impact on the mass market’


Ski market Paul Carter, chief executive, Hotelplan UK:


“Inghams is very European-biased, and it’s very


telling that Switzerland and Norway, which are both outside the EU, are up. They are bucking the trend. People have no concerns about whether they can get there and back. “March 29 should have been one of the busiest weeks here, but this week and next have been really hard as they were the week before and after we were due to be leaving the EU. “They have proved to be the


toughest two weeks and that’s definitely the Brexit factor. “Skiers are resilient and forward bookings are good. But Brexit has definitely impacted late demand this year, particularly late March.”


Richard Downs, chief executive, Iglu.com:


“There is still


demand but people are definitely


changing the destination that they


Joe Ponte: “We have launched our post-Brexit campaign today to give people a reason to book.”


are looking for. We haven’t seen this before. It has to be Brexit. Nothing else can explain it. There’s a margin squeeze because we’re all paying more for marketing costs. There are a lot of tyre kickers who are waiting to book.”


Discounting Nick Marks: “Everyone has just got to hold their nerve. Our message to suppliers is ‘please don’t panic and don’t discount’.”


Maria Whiteman:


“That would be ideal [not discounting], but that just can’t happen. We


operate river cruises, for example, that have to sail. If we have a commitment, then we have to shift it, so everyone is discounting.”


Phil Gardner: “Mentally I support that [not discounting], but it’s just not possible when you have committed stock.”


Airline capacity Alistair Wilson, managing director, Titan Airways:


“The reality is, a no-deal Brexit would damage so many people and so many businesses. There will be redundancies. This winter has already been unprecedented with the demise of Primera, Small Planet and Germania.”


Adrian Keating, commercial director UK & Ireland, Air Transat: “We’ve diversified our


distribution channel. We’ve flown to the UK for the last 30 years, but we have only opened up to the trade in the last six months. It just keeps growing. 60% of our revenue is from our website, which is an abnormal figure. We have a 3% share of the market [UK to Canada] so the opportunity is huge. We have Westjet coming in big and hard too.”


Colin Stewart, UK and Ireland director, Air Europa: “Too many airlines are operating in and out of Europe – there are about 30 – and capacity is squeezing the price


down. Booking a flight has never been so affordable for a consumer. “I’m noticing more than ever that consumers don’t care about airlines as long as it’s safe and financially sound. I think there will be both consolidation and failures. We tend to follow what happens in the US and they have consolidated into four groups. We’re in the process of talking to Air France- KLM about a joint venture.”


Richard Downs: “There will be more failures. If I was a well- funded airline with a strong balance sheet, I would have been upset that the government did so much to help Monarch. I would have been more upset if I was an Atol-bonded tour operator, after passengers not covered by Atol were still brought back home following the Monarch crash. It’s not right. The government came out with flying colours, but it does question Atol and what it delivers.”


Paul Carter: “The CAA is taking more time than ever before. We are hearing that the process of getting an Atol licence is much longer. They are getting stricter and doing more due diligence.”


11 April 2019travelweekly.co.uk15


BREXIT


PICTURES: SHUTTERSTOCK; STEVE DUNLOP; SARAH LUCY BROWN


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