Privacy Notice

About our Privacy Notice 

Shearwater Travel takes your privacy seriously and we are committed to protecting your personal information. Our Privacy Notice explains how we collect, use and share personal information in the course of our business activities.  

About Shearwater Travel

This website is operated by Shearwater Travel Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales under Company Registration Number 12325827, with its registered office situated at 20-22 Wenlock Rd, London N1 7GU.  

This Privacy Notice covers Shearwater Travel Ltd, Its websites, mobile applications and mobile websites except where you are notified of another privacy notice.

You have the right to make a complaint at any time to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection issues (ico.org.uk). We would, however, appreciate the chance to deal with your concerns before you approach the ICO so please contact us in the first instance.

Providing your personal information

You do not have to provide your personal information to us, but if you do not provide certain information we will only be able to provide limited products and services to you. For example, where you refuse to provide mandatory travel information, we will not be able to arrange travel for you.

Updates

This policy was last updated on 12 January 2021.  We may amend this Privacy Notice from time to time to keep it up to date with legal requirements and the way we operate our business.  If we decide to change our Privacy Notice we will place any updates on this webpage. Please regularly check this webpage for the latest version of our Privacy Notice. If at any point we decide to make fundamental changes to our Privacy Notice, we will seek to inform you by notice on our website.  

Third Party Websites

You might find external links to third party websites on our website. Our Privacy Notice does not apply to your use of a third party site.  We are not responsible for the privacy practices of websites that are not operated by us and encourage you to read the privacy statements of any such third party site.  

The personal information we collect and when and why we use it

Types of personal information we collect

The types of personal information we collect when you make a booking with us includes your:

• Identity Data:  such as your first name, maiden name, last name, or similar identifier, marital status, title, date of birth, passport details and gender. We may also hold details about your visa (where applicable), travel insurance and next of kin contact details.
• Contact Data:  data relating to how you may be contacted, such as your billing address, delivery address, email address and telephone numbers.
• Financial Data:  data relating to your means and methods of payment, such as your bank account and payment card details
• Booking Data:  data relating to the bookings you have made with us, such as details about payments to and from you and other details of products and services you have purchased from us
• Marketing and Communications Data:  this includes your preferences in relation to whether or not you want to receive marketing from us and our third parties and also your communication preferences.

Personal information we collect and use if you make a booking with us

When you book a flight, holiday, cruise or make other travel related bookings with us, we will collect, process and use Identity Data, Contact Data, Financial Data, Booking Data and Marketing and Communications Data so that we can deal with all aspects of your booking.  

How we use this personal information

We use your personal information to:

• fulfil our agreement with you and/or deal with your booking or intended booking, including processing your booking, sending you your itinerary or other details relating to your booking, or contacting you if there is a problem with your booking
• manage your wider travel and products or services requirements (for example, liaising with and transferring your data to tour operators, airlines, service providers  and/or travel facilitators so that they can facilitate your booking and/or your travel arrangements), this includes when you book a holiday package, hotel, car or other ancillary service which may be provided by us or third parties
• process payments for your booking, fulfil requests for refunds and for accounting or audit purposes 
• market our products and services to you 
• as you may authorise or consent to additionally from time to time

Special categories of personal information we collect and use

We also collect special categories of personal information. The types of special categories of personal information we collect when you make a booking with us include:

• details about your health or medical condition
• Dietary requirements (which may in turn disclose your religious or philosophical beliefs)
• Race or ethnicity
• Sex life / sexual orientation

We use special categories of personal information to:

• provide you with special assistance (for example, where you tell us that you need an oxygen tank or a wheelchair) on our flights, at destinations or activities or at airports
• fulfil special dietary requirements you tell us about
• address a security or medical incident
• comply with legal or regulatory requirements 
• as you may authorise or consent to additionally from time to time

We do not generally collect special categories of personal information from you (or those you are booking for), but where we do, we seek to minimise the collection and use of it and handle it with extra care. We also share this information with third parties (who help manage our business and deliver services such as those parties who provide wheelchairs at airports), and we transfer it globally. 

Where you (or any passenger travelling) provides us with special categories of personal information you agree that you have voluntarily provided such information, and you consent (and the passenger travelling consents) for us to use that information for the purposes for which it was collected.

Making a booking on behalf of another person

If you are making a booking on behalf of another person(s), it is your responsibility to obtain their consent to make the booking and share their details with us (as anticipated by this Privacy Notice), which we will assume that you have done prior to making the booking. It is also your responsibility to represent that person during the booking process, which means that you will need to provide us with the information required to make a booking, such as the full name and passport details of the person concerned, and explain to that person how we will use their personal information as set out in this Privacy Notice.  

Personal information we collect and use if you have any queries about any of our products or services

If you have any queries about any of our products or services, or compliments or complaints, we will need to collect information from you in order for us to respond to your query or provide you with assistance.  We will collect this information when you submit a form on our website, send us an email, call our business telephone numbers, or contact us via another form of communication such as through social media. 

Types of personal information we collect

The types of personal information we collect includes: 

• Identity data
• Contact Data 

How we use this personal information

We use your personal information to:

• address your inquiry or any other interaction with us as efficiently as possible
• to authenticate your identity such as when you call our customer service centre
• as you may authorise or consent to additionally from time to time

Personal information we collect and use in the event of an emergency

Types of personal information we collect

The types of personal information we collect include:

• Identity Data
• Contact Data
• Booking Data
• Special categories of data such as data about your health or medical condition

How we use this personal information

We use your personal information to:

• provide in-flight or on the ground medical support
• provide accurate and updated information to persons directly affected by an emergency such as your next of kin and other relatives
• provide information to emergency services, hospitals and clinics if you are admitted to them on your medical condition
• communicate to embassies and consulates regarding their citizens
• arrange a hotel booking in the event re-accommodation is necessary
• as you may authorise or consent to additionally from time to time

Personal information we collect and use for legal, compliance, regulatory and crime detection and prevention purposes

We process your personal information so that we can meet our legal, compliance and regulatory obligations, for legal purposes, such as to respond to a valid legal claim, summons or regulatory order, and to protect our property, rights and interests as well as the property, rights and interest of other persons. 

We also process your personal information for crime prevention and detection purposes, including the prevention of fraud for online payments, for identity verification, for credit checking and credit scoring purposes and accounting or audit purposes. 

Personal information we collect and use from third parties

We collect personal information from third parties who you have authorised to provide your personal information to us (for example, this may another person making a booking on your behalf, your travel companion, your travel coordinator, our promotion partners, social media and other digital platforms).  We combine this information with the information we collect directly from you or about you for the purposes set forth in this Privacy Notice.  

Personal information we collect and use when you are making a payment

We collect different personal information depending on your payment method (such as credit card, bank transfer, cash). For example, for credit card payments we may collect Identity Data and Financial Data. 

Legal basis for using your personal information 

We will only collect, process use, share and store your personal information where we are satisfied that we have an appropriate legal basis to do this. 

We have set out below, in a table format, a description of all the ways we plan to use your personal data, and which of the legal bases we rely on to do so. We have also identified what our legitimate interests are where appropriate.

Note that we may process your personal data for more than one lawful ground depending on the specific purpose for which we are using your data. 

Please Contact us if you need details about the specific legal ground we are relying on to process your personal data where more than one ground has been set out in the table below.

Sharing your personal information with others 

We share your personal information in the manner and for the purposes described below:

• with third parties who deliver products and services to us. 
• bank and payment providers to authorise and complete payments;
• with governments, government organisations and agencies, border control agencies, regulators, law enforcement and others as permitted or required by law, in relation to legal requirements as apply from time to time when travelling to or from a particular country, and to generally comply with all applicable laws, regulations and rules, and requests of law enforcement, regulatory and other governmental agencies;
• with third parties whose products or services you are purchasing via us or otherwise such as airlines, tourism agencies, hotel, transfer and car hire companies, tour and excursion providers or to tour operators, including if there is a problem with your booking so that we or the tour operator can resolve it with you;

Personal information we collect and use for marketing purposes, profiling and analytics 

How we use personal information to keep you up to date with our products and services

We use personal information to let you know about products and services that we think may be of interest to you.   

We will only send you direct marketing, whether about us, carefully selected third parties or partners, products or services, in accordance with your marketing preferences.  We may contact you by email, SMS/text, social media, or through other communication channels that we think you may find helpful.  If at any time you would like us to stop sending you marketing material, email enquiries@shearwatertravel.co.uk and put UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject heading.  

How you can manage your marketing preferences

To protect your privacy and to ensure you have control over how we manage marketing with you (and provided that you have indicated that you would like to receive it):

• we will take steps to limit direct marketing to a reasonable and proportionate level; 
• only send you communications which we believe may be of interest or relevance to you and at all times in line with your permissions, which, as appropriate, may include: 
  • this could include telling customers about products and services, and allowing third parties to send information about their products and services
• you have the ability to change your cookie settings to block certain types of cookie – this is explained in more detail in our Cookie Policy; 
• you can click the “unsubscribe” link that you will find at the bottom of our emails which you receive from us, or you can unsubscribe by contacting us or changing your account settings which will remove you from the relevant marketing list; 

Be aware that if you unsubscribe completely from our marketing communications we may be unable to notify you of tailored offers to meet your needs. If you do unsubscribe from marketing communications you will still receive operational and service messages from us regarding your booking, and responses to your enquiries made to us.

Transferring personal information globally 

Your personal information may be transferred outside your country of residence.  Some other countries are subject to different standards of data protection than your country of residence. 

We will take appropriate steps to ensure that transfers of personal information are in accordance with applicable law, and we only transfer personal information to another country where: 

• we are satisfied that adequate levels of protection are in place to protect your information; and 
• the transfers are fully managed to protect your privacy rights and interests and are limited to countries which are recognized as providing an adequate level of legal protection or where we can be satisfied that alternative arrangement are in place to protect your privacy rights. 

In the event your personal information is transferred to a foreign jurisdiction, it may be subject to the laws of that jurisdiction and we may be required to disclose it to the courts, law enforcement or governmental authorities in those jurisdictions. 

You have a right to contact us for more information about the safeguards we have put in place to ensure the adequate protection of your personal information when this is transferred as mentioned above. 

How we protect and store your personal information

Protection of your personal information

We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered or disclosed. In addition, we limit access to your personal data to those employees, agents, contractors and other third parties who have a business need to know. They will only process your personal data on our instructions and they are subject to a duty of confidentiality. 

We have put in place procedures to deal with any suspected personal data breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a breach where we are legally required to do so.

Storage of your personal information

We keep your personal information for as long as is reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected. For example, to manage bookings and provide you with any relevant products or services, as explained in this Privacy Notice. To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of your personal data, the purposes for which we process your personal data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal requirements.

We will ensure that it is disposed of in a secure manner. 

In addition to the above, by law we have to keep basic information about our customers (including Contact, Identity, Financial and Transaction Data) for six years after they cease being customers for legal and tax purposes.  If you require further information about how we retain particular information please Contact Us. 

Cookies

For more information on how we use cookies please read our Cookie Policy, where you can also find information so you can delete cookies or block certain types of cookie. You should note that this may have an impact on our ability to provide the Website services to you. 

Legal rights available to help manage your privacy

If you are subject to laws that provide you with such rights, depending on certain exceptions, and in some cases dependent upon the processing activity we are undertaking, you may have certain rights in relation to your personal information:

• To access personal information
• To rectify / erase (‘right to be forgotten’) personal information
• To restrict the processing of your personal information
• To object to the processing (including direct marketing) of personal information
• To transfer your personal information
• To obtain a copy of personal information safeguards used for transfers outside your jurisdiction
• To lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority

If you wish to access any of the rights set out above, we may ask you for additional information to confirm your identity and for security purposes, in particular before disclosing personal information to you. We reserve the right to charge a fee where permitted by law, for example, if your request is manifestly unfounded or excessive.

You can exercise your rights by emailing us at enquiries@shearwatertravel.co.uk 

We may not always be able to fully address your request, for example, if it would impact the duty of confidentiality we owe to others, or if we are legally entitled to deal with the request in a different way. 

Right to access personal information 

You have a right to request that we provide you with a copy of your personal information that we hold and you have the right to be informed of: the source of your personal information; the purposes, legal basis and methods of processing; the data controller’s identity; and the entities or categories of entities to whom your personal information may be transferred.

Right to rectify or erase personal information 

You have a right to request that we rectify inaccurate personal information. We may seek to verify the accuracy of the personal information before rectifying it. 

You can also request that we erase your personal information in limited circumstances where:

• it is no longer needed for the purposes for which it was collected; or
• you have withdrawn your consent (where the data processing was based on consent); or
• following a successful right to object (see right to object); or
• it has been processed unlawfully; or
• the personal information must be erased for compliance with a legal obligation under European Union or Member State law. 

We are not required to comply with your request to erase personal information if the processing of your personal information is necessary: 

• for compliance with a legal obligation; or
• for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims. 

Right to object to the processing (including direct marketing) of your personal information

You can object to any processing of your personal information which has our legitimate interests as its legal basis, if you believe your fundamental rights and freedoms outweigh our legitimate interests. 

If you raise an objection, we have an opportunity to demonstrate that we have compelling legitimate interests which override your rights and freedoms. 

You can request that we stop contacting you for marketing purposes.

You can request that we not transfer your personal information to unaffiliated third parties for the purposes of direct marketing or any other purposes.

If you have joined our mailing list, you can manage your marketing preferences automatically by clicking the “unsubscribe” link that you will find at the bottom of our emails which you receive from us, or you can unsubscribe by contacting us or changing your account settings which will remove you from the relevant marketing list. 

Right to transfer your personal information

You can ask us to provide your personal information to you in a structured, commonly used, machine readable format, or you can ask to have it transferred directly to another data controller, but in each case only where:

• the processing is based on your consent or on the performance of a contract with you; and
• the processing is carried out by automated means. 

Right to obtain a copy of personal information safeguards used for transfers outside your jurisdiction

You can ask to obtain a copy of, or reference to, the safeguards under which your personal information is transferred outside of the European Union. 

We may redact data transfer agreements to protect commercial terms.

Right to restrict the processing of your personal information 

You can ask us to restrict your personal information, but only where:

• its accuracy is contested, to allow us to verify its accuracy; or
• the processing is unlawful, but you do not want it erased; or
• it is no longer needed for the purposes for which it was collected, but we still need it to establish, exercise or defend legal claims; or
• you have exercised the right to object, and verification of overriding grounds is pending.

We can continue to use your personal information following a request for restriction, where:

• we have your consent; or
• to establish, exercise or defend legal claims; or
• to protect the rights of another natural or legal person. 

Right to lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority

You have a right to lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority (i.e. your place of habitual residence, place of work or place of alleged infringement) if you have concerns about how we are processing your personal information. 

We ask that you please attempt to resolve any issues with us first, although you have a right to contact your supervisory authority at any time. 

How to contact us 

The primary point of contact for all issues arising from this Privacy Notice is Nicola Boyce, who can be contacted  at nicola@shearwatertravel.co.uk. 

Issue date of Privacy Notice: January 2021