p4 news Feb12 10/2/10 20:39 Page 4
news
12.02.2010
C
O
Monarch boss
STO
VER
‘Use BA crisis to
R
Y
denies turmoil
MONARCH Airlines managing director Tim Jeans
win better terms’
has denied a string of resignations in the last two
months meant there was “turmoil” at the airline.
Chris Gray.
us” (TTG February 5).
Jeans told TTG there was no link between the THE BOSS of a leading luxury tour operator has “I want to say stop the bashing and back BA
departures of chief executive Peter Brown, called on the trade to stop “BA bashing”, support because it is our national airline, it has got a
Monarch flights and holidays managing director it through its problems – and get a better deal great product, it has realised the importance of
Liz Savage, group chief financial officer Alistair from the airline when recovery arrives. the travel trade and it is starting to listen to us in
Moffat, and Danny Bernstein, the non-executive Jennifer Atkinson (below), chief executive of a way it has not before,” she said.
chairman who is a former managing director. ITC Classics, said the trade should back BA in the “If BA really did get in trouble there would be
The privately-owned group also enjoyed the way many of her trade partners supported her a lot of other people who would get in trouble.
backing of its owners, the billionaire Mantegazza firm through an “extremely difficult” time last year. I don’t know where it would leave a lot of tour
family, who were committed to injecting $1 billion That could lead to agents and operators being operators and agents.”
of its own money into the group’s plans for the able to negotiate better terms with BA in future, BA was more likely to “revert to type” and
new Boeing 787 Dreamliners, now due in 2013. she said – suggesting the carrier might give shun the trade once recovery arrived if it did not
Brown’s departure after eight years was an- ground on more flexibility on charges for cancel- get support now, she added.
nounced this week. It follows that of Liz Savage, lations and alterations, more fam trips and, most Brooks said he was “determined” to build
who Jeans said was offered a “life changing” importantly, price parity with BA.com. better relationships with the trade to benefit
opportunity to go to Australia to become chief Atkinson was speaking customers.
commercial officer at Virgin Blue next month. after TTG saw an un- He said BA would continue to host more fams
Moffatt left in November for a role as finance precedented wave of for new routes and already offered the trade the
director of the University of Hertfordshire. comments (Letters, same published fares as those on ba.com.
Jeans accepted there had been a “changing of p24), mostly nega- Brooks said BA had to have ticketing rules be-
the guard” but he was now leading a strong team. tive, in response to cause it could not afford to have seats that could
“People may see this and ask is there turmoil BA head of leisure have been occupied if they had been released to
at Monarch. The answer is no.” sales Simon Brooks’ market at the correct time, fly empty.
calls for the trade Atkinson’s call came after BA announced more
to “stick with losses (City, p13) and as it braces itself for a vote
More gas boiler
in favour of a strike by cabin crew next month.
deaths in Greece
■What’s the way forward? Tell us what BA
should do next to improve trade relations.
Enter our survey at http://bit.ly/TTGideas
A GREEK hotel owner is facing charges of
manslaughter through negligence after two
guests died of carbon monoxide poisoning within
24 hours of each other. Over the worst, says Tui as sales pick up
In an incident with similarities to the deaths of
two children in Corfu in 2006, two men in their TUI TRAVEL has said the industry is over the “There is a significant shift despite late
20s were found dead in different rooms on con- worst of the recession, as sales pick up in all its volumes. We are seeing a pick-up across all
current days at the Nefeli Hotel in Thessaloniki. markets. source markets and there is a lot more confi-
The investigation centres on a natural gas Despite announcing first-quarter results for dence among the management team that we are
boiler installed four years ago. The hotel was the three months to the end of December that probably through the worst,” he said.
closed for a few days in November when the saw global revenue fall by 8%, chief financial “We are starting to see strong margins. That’s
deaths occurred but is now open for business. officer Paul Bowtell said data so far in the what gives us confidence that demand is there.”
second quarter, starting in January 2010,
■ Corfu reps trial report, p10 suggested a corner had been turned. ■ Tui trading, see City & Finance p12
04 12.02.2010
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