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Agents will have ‘zero role’ in Ryanair’s future
Ian Taylor
ian.taylor@travelweekly.co.uk
Travel agents and travel management companies (TMCs) will have “zero” role in Ryanair’s future despite the carrier joining GDSs last year, a senior figure at the carrier has revealed.
Appearing at the Capa World
Aviation Summit in Helsinki, Ryanair chief commercial officer David O’Brien was asked what future there might be for intermediaries in selling Ryanair seats. He replied: “Their role into
the future will be zero. What we aim towards is for our website to be the first port of call.” He described the number of bookings Ryanair takes through GDS intermediaries as “very few”. O’Brien’s comments came two
months after Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary said sales through GDSs were “going very well” and that he aimed to double the proportion of bookings made through the likes of Amadeus and Sabre to 10% over the next five years. Instead, O’Brien suggested
airlines would soon be listing one another’s fares on their websites,
supplanting the role of online travel agents (OTAs). He said: “The idea of showing
other airlines’ fares on your own website has been scoffed at, but there are some meaningful discussions now. “Lufthansa, Air France and
others can’t hide the fact that most often Ryanair is cheaper – and you might as well see that on Lufthansa’s site. It will result in the disintermediation of the disintermediators.” O’Brien said Ryanair was poised
to offer more ancillary services. “Distribution is going to change
and our objective is to become a companion of the customer.” Travelport global head of
product and marketing Ian Heywood said: “I’m worried about agents and their role, whether bricks and mortar or OTA. “What is the role of the travel
agent in the next 10 years? I don’t know that they are showing the same leadership in the industry as some. They need to evolve with the industry.”
5 Barrhead to open Newcastle store
Hollie-Rae Merrick and Lucy Huxley
Barrhead Travel founder Bill Munro believes opportunities to expand into England are endless as he looks to open a series of superstores across the UK.
Munro was commenting as the Scottish agency chain revealed its first outlet in England would be a store in Newcastle with 20 staff. Munro aims to open up to 20
superstores in England, Wales and
Ireland, with 12 sites earmarked already.
Speaking to Travel Weekly,
Munro, chairman of Barrhead, said: “We are moving into England in a big way, starting in Newcastle. We have big expansion plans.” Asked how many shops Barrhead
plans to open in England, he added: “How long is a piece of string? We have a strong brand, a different style of trading and, if it’s as successful in England as in Scotland, as we are sure it will be, we will continue opening branches.
6
travelweekly.co.uk 15 October 2015 “Some of the differences in our
“We are moving into England in a big way. We have big expansion plans”
“We will see how Newcastle goes
for the first three months and then hopefully open more from March 2016. We have become more of a tour operator and less of an agent; we fly our own aircraft and work very much for our clients.
approach are quite subtle but they combine to enable us to offer something quite different.” Barrhead will invest £1 million
in the store. Located in Newcastle’s intu Eldon Square Shopping Centre, it is expected to open by the end of the year. Barrhead first revealed its aim
to open stores in England three years ago (Travel Weekly, 5 April 2012) and already operates a call centre and a Cruise Direct-branded shop in Barrow-in-Furness.
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