Key Service Levels
The well-publicised difficulties in the travel supply chain are set to continue as the sector wrestles with returning volumes and recruitment of the levels of staffing needed to support this. Since March, Key have added 40 customer service operatives and intend to bring service back to pre-Covid levels by the end of June. They have also introduced a triage system into their call handling process to ensure the most urgent requirements are addressed promptly. Service is still below where it should be, but is improving. Like hospitality, haulage, and entertainment, the travel sector has seen over half its workforce leave during the Covid period and there will be growing pains as demand returns. This is not a Key-specific issue, but affects all companies in the sector.
Passports
There have been a number of incidents where travellers have been refused entry at the gate due to the amount of time remaining on, and the length of validity for their passport. It is the traveller’s responsibility to check passport validity for their flight. For example, passports that have been extended beyond 10 years may not be valid for flight to some destinations. Passports with less than six months validity of them may not be valid for flights to some destinations. Please check your passport if flying to ensure you can travel. Some guidance can be found here.Â
RyanAir
Third party flight bookings via RyanAir currently have very high failure rates, and cannot reliably be booked through Key (or providers such as Expedia, Skyscanner and so forth). Where this is the case, and only for RyanAir flights, you may book directly with RyanAir without using the Key Portal. If you have access to a University Procurement Card, please pay for the flights using this card. If you cannot pay using a University Procurement Card, please pay for the flight and claim back using the University Expenses process.
Where you do so, you must notify the insurance office using the available forms.
This arrangement is intended to be a temporary solution to the lack of availability of RyanAir flights, and any bookings must follow the Travel and Expenses policies, as there are some direct flights and destinations that can only be reached using RyanAir.