Terms of Service
The website www.blackstone.am (henceforth referred to as WEBSITE) belong to Blackstone Travel LLC. (henceforth referred to as Blackstone Travel), a registered company at Amiryan str. 4/6, 140, Yerevan, Armenia, 0010.
Blackstone Travel offers the utilization of the WEBSITE, conditioned by acceptation without modification by the user (henceforth referred to as USER) of the following General Terms and Conditions. The user expressly accepts the full adhesion, without exception, of each and every of the General Terms and Conditions of Blackstone Travel.
If the USER does not agree to the General Terms and Conditions, they do not have the right to use the WEBSITE of Blackstone Travel. The user declares that he is of legal age and has the legal capacity to acquire the services offered through the Blackstone Travel WEBSITE.
In addition, the user declares that all the personal information provided by them in order to access this website and during the use of the website is correct, complete, and precise.
Booking of products and services through the website
Through the Blackstone Travel website, the user has access to information about third-party products and services related to travel and tourism.
The sale of travel services as well as other products and touristic services will be carried out by Blackstone Travel, a travel agency which holds the necessary permits and licenses to carry out its activity.
Any bookings or acquisitions of products or services by providers or combined travel organizers are subject to the terms and conditions, which these providers or tour operators establish in each case. The user declares that he will accept and respect any terms and conditions established by any provider or tour operator whose services the USER wishes to book, including but not limited to payment of amounts accrued and the conformity with any rules and restrictions in terms of the availability of tariffs, products or services. Should there be any special rules or restrictions which affect the tariffs, products or services selected by the USER, these will be shown on the screen during the booking process.
The elaboration and updating of any information relating to offers, products or services, routes, distances, timetables, properties or any other data and information relevant to the products and services offered through the WEBSITE, corresponds to the respective product and service providers or tour operators. Blackstone Travel shall not be responsible for maintaining, revising, supervising or updating this information, nor does it have the possibility of verifying its truthfulness, accuracy or completeness nor whether it is up to date.
Special Terms and Conditions for Flights
Important: Blackstone Travel, as travel agency, acts as an intermediary between its clients and airlines. It is the airlines themselves which establish the rules and regulations that affect the flights booked by our users.
In the event that an airline ceases to operate due to insolvency or any other reason, Blackstone Travel as intermediary, will notify the passenger of such circumstance and the information available regarding it.
In such cases and since the contract of carriage between the passenger and the airline providing the flight was regularized, the passenger must complain to the airline about the refund of tickets that have not been flown.
Bear in mind that some airlines reserve the right to cancel the return flight of a round trip when the outbound flight has not been used. If you are planning not to use the outbound ticket, we suggest you contact Blackstone Travel or the airline at least 48 hours before the departure of your flight. Note, even the airline is informed, ticket refund, reissue and any other modification may be done according to the apllied tariff rules.
MODIFICATIONS, CANCELLATIONS, REFUNDS AND REISSUES
Wherever the airline and the selected tariff allow for modifications, cancellations, or voluntary reissue by request of the user, Blackstone Travel will charge an additional administrative fee
•10€ per passenger for changes or cancellations.
In any such case it is the sole responsibility of the user to request any modifications, cancellations, or voluntary reissue by contacting Blackstone Travel directly, during its opening hours. They will then be informed about the possibility of granting their request and about any possible fees or administrative steps.
Any modification or cancellation request must be made in writing through our contact form: [email protected]
Important: Name changes of passengers are not allowed by airlines. Should you need to change names and surnames on your booking, you will have to contact by email ([email protected]) 24 hours prior to your check-in time. For this reason, please pay special attention to the spelling of any passenger names and surnames while filling in your booking forms. These must correspond to the names on your travel documents which have to be presented at the airport on the day of your flight.
TARIFF RESTRICTIONS
Most flight tariffs do not allow for modifications or cancellations, and you will not be granted refunds in such cases. This means that a ticket may not be used for a different purpose than that which it was bought for. This includes any attempt to use only the return flight included in a booking without having shown up for the outward flight.
TARIFF COMBINATIONS
In order to offer the best and widest options for your trip, our system may combine two “one-way” fares instead of one “roundtrip” fare. Additionally, in the event of any cancellation or modification of a combined fare, specific conditions of each fare shall apply.
RECONFIRMATION OF FLIGHT SCHEDULES
Passengers must reconfirm their flights schedule, at least, 48 hours before the flight takes off calling the airline directly.
As airlines can modify, re-program or even cancel their flights, customers will be ones responsible to make this flight reconfirmation.
Although Blackstone Travel counts with automatic systems for the involuntary changes, passenger exempt Blackstone Travel from the derivative liability from involuntary changes suffered in their bookings.
Form of Payment
Blackstone.am accepts the following credit and debit cards: Visa, Master Card, American Express, Diners Club, Visa Electron, and Maestro and Paypal. All payments are made securely and the data is encrypted for your total security.
Blackstone also makes it available for its partners’ network to pay for the services or products provided via an offline form of payment.
CREDIT AND DEBIT CARD LIMITS
Most financial institutions establish a daily purchase limits on credit and debit cards for security reasons. This purchase limit is independent of the credit or balance remaining on your card. Most of the time, your credit or debit card will be charged the total amount indicated in your invoice. Within 24 hours after making the booking, you will receive an e-mail detailing the result of the payment process and the tickets issued.
THIRD-PARTY BOOKINGS
Blackstone Travel reserves the right to request additional documentation in order to verify the veracity of the purchase and to make sure that the payment is authorized by the card holder. In some cases, Blackstone Travel may request payment via the secure payment platforms Verified by Visa, MasterCard Secure Code, or via bank transfer.
REQUESTING INVOICES
In order to receive an invoice, please head over to “My account” section and find the appropriate invoice for a specific transaction available for you to download instantly.
Contractual Conditions for the Transport of Passengers and Baggage
NOTE: We would like to inform any passengers who book trips where the destination or one or more stopovers are in a country other than that of the airport of departure of their flight, that international treaties like the Montreal Convention or its predecessor, the Warsaw Convention, may apply to your trip as a whole, including the part of it which is in the same country. In this case, the applicable treaties, including special transport conditions incorporated in any applicable tariff, govern and may limit the carrier’s responsibility.
NOTIFICATION OF LIMITED LIABILITY
The Montreal and Warsaw Conventions may apply to your trip. These conventions govern and may limit the liability of carriers in case of death or personal injury, loss or damage of baggage, and delays.
Where the Montreal Convention applies, the liability limits are as follows:
There are no financial limits regarding death or personal injury.
In case of destruction, loss or damage or delay of your baggage, 1,131 Special Drawing Rights (approximately EUR 1,200, USD 1,800) per passenger, in the majority of cases. For damages caused by delay, 4,694 Special Drawing Rights (approximately EUR 5,000; USD 6,500) per passenger, in most cases.
According to EU Regulation 889/2002, carriers of the European Community must apply the legal requirements regarding the limits stipulated in the Montreal Convention to all types of aerial transport services of passengers and goods. Many carriers that do not belong to the European Community have opted to act in the same way with regard to the transport of passengers and their baggage.
Where the Warsaw Convention is applicable, the liability limits are as follows:
16,600 Special Drawing Rights (ca. EUR 20,000; USD 20000) in case of death or personal injury, where the Hague Protocol is applicable; or 8,300 Special Drawing Rights (ca. EUR 10,000; USD 10,000) where only the Warsaw Convention is applicable. Many carriers have voluntarily chosen not to apply these limits at all, and U.S. regulations require that in trips to, from, and including stopovers in the U.S.A., the limit be inferior to USD 75,000.
17 Special Drawing Rights (ca. EUR 20; USD 20) per kg of lost or damaged baggage or delay, and 332 Special Drawing Rights (ca. EUR 400; USD 400) in case of baggage which has not been checked in.
Carriers may also be responsible for damages caused by delay.
If you need more information about the limits which are applicable to your trip, it is best to contact your carrier directly. Should your planned trip include transport by different carriers, you should contact all of them individually to find out about the liability limits for your trip.
Regardless of which convention may apply to your booked trip, you will enjoy the highest liability limits in case of loss, damage or delay of baggage by presenting a special declaration on the value of your baggage and by paying an additional tax at the moment of check-in. If the value of your baggage is higher than the applicable liability limits, you should contract additional insurance before the trip.
Deadlines for legal action:Any legal action in case of complaints about damages must be presented within a period of two years from the arrival date or the date on which your airplane should have landed.
Baggage claims The carrier must be notified in writing within seven days of receiving the checked-in baggage in case of damages, and in case of delay, 21 days after receipt of the baggage.
NOTIFICATION OF CONTRACTUAL CONDITIONS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
Your transport contract with the carrier which provides you with aerial transport, regardless of whether it is international, domestic, or a domestic segment of an international journey, is subject to this notification; to any notification or receipt by the carrier; and to the individual terms and conditions of each carrier (Conditions), any related regulations, rules and policies (Regulations), and any applicable tariff.If your transport includes more than one carrier, different Conditions, Regulations and tariffs may apply for each carrier.
By means of this notification, the applicable Conditions, Regulations and tariffs valid for each carrier are incorporated by reference into your transport contract, becoming a part of it.
These Conditions include, but are not limited to:
- Conditions and liability limits of the carrier in case of death or personal damage.
- Conditions and liability limits of the carrier in case of loss, damage or delay of baggage and goods, including fragile or perishable goods.
Regulations to declare a higher value for baggage and to pay any applicable supplementary tax.
Application of the Conditions and liability limits of the carrier regarding the actions of its agents, employees and representatives, including any person which provides either materials or services to the carrier.
Claims, restrictions, including time limits for any claims or legal actions against the carrier.
Regulations concerning re-confirmations or reservations, presentation time at the airport, the use, duration and validity of air transport services; and the carrier’s right to deny transportation.
Rights of the carrier and limits concerning the carrier’s liability in case of delay or failure to provide a service, which includes itinerary changes, carrier or aircraft replacement and re-assignment of routes and, where required by applicable law, the obligation of the carrier to notify passengers of the identity of the operating carrier or the replacement aircraft.
Rights of the carrier to deny transportation to those passengers who fail to comply with applicable laws or who are unable to present all required travel documents. You can obtain more information about the transportation contract, and learn how to apply for a copy, in the places where the carrier’s transportation services are sold.
Also, many carriers list this information on their WEBSITE. Where required by law, you will have the right to view the full text of your transportation contracts in the offices at the airport as well as in the carrier’s sales offices, and to receive a free copy by mail or by other delivery services provided by each carrier on request.
If a carrier sells aerial transportation services or checks in baggage specifying the transport with another carrier, it only acts as an agent for the other carrier.
YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO TRAVEL IF YOU DO NOT PRESENT ALL REQUIRED TRAVEL DOCUMENTS, SUCH AS PASSPORT OR VISA.
IT IS THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE PASSENGERS TO COMPLY WITH ALL MIGRATION AND HEALTH REQUIREMENTS OF THE DESTINATION COUNTRY/COUNTRIES.
GOVERNMENTS MAY ASK YOUR CARRIER TO PASS ON INFORMATION OR TO GRANT THEM PERMISSION TO ACCESS PASSENGER DATA.
DENIED BOARDING: Aircraft tickets might be oversold, in which case there is a slight possibility that a passenger will not be able to board a flight even if they have a confirmed booking. In most cases, where boarding is denied involuntarily, you will be entitled to compensation. Where the applicable law requires it, the carrier must first ask for volunteers before involuntarily denying a passenger to board the aircraft. Be sure to check the complete regulations regarding denied boarding compensation (DBC) and information about priority when boarding.
BAGGAGE: For some types of items it is possible to declare higher values. Some carriers may apply special regulations in case of fragile, valuable or perishable items. Make sure to check this information with your carrier. Documented Baggage: Carriers may allow a certain allowance for documented baggage. This is established by each carrier individually and may vary according to class and/or route. Extra charges may apply if documented baggage exceeds the allowed limit. Please contact your carrier for more information.
Cabin baggage (non-documented baggage): Carriers may allow a certain allowance for cabin baggage. This is established by each carrier individually and may vary according to class and/or route and/or type of aircraft. We recommend keeping cabin baggage to a minimum. Please contact your carrier for more information. If your route includes more than one carrier, each one of them may apply different baggage regulations (for both documented and cabin baggage).
SPECIAL BAGGAGE LIABILITY LIMITATIONS FOR DOMESTIC FLIGHTS IN THE U.S.A.: For domestic flights which stay inside the U.S.A. at all times, federal Law requires any baggage liability limit to be at least USD 3,300.00 per passenger, or the amount currently stated in Regulation 14 CFE 254.5.
AIRPORT CHECK-IN TIMES: The time stated in your flight confirmation/ itinerary refers to the time of departure of the aircraft. The departure time is NOT the same time at which passengers need to be at the airport, nor does it correspond to the time at which they need to be ready to board. If you arrive late, you may be denied boarding by your carrier. Any airport check-in times, according to notification of the passengers by the carrier, correspond to the established maximum times, in which passengers must present themselves for boarding.
DANGEROUS ARTICLES: (DANGEROUS MATERIALS) For security reasons, there must be no dangerous articles in your cabin (non-documented) baggage, unless explicitly allowed. Dangerous articles include, but are not limited to: compressed gases, corrosives, explosives, inflammable liquids and solids, radioactive materials, oxidant materials, poison, infectious substances, suitcases with integrated alarm systems. For reasons of security, other restrictions may apply. Contact your carrier for more information.
From January 01 2015 onwards, the United States Department of Transportation will include new items considered as dangerous and prohibited on flights to, from and within the United States. Among these are large quantities of large lithium batteries, explosives/fireworks, lighter fluids, matches, oxygen cylinders or liquid oxygen, flammable liquids, pesticides, poisons or corrosive substances. However, in order to check that your luggage meets the legal requirements, we recommend visiting the official website for the United States Department of Transportation before your journey.
DANGEROUS ARTICLES: The articles, which appear in the figure below, must not be packed or taken on-board without prior consultation with your carrier.
Passengers must reconfirm departure times and flight timetables at least 48 hours before scheduled flight departure, given that sometimes airlines can change timetables and even bring forward departure times. Passengers assume total responsibility for any inconveniences caused by their failure to check timetables.
NOTE: For limited liability regulations concerning domestic air travel within your country, make sure to check local regulations.
Special Terms and Conditions for Low-Cost Flights
Blackstone Travel allows you to book flights with low-cost airlines. The tickets for these companies are not issued by Blackstone Travel, but by the airlines themselves, who are responsible for any received information and for the provided service.
You will receive a confirmation email from Blackstone Travel with your flight details as soon as the airline has confirmed your booking.
For bookings with low-cost companies, your credit card will be charged twice: once for the price of the ticket, charged directly by the airline itself, and a second time for the booking fees charged by Blackstone Travel (not refundable under any circumstances). The total price of the booking is the sum of these two charges.
Should you wish to modify your booking or ask for special services, you will have to contact the airline itself. Blackstone Travel is not able to modify or refund low-cost bookings. In your confirmation email you will receive all contact details of the airline.
Please bear in mind that the majority of low-cost airlines do not permit transport of domestic animals and have certain limitations with regard to special services. Please contact these airlines directly to learn more about these.
Should there be timetable changes and/or flight cancellations, the airline itself will be the only responsible party. It is indispensable to reconfirm the status of your flight 48 hours before departure by calling the airline.
Children under 14 years of age are not allowed to travel unless accompanied by an adult aged 16 or over, who will be responsible for the children. Children aged 13 or younger will not be allowed to board the aircraft if traveling on their own. (In such cases, please contact your airline to learn about their individual terms and conditions.)
Migration and Health Requirements
It is the passengers’ sole responsibility to make sure they comply with all migration (documentation, visas etc.) and health requirements for their destination and/or transfer countries. Blackstone Travel shall never be held responsible for any inconveniences caused by failure to comply with such requirements.
For more information, consult with the following governmental institutions:
It is the responsibility of the travellers to contact local foreign offices and/or health organisations in order to make sure they are aware of all applicable regulations, as well as known characteristics and risks of the health situation in the destination country.
Minors
Minors must at all times carry their national ID cards or passport, where applicable, and unless accompanied by their parents or legal guardians, need a written authorization signed by these persons.
Please note that “family record books” are not valid travel documents.
Minors ages 17 years or younger may usually not be responsible for other minors.
Bear in mind that some airlines do not allow minors travelling alone on their flights. Before making a booking, please contact the airline to verify if it is allowed. If your booking includes more than one stretch, all carriers involved must allow minors travelling alone. Once you have verified this information with the airline, you will have to make the booking through our website and book our “personalized service” indicating the specific service so that we can request the unaccompanied minor service to the airline. If you make a booking without previously confirming if the airline allows the service and you need to cancel it, general conditions of the airline will apply.
As a general rule minors are not allowed to travel without an adult. However, some airlines do allow it, for this reason it is necessary that you contact the airline before making the booking to verify if it is allowed. If your booking includes more than one stretch, all carriers involved must allow minors travelling alone.
Once you have verified this information with the airline, you will have to make the booking through our website and book our “personalized service” indicating the specific service so that we can request the unaccompanied minor service to the airline. If you make a booking without previously confirming if the airline allows the service and you need to cancel it, general conditions of the airline will apply.
New inmigration Regulations from 1st June 2015: Travelling to SA with children
Hereby we inform you about the new South African Home Office regulation regarding all families travelling with children under 18 from the next 1st of June 2015 that must present, apart from their passport, the children’s birth certificate.
This new regulation will be applied to all minors, both South African or foreign, who want to travel to or from South Africa.
In the case of countries that do not provide birth certificates, a letter from the competent authorities of the country with the same information will be required.
All documents must be original or copies certified by a notary or equivalent authority in the country of residence of the child. Notary documents can not be more than 3 months old.
Below we summarize the main developments, which can also be found in Annex I for your reference:
- Where parents are travelling with a child.
- Where one parent is travelling with a child.
- Where a person is travelling with a child who is not his or her biological child, he or she must produce.
- Any unaccompanied minor shall produce to the immigration officer
Any child who is in alternative care as defined in the Children’s Act, 2005 (Act No. 38 of 2005) shall, before departing from the Republic, produce a certified copy of an authorization letter from the Provincial Head of the Department of Social Development where the child resides as contemplated in section 169 of the Children’s Act.
Travel Insurance
Blackstone Travel recommends taking out travel insurance to be on the safe side. Please contact us for more information.
Special Terms and Conditions for Hotels and Accommodation
Blackstone Travel, as a travel agency, acts as an intermediary between its clients and wholesale hotel operators. It is these operators, and the accommodation providers, who establish any rules and regulations relating to your stay in the accommodation booked, and they are the responsible parties for the provision of the services booked with us.
In case of voluntary cancellation or modification of the booking by the user, Blackstone Travel will charge non-refundable administrative fees. Additionally, any cancellation or modification of a booking may be subject to fees established by the wholesale operator or the accommodation provider, which may vary according to the time of cancellation, individual dates, accommodation providers, and destinations, among other things.
Additional Information
In order to make bookings on our WEBSITE, users will have to provide information to identify passenger/traveller data and the method of payment. This is done in various steps. Once the information is submitted, before completing your purchase, you will be presented with an overview of the submitted information, in order to double-check it and be able to complete your purchase. Additionally, once your purchase is completed, you will receive a confirmation email which includes all relevant information as well as proof of payment.
It is of utmost importance, and the sole responsibility of the user, to carefully check that all personal information, e.g. Name and Surname, ID or passport number, email address, telephone number etc. is correct before confirming any purchase.
Once tickets or vouchers have been issued, any kind of modification or cancellation is subject to fees and additional charges. Any bookings and therefore, purchases, are considered confirmed only as soon as the WEBSITE show the confirmation page with the corresponding booking code, a copy of the booking confirmation and proof of payment has been sent to the email address provided by the user, and Blackstone Travel has successfully charged the provided credit or debit card, or has successfully received money transfers or deposits of the corresponding amount.
Unless all of the above conditions are fulfilled, bookings may be cancelled by Blackstone Travel at any time.
Blackstone Travel reserves the right to ask the client to provide additional information to verify their purchase. By making a booking, the client agrees to authorize charging the credit or debit card provided by him/her during the booking process with the corresponding total amount. Should it not be possible to process the credit or debit card payment (transaction refused), clients must be aware that their booking may be cancelled by Blackstone Travel and/or the service provider.
The payment for flight bookings is processed by credit or debit card before tickets are issued.
All prices listed on our WEBSITE include airport taxes. They do not include costs for visas, or any applicable departure taxes in a given territory, which may be paid in local currency or in U.S. Dollars in this territory. Any tariff variations applicable because of delayed payment of a client’s booking from the moment of reservation until the moment a ticket is issued are to be carried by the client.
Confidentiality
Blackstone Travel respects your privacy rights. We understand the importance of privacy and security of your personal data. To this purpose, and in relation with our confidentiality policy, we would like to inform you about the following:
On purchasing product or booking services through our website, you will have to provide your name, email address, credit or debit card number and expiry date, and telephone number. This information is necessary to process your booking and to keep you informed about the state of the latter.
If you participate in some kind of sweepstake or promotional offer, we will ask you for your name, your postal address, and your email address. This information is required for the organization of the sweepstake and to inform the winners.
Your private data will not be passed on to any third party outside of our organization. It is possible, however, that Blackstone Travel will pass on this data to third parties with which it maintains commercial relationships, if your reserve or purchase products or services through our website. These third parties may reside anywhere in the world. We may also pass on to these third parties some global statistics about our sales, clients, data traffic and other information related to the website, but these statistics do not include any information which may be used to identify you personally.
We limit ourselves to collecting and processing data which we think is necessary in order to provide high-quality personalized services, including consulting services and information about our products and service, as well as any kinds of opportunities which we believe will be of advantage to our clients.
By registering with Blackstone Travel and opting in to receiving our newsletters, the user also accepts the possibility of receiving useful information from any companies which we have previously selected and which may send you special offers, promotions, and recommendations about products and services which we believe will be of interest to you.
We will pass on all required information to the provider selected by you during the booking process on our website, and we will ask them to comply with the same regulations.
At the same time, we follow strict security procedures related to data storage and display in order to avoid unauthorized access, according to article 9 of the Organic Law 15/1999, of 13 December 1999, concerning the Protection of Personal Data in Spain.
Use of Cookies
Cookies are fragments of information, which are saved by your web browser on the hard drive of your computer. Every time you visit the Blackstone Travel website, our server will recognize your cookie and provide us with information about your last visit. The majority of web browsers accept cookies automatically, but it is usually possible to disable them. Even if you prefer to disable cookies, you will still be able to use most of the services on our website, including the booking of products and services.
If at any moment you would like to send us a comment or complaint about the way in which we use your personal data, just send an e-mail.
Data Protection
Any personal data submitted by the user for use on the website are subject to the privacy policy contained in “Data Protection”.
Author’s Rights and Intellectual Property
All contents of the WEBSITE (including texts, images, trademarks, designs, software etc.) are the property of Blackstone Travel and its content providers. They are protected and recognized on a national and international level. Any reproduction, use or distribution without the explicit consent of Blackstone Travel is strictly forbidden.
Use of the WEBSITE
The WEBSITE are exclusively designed for personal use by our customers and the partner agencies in our network. Any modification, reproduction, duplication, copying, distribution, sale, resale or any other forms of commercial or non-commercial exploitation are strictly forbidden. By using the WEBSITE, you agree not to use them for illegal or prohibited purposes.
Web Browser and Operating System
Our WEBSITE are optimized to be viewed using all the modern browsers(Chrome, Safari, Mozilla, Edge, Opera) and operating systems(OSX, Windows and Linux).
Applicable Law
Blackstone Travel reserves the right to make amendments to the website as well as to these Terms and Conditions at any time.