General terms and conditions of sale and use

Welcome to the Option Way website! Before you start using our website, you must read these general terms and conditions of sale and use of the Option Way website (hereinafter the Website) carefully. Where a commercial partnership applies, the name of the Option Way partner appears on the co-branded Website together with the words “powered by Option Way”, and the general terms and conditions of sale and use of the Option Way website apply in the same way.

These general terms and conditions of sale and use (hereinafter the General Terms and Conditions) govern your contractual relationship with Option Way whenever you use our Website, whether to search for flight information, compare flight prices, book a flight ticket, take out travel insurance or purchase any other flight-related product. For hotel searches and bookings and for car hire, however, Option Way refers users to the websites of third-party companies, which apply their own general terms and conditions of sale and use.

The General Terms and Conditions, together with all contractual information set out on the Website, are drawn up in French and may be consulted directly on the Website by any user. These documents are translated into other languages for information purposes only, but the French versions shall prevail over the versions in other languages.

By using this Website, you acknowledge that you have read these General Terms and Conditions and that you accept them expressly and unreservedly.

By booking a flight ticket, you declare that you are of full age and have the legal capacity to enter into this contract.

1. Our company

The terms “Option Way”, “we”, “us” and “our” refer to Option Way, the company that operates the optionway.com website. Option Way is a société par actions simplifiée (a French simplified joint-stock company) registered with the Registre du Commerce et des Sociétés (French trade and companies register) of Cannes under number B 752 774 521, whose registered office is at Parc Haute Technologie, Font de l'Orme, avenue Maurice Donat, 06250 Mougins Sophia-Antipolis. The term “you” refers to any user of the Website and to any purchaser or traveller.

Option Way is a travel agency registered with Atout France under number IM006130009 and accredited by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Option Way is a member of the Association Professionnelle de Solidarité du Tourisme (APST) and of Les Entreprises du Voyage (EDV), the French travel industry's professional bodies.

Option Way has taken out professional indemnity insurance with the insurance company Generali.

Option Way's main activity is the booking of flight tickets on the Website. When selling flight tickets, Option Way acts as an intermediary between the air carrier and the customer (the traveller). Option Way acts in the name and on behalf of travellers in its dealings with the airlines. Option Way's liability is therefore limited to a duty to provide information and to the issuing of flight tickets (article R 322-4 of the French code de l'aviation civile, the civil aviation code). As a travel agency, Option Way is subject to the regime set out in article L.211-17-3 of the French Code du Tourisme (tourism code), and it cannot be held liable in place of the air carrier responsible for carrying or transferring passengers, baggage or other items.

To contact us, you may use the online form available on the Website. You may also write to us by email at the following address: contact@optionway.com, or by post at the following address: Option Way, Parc Haute Technologie, Font de l'Orme, avenue Maurice Donat, 06250 Mougins Sophia-Antipolis.

2. Access to the Website

Option Way updates the Website regularly and may change its content at any time. Where necessary, Option Way reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to suspend access to the Website or to close it indefinitely.

You undertake to use the Website only for personal purposes or on behalf of persons for whom you are authorised to act. Should you book flight tickets on our Website and resell them to third parties, you must bear all the consequences of the sale and of the after-sales relationship between you and the third party, Option Way being responsible only for the relationship with the purchaser of the flight tickets.

You undertake not to use this Website for any unlawful or prohibited purpose. Option Way reserves the right, at any time and without notice, to deny any user access to the Website where there is any doubt as to fraudulent use.

3. Your user account

You may create an account by completing the registration form. You declare that all the information provided to this Website is true, complete and accurate, and you undertake to keep it up to date.

When you create your account, your user name is your email address. You undertake to provide Option Way with a valid email address. Should your email address change, you undertake to provide Option Way with your new address.

Where you choose, or are provided with, a user identification code, a password or any other information under our security procedures, you must keep that information confidential and must under no circumstances disclose it to third parties.

You must change the password you have chosen at regular intervals. The user's account contains personal data supplied by the user, who warrants the accuracy and truthfulness of that information. You may change your personal data at any time directly on the Website by logging in to your user account.

Please note that Option Way issues electronic flight tickets exclusively. Every flight ticket booked on our Website is sent to the purchaser by email in the form of an electronic ticket. Each user therefore undertakes to provide a valid email address when using the Website, and is responsible for checking any filters applied to their mailbox (in particular junk mail or spam filters) so that they can receive any email sent to them by Option Way.

4. Booking a flight ticket

The user undertakes to enter accurate information concerning the identity of the passengers (gender, surname and first name as shown on the identity documents used for the journey) and certifies, before booking a flight ticket, that they hold documents that comply with the entry formalities of the country of destination.

Through the Website, you may book one or more flight tickets using our price comparison service, once you have specified the essential criteria for the tickets you wish to book. These criteria include the origin, the destination, the departure and return dates, the number of passengers, the type of passenger (infant, child, adult), the booking class and the total number of checked bags.

Please note that the age of the passengers to be taken into account in your search is their age on the date of the last flight of your journey.

Children who are minors may not travel alone and must be accompanied by an adult, unless the airline agrees to a special fare (unaccompanied minor). Requests for unaccompanied minors must be made by contacting Option Way's customer service team.

Option Way presents you with the list of search results matching your criteria. The ticket prices displayed include the booking fees charged by Option Way. If you require baggage, the prices displayed include an estimate of the cost of that baggage where it is additional to the basic fare of the ticket. This is an estimate, as the information is not always available at that stage of the search.

You may then select a flight and book the flight ticket at the price available at the time of the search. When booking a flight, Option Way acts as a transparent intermediary, in the name and on behalf of travellers in its dealings with the airlines.

You must provide the personal details of each passenger for the tickets selected. Please note that this information will be used to issue the electronic tickets.

Any error in the identity of the passengers (gender, surname, first name, date of birth, passport details, email addresses, telephone number…) or in any other essential information is the sole responsibility of the purchaser. In particular, please note that the surname must be the first of the names shown on your identity documents (passport), without the words “usage”, “épouse”, “ep” or “veuve” (the annotations printed on French identity documents before a name used in daily life, a married name or a widowed name), or any other term following the first surname. Option Way cannot be held liable for such an error, which may generate substantial costs for the purchaser.

Please note that, because flight ticket prices fluctuate, the price shown when your search results are displayed may change at any time. Option Way checks the price of the ticket you have selected and informs you of any change. The final price is the price you accept, which is validated when you pay for your purchase and confirmed by email.

Once you have confirmed your booking for one or more flight tickets on our Website, you will receive a confirmation email together with your invoice. For some airlines, you will also receive your electronic ticket by email.

In rare cases, Option Way may be unable to confirm the booking because of availability problems or because the prices held by the central reservation system are not up to date. In such cases, Option Way will use its best efforts to confirm the booking requested by the customer within 72 hours. If the booking cannot be confirmed, Option Way will inform the traveller and refund the payment in full. If the booking can be confirmed but at a higher price, the customer may accept it by paying the price difference, or may request cancellation of the booking and a full refund of the payment, before the tickets are issued.

By default, all flight tickets booked on the Website are non-refundable, non-exchangeable and non-modifiable, unless the fare conditions of the tickets are more favourable. Consequently, the conditions for exchanging, modifying, cancelling and refunding flight tickets booked on our Website depend on the specific fare rules applied by the airline. You expressly understand and accept that you may not modify or cancel, or obtain a refund for, the flight tickets you book on our Website.

Finally, please note that failure to present yourself on time to board the booked flight, in accordance with the information provided by the airline (“no-show”), may result in the automatic cancellation of all subsequent flights, with no refund from the airline.

5. Price and payment

The prices shown on the Website are in euros and in certain foreign currencies. They are inclusive of all taxes and include the booking fees relating to the booking and issuing of the tickets. The total amount payable by the user of the Website is shown on the booking confirmation page for the ticket. That price includes any applicable fees and/or commission, together with the price of insurance where the user has chosen to take out travel insurance, and the price of any other flight-related product or service.

Option Way's prices are contractual fares. No dispute concerning the price may therefore be taken into account once the flight ticket has been booked. The price is payable in full as soon as the flight ticket booking is confirmed.

Please note that the Website is located in France. Holders of foreign payment cards who carry out a transaction on the Website may be charged foreign transaction fees by their bank.

Payment is made immediately and solely by means of the payment cards listed on our Website (Carte Bleue, Visa, Mastercard or American Express). Means of payment other than those listed on our Website are not accepted, with the exception of “Chèques vacances” (French state-backed holiday vouchers), which are subject to a specific acceptance procedure described in the Website help centre. Option Way accepts no liability where payments (in particular by cheque or in cash) are sent to it by post.

Payment is made by the user through the interface of a provider that specialises in, and is accredited for, remote payments. Payment authorisations given by the user through that interface are secured by a user verification procedure (3D Secure). The data is encrypted and sent to the specialised, accredited provider's server through a secure session. At no point does Option Way have access to your payment card number, and it therefore cannot store it.

Where payment card fraud is suspected, Option Way reserves the right to cancel the transaction and not to honour the booking.

6. Fees

The flight ticket prices displayed on the Website include booking fees, which constitute Option Way's remuneration for the flight search, booking and ticket issuing service. The booking fees are clearly shown in the price breakdown for each flight on the Website. These service fees are non-refundable.

Where the sale is made outside the Website, by email or by telephone, the booking fees, in addition to those shown on the Website, amount to €25 per passenger per flight ticket in Economy class and €50 per passenger per flight ticket for the other cabin classes.

For any change, modification, cancellation or postponement of flights, Option Way acts as agent for the airlines and applies the fare conditions of the flight tickets and the commercial measures decided by the airlines. In the case of unused flights (“no-show”) and non-refundable tickets, only the refundable part of the flight ticket taxes may be refunded.

Where the fare conditions of the ticket so permit, any request for modification or cancellation gives rise to a service fee of €25 per modification/cancellation per passenger per air journey¹ (maximum of €50 per passenger), in addition to any penalties applied by the airline. However, the service fees for refunds may not exceed 20% of the amount refunded.

Pursuant to article L. 224-66 of the French code de la consommation (the consumer code), no fees are charged in the case of an unused flight (no-show) where the traveller has expressly requested a refund of the refundable part of the flight ticket taxes from Option Way's customer service team by email at contact@optionway.com.

Any request for an additional paid service (such as extra baggage, a seat or a meal) gives rise to a processing fee of €5 per service booked per passenger per air journey.

7. Travel insurance

Option Way recommends that you take out a travel insurance policy when you book a flight ticket, in order to protect yourself against unforeseen events before or during the journey, in particular the consequences of certain cases of cancellation, or specific risks such as medical and repatriation expenses in the event of accident or illness.

To that end, Option Way offers two insurance policies covering the risks associated with your journey. The sale prices of the travel insurance policies vary according to the price of the flight tickets and are clearly shown on the Website at the time of booking and before payment. The general terms and conditions of the insurance policies may be consulted on our Website.

Where the user chooses travel insurance on our Website, the travel insurance policy is taken out with the insurer at the time the flights are booked.

Option Way is not an insurance company; the insurer alone is liable to the user in respect of the taking out and the performance of the insurance policy, the user then having a direct contractual relationship with the insurer, whose general terms and conditions apply.

For any question or request concerning travel insurance, you expressly understand and accept that you must contact the insurance company directly and without delay.

8. Issuing of the electronic ticket

Our obligation to issue the electronic ticket is subject to payment having been made in full.

All flight tickets sold on our Website are electronic tickets. The electronic ticket is a paperless form of the flight ticket. Option Way will send you a confirmation email containing your booking reference. You will not receive a ticket printed on paper.

Each airline applies its own rules on electronic ticketing. Some airlines may ask you for your booking reference and/or your confirmation email as proof of your booking. We therefore recommend that you print your confirmation email and your electronic tickets.

We strongly recommend that you check in online on the airline's website a few days before departure in order to obtain your boarding pass, which you must present at the airport. Some airlines, known as “low-cost” airlines, may charge you substantial fees if you have not checked in online and do not present your boarding passes at departure. Option Way accepts no liability for any fees that airlines may charge you if you fail to present the documents they require.

Option Way considers the information you provide to be accurate and cannot be held liable if you fail to receive your electronic ticket because of an incorrect email address or your junk mail settings. You must inform us immediately if your email address or telephone number changes.

You must also check that the name on your identity document matches the name shown on your booking confirmation and on your ticket. Option Way cannot be held liable where the user has provided incorrect contact details or information when booking a flight ticket.

In very exceptional cases, because of ticketing restrictions beyond its control, Option Way may be unable to pass on to the airline the information relating to a ticket booking. Should this occur, we will endeavour to inform you within 48 hours of your booking and either to refund your purchase in full or to find an alternative solution. If you choose an alternative solution that is more expensive than your original booking, you will be responsible for paying the difference.

When booking a flight ticket on our Website, you may enter details of the airline loyalty programmes of which you are a member. Please note that each of these loyalty programmes is subject to the general terms and conditions of the airline concerned. Those terms and conditions may restrict the benefits granted for certain fares or certain classes. You must contact the airline that operates your loyalty programme directly for full details of the benefits you may obtain. Option Way accepts no liability as regards the application of these loyalty programmes.

9. Withdrawal, modification, cancellation and refund

In accordance with paragraph 12 of article L. 121-21-8 of the French code de la consommation, the right of withdrawal does not apply to contracts for the provision of transport services which are to be supplied on a specific date or during a specific period. You do not have any withdrawal period for any flight ticket booking made on our Website.

Option Way acts in the name and on behalf of travellers in its dealings with the airlines. Option Way therefore books the flight ticket with an airline on your behalf, and your contract of carriage will be subject to the general terms and conditions of the airline concerned. Please note that the airline or airlines are solely responsible for the contract of carriage, Option Way's liability being limited to the issuing of the electronic tickets. In particular, airlines may unilaterally change flight times, or even cancel certain flights, for which Option Way is not responsible.

By default, all flight tickets booked on the Website are non-refundable, non-exchangeable and non-modifiable, unless the fare conditions of the tickets are more favourable. Consequently, the conditions for exchanging, modifying, cancelling and refunding flight tickets booked on our Website depend on the specific fare rules applied by the airline. You expressly understand and accept that you may not cancel or modify the flight tickets you book on our Website.

Where a ticket covers several flights to which different fare rules apply, the most restrictive fare rules apply. You must familiarise yourself with all the fare rules relating to your booking by contacting Option Way's customer service team.

Failure to present yourself for the departure of a flight may result in the outright cancellation of your ticket by the airline and, as a result, in your ticket not being refunded.

Where the fare conditions of your ticket so permit, any request for modification or cancellation gives rise to processing fees, in addition to any penalties applied by the airline.

We recommend that you read the airline's general terms and conditions directly on its website. Please also make sure that you read the airline's specific fare conditions carefully, in particular as regards modification and cancellation fees.

Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 establishing common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding and of cancellation or long delay of flights grants air passengers certain rights where a flight is delayed or cancelled, where the passenger is denied boarding, or where the passenger is downgraded or upgraded. Depending on the case, Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 entitles the air passenger to compensation, a refund, re-routing or care.

Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 applies to passengers on a flight departing from an airport located in the territory of the European Union and to passengers on a flight departing from an airport located outside the territory of the European Union and bound for an airport in the European Union, provided that the flight is operated by a Community carrier.

10. Contribution to the funding of environmental projects

When you book flights, Option Way offers you the opportunity to contribute to the funding of environmental projects in order to combat global warming. This is a voluntary financial contribution by travellers; it carries no tax advantage and confers no ownership or representation rights within the projects. The contribution is collected by Option Way and paid over to the project selected by the traveller. Should the flight booking subsequently be cancelled, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, the contribution paid will be refunded to the traveller.

For information purposes, Option Way states the quantity of CO₂e sequestered or avoided corresponding to the amount of the contribution chosen by the traveller. You understand that this is an estimate based on the selected flights, on the information provided by the carbon emissions calculator used by Option Way, and on the cost of the project.

The projects offered to travellers hold recognised labels or certifications (such as the “label bas-carbone”, the French low-carbon certification scheme). You understand and accept that Option Way acts as an intermediary and cannot be held liable for the certification, the development or the management of these projects.

Finally, in the exceptional event that the project selected by the traveller is ultimately no longer available (because it is no longer offered, because its funding has closed, or for any other reason), Option Way reserves the right to pay the contribution to another project aimed at combating global warming.

11. Your personal data

Option Way processes your personal information in accordance with its Privacy Policy, which is published on the Website. By using the Website, you consent to such processing and you warrant that all the data you provide to us is accurate.

Option Way collects personal data when the Website is browsed and when flights are booked, in compliance with the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

You are informed of, and you accept, the fact that your use of the Website and the handling of your bookings are subject to computerised processing of personal data.

Where the Website is marketed with a partner whose name and trade mark are clearly shown on the Website (together with the words “powered by Option Way”) during your flight search or your booking, you understand and expressly accept that your personal information is known to, and shared between, Option Way and the partner. Option Way and the partner are therefore entitled to send you information and offers of products or services relating to the booking you have made.

12. Intellectual property

Option Way holds all the intellectual property rights relating to the Website, together with the related rights of use. Access to the Website confers on the user no right in the intellectual property rights relating to the Website, which remain the property of Option Way.

The items reproduced on the Website (in particular the trade marks, logos, texts, photographs, images, audio and video files and the software used by the Website), which are the exclusive property of Option Way, are protected by intellectual property law.

The names and logos of any partners on the Website, and of the other products, services and companies mentioned on the Website, may be trade marks registered by their respective owners.

It is strictly prohibited to modify, reproduce, communicate to the public, duplicate, copy, transmit, publish, adapt, on any medium whatsoever, distribute, sell or exploit for commercial or non-commercial purposes any item available on the Website, in particular in the form of texts, photographs, images, icons, maps, sounds, videos, software or databases, save that you may make copies of your searches, bookings and confirmations for personal purposes. Any reproduction or distribution of items from the Website without the prior written consent of Option Way exposes offenders to legal proceedings.

13. Links to our website

You may create a link to our home page, provided that the creation of that link is lawful, does not harm our reputation and is not done in order to obtain any particular advantage for yourself. If you create a link to our Website, you must under no circumstances seek to suggest that any form of association, partnership or endorsement on our part exists, since no such agreement exists.

You must under no circumstances create a link to our website from a website that you do not own. Option Way reserves the right to withdraw, without notice, any authorisation to create a link to its website.

If you wish to use the information or content appearing on the website otherwise than as provided for in these terms of use, you must first contact us at the following address: Option Way, Parc Haute Technologie, Font de l'Orme, avenue Maurice Donat, 06250 Mougins Sophia-Antipolis.

14. Links accessible from our website

Where our Website contains links to other websites and to other sources provided by third parties, those links are provided for information purposes only. Option Way has no control over the content of those websites or sources and may under no circumstances be held liable on their account, or for any loss or damage that may result from their use.

In particular, as regards hotel and car hire searches and bookings, Option Way refers users to the websites of companies that offer their services to those users. Option Way accepts no liability in respect of any bookings that users may make with those websites.

15. Our liability

Option Way's main activity is the booking of flight tickets on the Website. When selling flight tickets, Option Way acts as an intermediary between the air carrier and the customer. Option Way's liability is therefore limited to a duty to provide information and to the issuing of flight tickets (article R 322-4 of the French code de l'aviation civile). As a travel agency, Option Way is subject to the regime set out in article L.211-17-3 of the French Code du Tourisme, and its liability cannot be substituted for that of the air carrier responsible for carrying or transferring passengers, baggage or other items. Option Way therefore accepts no liability in the event of non-performance or improper performance of the contract of carriage by air, or in the event that an air carrier ceases trading.

16. Your complaints

For any complaint, you may use our contact form available online directly on the Website, or write to us by email at the following address: contact@optionway.com or by post to the following address: Option Way, Parc Haute Technologie, Font de l'Orme, avenue Maurice Donat, 06250 Mougins Sophia-Antipolis.

Furthermore, as stated on the Website pursuant to article L.111-1 of the French code de la consommation, you may refer the matter to a mediator, whose contact details are as follows:

17. Jurisdiction and applicable law

These General Terms and Conditions are governed by French law.

The French courts have exclusive jurisdiction over any legal action based on a visit to our Website or on the use of our services. Option Way nevertheless reserves the right to bring proceedings against you, in the event of a breach of these General Terms and Conditions, in your country of residence or in any other country concerned.

18. Amendment of these terms and enforceability

This version of the General Terms and Conditions cancels and replaces all previous versions.

In accordance with the requirements of article 1369-8 of the French code civil (the civil code), you accept the use of electronic means as the method of concluding the contract.

Option Way reserves the right to amend its General Terms and Conditions at any time, without notice. Any amendment to these terms will be published by Option Way on the Website. In the event of an amendment, the applicable General Terms and Conditions will be those in force on the date on which the flight ticket is booked; Option Way retains and reproduces those terms in accordance with article 1369-4 of the French code civil. You may access them at any time by requesting them from Option Way.

The failure by Option Way to apply any of these General Terms and Conditions may not be construed as a waiver of its right to rely on that condition at a later date.

The invalidity of any of these contractual clauses does not render the General Terms and Conditions as a whole invalid.