were set up in Cairns and Port Douglas. Homeless people were offered shelter through local charities. Tourists were urged to have a plan to bunker down during Cyclone Jasper. Cyclone Jasper caused thousands of properties to lose power and there was a shortage of drinking water.. There was severe flooding and people needed to be rescued. Several rivers and creeks overflowed. Trees were uprooted. Numerous roads including Captain Cook Highway, the main road between Cairns and Port Douglas suffered mudslides and destabilizing damage. Cairns airport finally closed due to low visibility and extreme flooding on the landing strip of the airport (Dec 16-17. 2023). Mossman and Daintree River were also flooded. Crocodiles were seen floating through the main street of Ingham. Jasper was the wettest tropical cyclone to impact Australia on record.
On December 16, 2023, while we were in Ayers Rock, G told us that all the roads were clear and activities were back to normal in Cairns/Port Douglas. Our flight from Ayers Rock to Sydney was delayed by an hour. Our plane from Sydney to Cairns arrived safely. We were met with torrential rain. The plane after ours was diverted from Cairns to Brisbane due to the weather. After that, all flights to Cairns were postponed. The Highway between Cairns and Port Douglas was flooded in various places. Fortunately, we had a good driver who knew the backroads and got us to our Hotel unharmed. Normally, the drive would take 45 minutes, but the drive took 1.5 hours. We arrived at the hotel about 12 Midnight. P told us to be in the lobby at 9am for the Wildlife Tour.
On the morning of December 17, 2023 P gave us an update. He said that there would be no trip to the Wildlife Zoo. In fact, all our planned activities had been cancelled at Port Douglas and we were confined to the hotel. P told us he was in communication with OAT and his goal was to have us transferred to Cairns so we could be near the airport and fly out to Sydney as soon as we could. Some of us wrote emails to OAT about our situation in Port Douglas.
On December 18, 2023, we all received an email from Marisela R. Perez, Traveler Relations, OAT that acknowledged the situation we were in and attributed it to circumstances beyond OAT's control. Marisela reiterated that our safety remained OAT's priority. Our group was upset that OAT made the decision to fly us into the aftermath of Cyclone Jasper and that OAT didn't accept accountability for that decision.
On December 19, 2023, planes started to fly in and out of Cairns airport. All the major roads between Cairns and Port Douglas were flooded. The Captain Cook Highway between Cairns and Port Douglas suffered from mud slides onto the highway. Port Douglas started up a Ferry Service between Port Douglas and Cairns.
On December 20, 2023, we took the Ferry from Port Douglas to Cairns. We then flew from Cairns to Sydney as originally scheduled. G met us at the Sydney airport, rejoined the group and the tour resumed as planned. It was obvious from the way events unfolded in Cairns/Port Douglas that OAT had no "Plan B".
On December 22, 2023, we all received another email from Marisela reiterating that the change in program in Cairns/Port Douglas was out of OAT's control and as a gesture of good will, we were provided a travel voucher for $500.00 per person to use on any OAT or Grand Circle Tour within the next two years. This second letter angered us even more. We decided to write a group response in the form of a letter. While SC was designated as the point person and manager of the letter, he would not speak for us as a group. We all agreed to reject the $500 credit offer from OAT. We all requested compensation of $10,000.00 cash for each person for OAT's gross if not criminal negligence for sending us into an existing dangerous situation putting our lives at risk. G mentioned the suggestion for altering our itinerary was nixed by Sandrine Le Gillard, Vice President Regional General Manager, South Pacific.
On January 3, 2024, S emailed the group letter to Marisela.
On January 19, 2024 S and Marisela spoke. She tried to manage expectations where she said that OAT does not usually refund trips and that the amount of $10,000 compensation was out of the question. She said that she was waiting for a response from the Executive Team at OAT. S reiterated that he did not speak for the group and that each member may have different requests or requirements regarding a refund/credit.
On January 23, 2024, Marisela spoke with S and said the Executive Team would not authorize any refund at all.
On January 28, 2024, I sent an email to Harriet Lewis, Chairman of the Board with Grand Circle Corporation, Brian Fitzgerald, CEO Grand Circle Corporation and Nicholas D'Angelo, Executive Vice President Traveler Relations Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT) with an attachment containing links to various articles and news clips about Cyclone Jasper, the damage that it caused and the continued aftermath of rains, winds, flooding and damages. I acknowledged that while no one can predict the weather, the decision to send me and my group into pre-existing inclement weather from the aftermath of Cyclone Jasper endangered our lives, was gross negligence and could have been prevented. I said that G, our Travel Experience Leader should have been listened to. I requested the following from OAT: 1. A letter from OAT acknowledging their accountability in this grossly negligent incident with an apology 2. Compensation of ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00) for the gross negligence. 3. A conversation with a person in the OAT organization with authority over quality control and processes to get assurance that this will never happen again - to anybody traveling with OAT
On January 31, 2024 Marisela and I spoke. Marisela said that she spoke to Brian Fitzgerald, CEO Grand Circle Corporation and was conveying his message. She said that Brian reviewed the letter and looked seriously at what happened. She said that the decision to send our group to Cairns/Port Douglas was based on phone calls to the airline where OAT was told that the planes were flying and on phone calls to the tourist businesses in Cairns/Port Arthur where OAT was told that the tourist venues were open for business and able to provide services. The decision to send our group to Cairns/Port Arthur was made based on the information OAT had at the time. He said what happened after that was unexpected. I was not given an indication how far in advance from our departure date these phone calls were made. There was no mention about the weather reports after Cyclone Jasper made landfall at Port Douglas on December 13, 2023 nor about the damage from Cyclone Jasper to the area. In essence, OAT was claiming that the situation was out of their control or Force Majeure or "Act of God". At one point, Marisela wanted to know what would make things better for me. At that point, I told Marisela that I wanted a full refund on the four future OAT trips which I had paid in full. Marisela said the refund would take 45-60 days (April 1, 2024) for the refunds as OAT was backlogged with refund requests. I also reinforced with Marisela that OAT lost all the people on the trip as repeat customers.
In order for an event to trigger a Force Majeure clause, it must be unforeseeable, external to the parties of the contract and serious enough that it renders it impossible for the party to perform its contractual obligations. In this case, Force Majeure should NOT be applied as the weather situation was very foreseeable and ongoing. It was unforeseeable to OAT as they did not have their eyes on what really mattered: news reports of damage from Cyclone Jasper and the subsequent weather reports and news about the aftermath of Cyclone Jasper. In my very humble professional opinion, I view this incident as gross negligence on the part of OAT.
In the meantime, I have received a full refund for the money ($27,000) that I paid in full for the four OAT trips. I did submit a claim with my travel insurance for Missed Tours and received a partial reimbursement as OAT provided a $500.00 credit for future travel. I have also made plans for other trips abroad with other tour operators.
Early into the OAT pre-trip in Tasmania, Cyclone Jasper manifested. Our Travel Experience Leader, GH expressed concern on what impact Cyclone Jasper might have on the Cairns/Port Arthur segment of our tour (December 16, 2023 - December 20, 2023). All of us on the pre-trip encouraged him to write an email to the OAT Sydney office with this concern. About one to two weeks prior to the Cairns/Port Arthur segment, G wrote an email to the OAT office in Sydney about the impending Cyclone Jasper with the recommendation to divert our group from the Cairns/Port Arthur segment of the tour to another location in Australia
During the trip, G had a family emergency. The plan was that G would leave the trip for the Cairns/Port Arthur segment and another tour guide, PC would fill in.
From a meteorological perspective, Cyclone Jasper made landfall at Port Douglas on December 13, 2023 where its winds had weakened back to tropical depression strength. The storm then stalled over the Cape York Peninsula where its cyclonic circulation brought warm, moist northeasterly winds from the Coral Sea onshore, resulting in heavy precipitation along the coast for several days. Cyclone Jasper was last noted over Cape York Peninsula on December 18, 2023.
Evacuation centers were set up in Cairns and Port Douglas. Homeless people were offered shelter through local charities. Tourists were urged to have a plan to bunker down during Cyclone Jasper. Cyclone Jasper caused thousands of properties to lose power and there was a shortage of drinking water.. There was severe flooding and people needed to be rescued. Several rivers and creeks overflowed. Trees were uprooted. Numerous roads including Captain Cook Highway, the main road between Cairns and Port Douglas suffered mudslides and destabilizing damage. Cairns airport finally closed due to low visibility and extreme flooding on the landing strip of the airport (Dec 16-17. 2023). Mossman and Daintree River were also flooded. Crocodiles were seen floating through the main street of Ingham. Jasper was the wettest tropical cyclone to impact Australia on record.
On December 16, 2023, while we were in Ayers Rock, G told us that all the roads were clear and activities were back to normal in Cairns/Port Douglas. Our flight from Ayers Rock to Sydney was delayed by an hour. Our plane from Sydney to Cairns arrived safely. We were met with torrential rain. The plane after ours was diverted from Cairns to Brisbane due to the weather. After that, all flights to Cairns were postponed. The Highway between Cairns and Port Douglas was flooded in various places. Fortunately, we had a good driver who knew the backroads and got us to our Hotel unharmed. Normally, the drive would take 45 minutes, but the drive took 1.5 hours. We arrived at the hotel about 12 Midnight. P told us to be in the lobby at 9am for the Wildlife Tour.
On the morning of December 17, 2023 P gave us an update. He said that there would be no trip to the Wildlife Zoo. In fact, all our planned activities had been cancelled at Port Douglas and we were confined to the hotel. P told us he was in communication with OAT and his goal was to have us transferred to Cairns so we could be near the airport and fly out to Sydney as soon as we could. Some of us wrote emails to OAT about our situation in Port Douglas.
On December 18, 2023, we all received an email from Marisela R. Perez, Traveler Relations, OAT that acknowledged the situation we were in and attributed it to circumstances beyond OAT's control. Marisela reiterated that our safety remained OAT's priority. Our group was upset that OAT made the decision to fly us into the aftermath of Cyclone Jasper and that OAT didn't accept accountability for that decision.
On December 19, 2023, planes started to fly in and out of Cairns airport. All the major roads between Cairns and Port Douglas were flooded. The Captain Cook Highway between Cairns and Port Douglas suffered from mud slides onto the highway. Port Douglas started up a Ferry Service between Port Douglas and Cairns.
On December 20, 2023, we took the Ferry from Port Douglas to Cairns. We then flew from Cairns to Sydney as originally scheduled. G met us at the Sydney airport, rejoined the group and the tour resumed as planned. It was obvious from the way events unfolded in Cairns/Port Douglas that OAT had no "Plan B".
On December 22, 2023, we all received another email from Marisela reiterating that the change in program in Cairns/Port Douglas was out of OAT's control and as a gesture of good will, we were provided a travel voucher for $500.00 per person to use on any OAT or Grand Circle Tour within the next two years. This second letter angered us even more. We decided to write a group response in the form of a letter. While SC was designated as the point person and manager of the letter, he would not speak for us as a group. We all agreed to reject the $500 credit offer from OAT. We all requested compensation of $10,000.00 cash for each person for OAT's gross if not criminal negligence for sending us into an existing dangerous situation putting our lives at risk. G mentioned the suggestion for altering our itinerary was nixed by Sandrine Le Gillard, Vice President Regional General Manager, South Pacific.
On January 3, 2024, S emailed the group letter to Marisela.
On January 19, 2024 S and Marisela spoke. She tried to manage expectations where she said that OAT does not usually refund trips and that the amount of $10,000 compensation was out of the question. She said that she was waiting for a response from the Executive Team at OAT. S reiterated that he did not speak for the group and that each member may have different requests or requirements regarding a refund/credit.
On January 23, 2024, Marisela spoke with S and said the Executive Team would not authorize any refund at all.
On January 28, 2024, I sent an email to Harriet Lewis, Chairman of the Board with Grand Circle Corporation, Brian Fitzgerald, CEO Grand Circle Corporation and Nicholas D'Angelo, Executive Vice President Traveler Relations Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT) with an attachment containing links to various articles and news clips about Cyclone Jasper, the damage that it caused and the continued aftermath of rains, winds, flooding and damages. I acknowledged that while no one can predict the weather, the decision to send me and my group into pre-existing inclement weather from the aftermath of Cyclone Jasper endangered our lives, was gross negligence and could have been prevented. I said that G, our Travel Experience Leader should have been listened to. I requested the following from OAT: 1. A letter from OAT acknowledging their accountability in this grossly negligent incident with an apology 2. Compensation of ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00) for the gross negligence. 3. A conversation with a person in the OAT organization with authority over quality control and processes to get assurance that this will never happen again - to anybody traveling with OAT
On January 31, 2024 Marisela and I spoke. Marisela said that she spoke to Brian Fitzgerald, CEO Grand Circle Corporation and was conveying his message. She said that Brian reviewed the letter and looked seriously at what happened. She said that the decision to send our group to Cairns/Port Douglas was based on phone calls to the airline where OAT was told that the planes were flying and on phone calls to the tourist businesses in Cairns/Port Arthur where OAT was told that the tourist venues were open for business and able to provide services. The decision to send our group to Cairns/Port Arthur was made based on the information OAT had at the time. He said what happened after that was unexpected. I was not given an indication how far in advance from our departure date these phone calls were made. There was no mention about the weather reports after Cyclone Jasper made landfall at Port Douglas on December 13, 2023 nor about the damage from Cyclone Jasper to the area. In essence, OAT was claiming that the situation was out of their control or Force Majeure or "Act of God". At one point, Marisela wanted to know what would make things better for me. At that point, I told Marisela that I wanted a full refund on the four future OAT trips which I had paid in full. Marisela said the refund would take 45-60 days (April 1, 2024) for the refunds as OAT was backlogged with refund requests. I also reinforced with Marisela that OAT lost all the people on the trip as repeat customers.
In order for an event to trigger a Force Majeure clause, it must be unforeseeable, external to the parties of the contract and serious enough that it renders it impossible for the party to perform its contractual obligations. In this case, Force Majeure should NOT be applied as the weather situation was very foreseeable and ongoing. It was unforeseeable to OAT as they did not have their eyes on what really mattered: news reports of damage from Cyclone Jasper and the subsequent weather reports and news about the aftermath of Cyclone Jasper. In my very humble professional opinion, I view this incident as gross negligence on the part of OAT.
In the meantime, I have received a full refund for the money ($27,000) that I paid in full for the four OAT trips. I did submit a claim with my travel insurance for Missed Tours and received a partial reimbursement as OAT provided a $500.00 credit for future travel. I have also made plans for other trips abroad with other tour operators.
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
ScarlettO
Europe
28
Oct 4th, 2017 04:56 AM
