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Story: Virgin Atlantic drafts in aircraft amid contigency planning for pilots’ Xmas strike The Tube train drivers who earn £100,000 a year have very little support from the public (earning on average £28,000), so imagine the sympathy the Virgin pilots are going to get for ruining thousands of people’s holidays and family reunions. The phrase shooting yourself in the foot comes to mind.
GAVIN MACBEAN
Cook is only following its rivals on pricing
Story: Thomas Cook scraps price parity for agents This is no huge surprise. Tui are the real culprits here as they started the misuse and disregard for independent agents. Jet2holidays had to follow, and it was only a matter of time before Cook fell in line! Here’s to an interesting 2019.
KEITH
QUOTE OF THE
WEEK
Virgin’s pilots won’t win much public sympathy
LETTERS OF THE
WEEK
TALK BACK WHAT YOU’RE SAYING THIS WEEK
EDITORIAL@ TRAVEL WEEKLY.
CO.UK
Sunday Times story was irresponsible
Story: Trade rebuts ‘don’t book post-Brexit’ report in The Sunday Times Our members are incredulous that such a well-respected British institution as The Sunday Times could release “leaked” statements without checking the facts. The disruption such reporting could cause to the industry as a whole and the jobs of those people in the industry cannot be underestimated. It is also surprising that The Sunday Times, heavily supported by travel advertising, including from destinations, did not warn its advertisers of the potential crisis and recommend that they drop plans to advertise with the paper any departure dates after March 29. SPOKESPERSON, Antor
The Sunday Times sensationalised a non-story for self-interest, casually jeopardising an entire industry – our industry. Irresponsible is too mild a complaint. I am sure they will offer a fulsome apology and give equal prominence to the news from the EU confirming that planes will fly even in a no-deal Brexit. KANE Travel Weekly welcomes a reply from The Sunday Times
NEWS 1
YOU NEED TO KNOW
A Sunday Times report has been dismissed as ‘categorically untrue’
Abta’s advice to agents if asked the following questions
Will flights still operate? Yes. Even in a no-deal scenario, the EC has said UK airlines will still be able to operate flights between the UK and the EU.
Will I need a visa to travel to the EU after Brexit? No. Clients shouldn’t need a visa to travel to the EU after Brexit even in a no-deal scenario. From 2021, UK citizens will need to pay a fee of about €7 for this visa exemption.
Trade rebuts ‘don’t book post-Brexit’ Times report
Juliet Dennis
juliet.dennis@
travelweekly.co.uk
Shocked travel organisations have rallied to dispel a leaked report suggesting the government was poised to warn consumers not to book a holiday post-March in a no-deal Brexit scenario.
The trade immediately branded
the The Sunday Times report as “hugely damaging” in the lead-up to its busiest sales period. The report claimed the
government was even considering bailing out travel companies that it feared may face bankruptcy as part of a contingency plan for a no-deal Brexit. Abta and the government immediately dismissed the report as “categorically untrue”.
Abta responded this week with a social media advertising campaign trein tat fit wi contine after March 29 whether there is a Brexit deal or not. It urged agents to relay the message (see box). Chief executive Mark Tanzer
said: “We are encouraging Abta members to share our Brexit advice with customers.” Post-Brexit travel advice is
available to download in the members’ section of its website. The Specialist Travel Association (Aito) wrote to transport secretary Chris Grayling and its local MP, leader of the Liberal Democrats Sir Vince Cable, who has pledged to raise the issue in Parliament before Christmas. Cable said: “The government
isn’t going to apologise since creating fear and uncertainty is
4
travelweekly.co.uk20 December 2018 Do TV ads suggest shift to online marketing?
TWE_201218_004.indd 4
Story: Big travel brands ‘recycle’ and ‘evolve’ TV ads for turn-of-year Given this is going to be the most important ‘peaks’ for many a year, it would be interesting to know the extent to which these and other companies have shifted their spend away from new brand creative to a more aggressive and robust online strategy, where they have more control over targeting and attribution.
PHIL BLOOMFIELD
TWEETS THIS WEEK
Cathie O’Dea @CathieodeaTC (Travel Counsellors) I have just done a business analysis and things I need to work on are getting more referrals and doing more high value, bucket list type trips.
Richard Dixon @RichardDixon66 (Holidaysplease) Rather chuffed to end 2018 ranked as Warwickshire’s No 1 V50 for 10k & half marathon.
Flightradar24 @flightradar24 Passengers on flight #NH106 took off in Japan in 2019 and will land in the USA back in 2018.
“The biggest threat for 2019 is chasing volume without an eye on price. We’ve seen too much of that. It
has become more and more difficult to avoid.”
PHIL GARDNER, Thomas Cook Business, page 70
TALK BACK TO US: Email
editorial@travelweekly.co.uk. Please write ‘Talk Back’ in the subject line. Deadline: Midday Monday. All correspondence must be accompanied by a name, job title and company address; these will be withheld on request. Please limit letters to 150 words maximum. We reserve the right to edit for brevity and clarity. Other comments are taken from
Travelweekly.co.uk.
3 January 2019
travelweekly.co.uk19 18/12/2018 18:55
“This has played out like a pantomime – the only problem is it’s a very serious subject”
part of its strategy. I will, however, raie in ariaent te ecific issue of the damaging rumours about travel and seek more clarity.” Aito executive director Kate
Kenward called for the government to take out full-page adverts in nationa newaer to confir holidays will go ahead as normal. Travel agency groups this week
briefed staff to answer questions from clients, while suppliers put out messages of reassurance. John Sullivan, head of commercial at Advantage Travel Partnership, said: “The timing
What happens if clients book to travel after March 29, 2019, and the holiday cannot go ahead due to Brexit? There is nothing to suggest clients will not be able to continue with their holidays after March 29. But under Package Travel Regulations, clients who book a package have a right to a full refund if the holiday can no longer be provided.
is clearly unhelpful as we go into peaks. Hopefully it will be yesterday’s news by the new year.” Miles Morgan Travel managing
director Miles Morgan said: “This has played out like a pantomime – the only problem is it’s an incredibly serious subject. Any kind of story like this is not good for the industry. January will be a real challenge.” Tailor Made Travel managing
director Simon Morgan added the story was “unnecessarily scaring the public”. i confired fit wod continue over Europe, even in a no- deal Brexit. It said: “We will operate holidays to the EU as planned.” P&O Cruises issued a ‘Brexit
Promise’ guarantee its holidays would continue to be “plain sailing”, whatever the outcome of Brexit.
PICTURE: SHUTTERSTOCK
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