Bargain rugby trips spark row

A MAJOR row is brewing over the lucrative market of Munster rugby trips.

Pamela O'Neill, the organiser of an independent travel club for supporters accused the travel trade of "intimidation" following incidents which occurred prior to the Heineken Cup game away to Bourgoin.

She claimed that people travelling with the club to Munster's European Cup opener were phoned beforehand and told that their flight was illegal and would not travel.

Phone calls were also allegedly made to hotels in France stating that unsavoury guests were en route and should not be accommodated. However, according to Ms. O'Neill, the trip went ahead and was a huge success despite the "intimidation" tactics.

"I set up this club, having had advice from accountants and lawyers. Initially we only catered for 20-25 people and we did our booking on the internet and got value prices which could not be matched elsewhere," Ms. O'Neill said last night.

The success of the venture was such that numbers quickly ballooned to the present figure of around 400.

"Our intention was only to organise three away trips a year at prices which people could afford. Many of our members cannot afford premium prices, but they can afford to travel with us."

She added that the club was a non-profit making organisation and while people only paid for the collective cost of plane charters, hotels, bus transfers and other costs, they were also asked to pay an additional 20, which was then passed on to the Munster Supporters Club.

"We are not a travel agent and we don't want to be. We do not want to fly people on holiday charters. We only have one aim to get fans to away matches at a reasonable cost. Consequently, we do not have the staff and other overheads that travel agents have and that's why we can charge less."

Ms. O'Neill added that her party was quizzed by the Irish Aviation Commission prior to their trip to France to establish that they had insurance to cover a bond which would

ensure people were not abandoned abroad or left out of pocket. Once this was done they were allowed fly.

The commission had acted because it had received a complaint.

"We subsequently met with the commission and outlined our modus operandi to them and we are waiting for them to come back to us on that. They have been very helpful and given us a lot of advice already," Ms. O'Neill said.

She said the club was catering for a small number of Munster fans who travel to away games and she said it was unfair that big businesses had acted in such an intimidating fashion.

"They have been using intimidating tactics and they have put every possible obstacle in our way in order to try and stop us. I don't want to get into a slagging match with the travel trade, but I think what was done was very foolish," Ms. O'Neill commented.

The chairman of the Munster Supporters Club, Declan O'Connell, praised the new club for their efforts.

"Two years ago we were paying up to IR£500 for a trip similar to the one in Bourgoin recently. This time around we paid E320 for a similar trip with two overnights and staying in a better class of hotel. I think that tells its own story.

"We are not against travel agents making a profit. But there's profit and there's profit and we believe that fans have been ripped off following Munster over the years and that's why we've supported the new venture which is being run on a non-profit basis."

He added that the fans were, rightly or wrongly, left with the impression that agents were charging them E150 to E200 over the odds for trips abroad and he said that if the industry took a "reasonable slice" then fans might be more willing to travel with them.

A spokesman for the Irish Travel Agents Association, Michael Doorley, said last night that his organisation had nothing against properly licensed and bonded operators.

"Every travel agent has to be bonded and licensed and face the cost that goes with that," he said, "and we simply want a level playing field and we do not want competition from illegal operators. We have no problem with people offering flights at fantastic prices, as long as they comply with the laws. It is an open market with open competition and if they can do it legally, then the best of luck to them."