EDITOR’S COMMENTS
NEWS Hot Stories
04 – AirFastTickets defaults on Iata payments; profits under pressure; air fares tipped to increase by £5; Kreeger pushes for APD cut for kids; Tui Travel cuts carbon emissions
News Digest
08 – Sainsbury’s signs Travelex deal; Queen opens Terminal 2; Ryanair calls for ATC strike ban; stars visit new Harry Potter attraction
Business Breakfast
10 – Virgin’s Craig Kreeger shares his views on Heathrow and Walsh
Analysis 12 – Will England’s World Cup exit give holiday bookings a bounce?
NEWS YOU CAN USE
Product News 17 – Potter attraction opens in July
Operator News 18 – Tours firm to return to Egypt
Destination News 20 – Celebrity adds new excursions
Cruise News 22 – MSC Cruises partners Saga
Hotel News 24 – Sol Hotels recategorises resorts
Mystery Shopper 38 – Bath Travel cleans up in Yeovil
DESTINATIONS UK & Ireland
41 – Cater for older customers who want hassle-free holidays at home 45 – Butlins targets the adult market 47 – 10 of the Best: Beach Breaks
Africa
51 – Discover the upside of going on safari during the rainy season 54 – 3 of the Best: Bush & Beach
JOBS AND CLASSIFIED
57 – Vacancies and business services TRAVEL WEEKLY BUSINESS
News
62 – Abta Travel Matters report 64 – Lawyer Kolatsis on implications of Thomson Airways’ legal rebuff
Cover photo: SuperBreak prize-winning agents (from left) Anita Dagg, Rebecca Tuck, Helen Young and Dawn Wilson meet Joey the horse on the stage of War Horse. Photo: Nick Robb
ALL ABOUT YOU
Letters 26 – Jet2; Carrick; Midcounties; ASA
Comment 28 – Nikki White: ‘Make it authentic’
All For You 30 – Danube cruise, hampers, sweets
Readers’ Lives 32 – Nigel Armitage, Millington Travel
LUCY Editor-in-chief HUXLEY
Virgin’s service ethos sets a good example
T
his week, we wish a very happy 30th birthday to Virgin Atlantic.
For what is actually a niche airline, Virgin has always punched
above its weight, largely because its customer proposition has consistently stood out. Its success over the past three decades has arguably been due to the way it treats its customers and to those little touches that make a real difference. Massages in executive lounges, salt and pepper pots, and pyjamas (now onesies) – designed to be stolen to encourage passengers to show off to their friends – are emblematic of Virgin’s identity. And as we discover in this week’s issue, following a Travel
Weekly Business Breakfast with the airline’s chief executive Craig Kreeger, this is an approach that still works. Even though costs need to be cut, he says he won’t touch anything that might change the airline’s customer service ethos. That includes not ditching the bar to make room for four more
profitable Upper Class seats, as has been suggested. The bar is part of what makes Virgin Atlantic special, and something customers have come to expect – and that level of expectation is not something to be messed with. Turning great customer service into a habit that’s ingrained into a brand’s culture and workforce was a topic discussed at our Aspire Luxury Business Breakfast on customer service last week. As one speaker said: “You offer exceptional customer service or don’t bother at all. There is no grey area.” Virgin Atlantic is one company that can never be accused of being grey – we wish it another successful 30 years.
lucy.huxley@
travelweekly.co.uk WHAT LUCY DID THIS WEEK 1
2 3
Chaired an excellent Aspire Luxury Business Breakfast, about customer service in the luxury sector, at the fabulous Victoria & Albert Museum
Was honoured to be invited to All Leisure Group chairman Roger Allard’s 60th birthday celebrations
Watched Andy Murray’s Wimbledon warm-up at the Hurlingham Club as guest of Malta Tourism Authority
26 June 2014 —
travelweekly.co.uk • 3
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