NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW 4
EasyJet would fiercely oppose an all-flights levy
Ian Taylor
ian.taylor@travelweekly.co.uk
EasyJet confirmed it would fight a proposal for a levy on all flights to fund repatriation when airlines fail, as Abta repeated its call for consistency in consumer protection in light of the Monarch collapse.
The government ordered
the repatriation of all Monarch passengers in October and Abta chief executive Mark Tanzer told a Travel Weekly Business Breakfast: “Either the government has to say ‘if
you bought a scheduled ticket, you find your own way back’ or ‘we’ll bring everyone back’, in which case there needs to be money to do that. “It could be a levy. It could just
be an obligation on the scheduled airline to have something in place in the event they fail.” Tanzer said there currently
seems to be “an inequality between paying £2.50 for Atol versus people not paying anything”. But easyJet UK director Sophie
Dekkers said APD should pay for repatriation. Asked if the airline opposed a levy on all flights, she said: “Absolutely. We make very
Sophie Dekkers, easyJet
5 STORIES HOT
little profit per seat – about £4. Any cost rise would have an impact.” Dekkers praised the repatriation,
saying: “What the CAA did, hopefully, reassured people they won’t be left stranded.” Instead of an all-flights levy, she
argued for changes to the airline administration process, saying: “Air Berlin was operating under administration and able to bring people back – the same with Alitalia. “Monarch had crew and aircraft capable of bringing people back.”
Tui UK distribution and cruise
director Helen Caron said: “We supported the repatriation. [But] we’re disappointed we weren’t consulted about the way it happened and about the cost.” She declined to call for an
all-flights levy. Miles Morgan Travel managing
director Miles Morgan said: “If everybody is protected, why are we paying [for Atol]? It’s a joke.
Charge 50p on every booking.” › ‘Pinch on margins’, page 80
5 Hays Travel bolsters cruise division
Ben Ireland
ben.ireland@
travelweekly.co.uk
Hays Travel aims to double the revenue generated by its cruise call centre division after taking on the office of its former Independence Group member Just Cruise and hiring 19 former Thomas Cook homeworkers.
Three members of staff from the
Stirlingshire-based cruise specialist, which closed in September, have been employed by Hays. Hays will operate a cruise-
dedicated call centre from Just Cruise’s former office in Larbert and is recruiting for 10 staff to join the three already based there. Jonathan Woodall, group head
of commercial and Independence Group at Hays Travel, said: “When Just Cruise decided it no longer wanted to trade, we recruited three of its staff – two in sales and one in marketing – and set them up to work from home. “When they came to our head
office in Sunderland for their induction, they said they liked the atmosphere of working in an office.
6
travelweekly.co.uk 4 January 2018
“We’ve seen a rise in call centre volumes and want to make sure we’ve got the staff”
[The Larbert office] works for them, and it was available. “We are looking to double the
revenue we made last year and wanted to show our commitment to growing, so by signing a lease, we are showing that. Sometimes it’s difficult to recruit experienced staff, especially in areas we are already in.
This office gives us an opportunity to fish in a different pond. “We’ve seen a rise in call centre
volumes and want to make sure we’ve got the staff for that.” Meanwhile, Hays Travel has
taken on 19 former Thomas Cook employees for its cruise call centre business, which is now spread across four office locations and includes staff working from home. Woodall said the mass hiring
of ex-Cook staff was orchestrated by one person who knew a group of agents that had been made redundant in April.
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