Hays ‘respects’ niche relationships Andrew McQuarrie


Dame Irene Hays said Hays Travel will respect any longstanding relationships its acquired businesses have with “niche” suppliers as she stressed the company is “not as big as people think we are”. The Sunderland-headquartered


company acquired Polka Dot Travel two weeks ago, followed by Millington Travel and Scottish agency The Holiday and Flight Centre last week. In a webcast interview with


Travel Weekly editor-in-chief Lucy Huxley, chair Hays said the agency has a policy of respecting existing agent-supplier relationships.


“I think some people are worried


their supplier relationships are going to be subsumed,” she said. “If they’ve got a really


longstanding relationship with a niche supplier, we will respect that and honour that and they will continue to work very closely with that supplier in terms of the publications they produce and the campaigns they run at various times throughout the year.” She said Hays Travel itself has


“many relationships” with smaller suppliers. Asked whether Hays Travel ever


encourages acquired agencies to work more closely with its “preferred suppliers”, Hays said: “If we have preferred suppliers, I don’t know


Aviation leaders lobby against APD hikes in the Budget


Ian Taylor Airlines 2025 conference, London


Aviation leaders have warned a fresh hike in air passenger duty (APD) on top of other tax rises expected in the Budget on November 26 would increase fares and threaten demand for flights. British Airways chief Sean Doyle


told the Airlines 2025 conference in London on Monday: “Anything that increases costs isn’t good [and] any cost will feed through to fares.” Tui Airline chief executive Marco


Ciomperlik described APD as “so significant”, saying: “Premium economy has the same rate as business


4 13 NOVEMBER 2025


class. We urge the government to be reasonable with APD.” Nick Faith, chief executive of


consultancy WPI Strategy, told the conference: “This matters a great deal politically. A family of four travelling to Cancun could have to pay £1,000 more by 2029. Going abroad on holiday could be out of reach for many families, and MPs will have to explain to families why they can no longer afford their one holiday abroad a year.” Iata senior economist Maja


Marciniak described APD rates as “excessive” and argued: “Ticket taxes are a factor when airlines make decisions on which routes to grow. The UK has the highest [tax] in


Europe. Spain has no aviation tax at all. The UK is no longer as attractive as it could be.” Transport secretary Heidi


Alexander told the conference: “I’ve not got my fingers in my ears when CEOs talk to me about UK competitiveness [and] reducing your cost burden.” But she made no mention of APD or the Budget. The economy rate of APD on


short-haul international flights did not rise this year but is already set to increase by £2 to £15 from next


April – the first increase in 14 years. The premium short-haul rate will rise by £4 to £32. Long-haul rates rose £2 in economy to £90 or £94 this year depending on the distance and by £22 in premium, with increases of £12 in economy and £28 or £29 in premium to come next year. That will take APD on premium seats to £244 on flights of up to 5,500 miles and £253 on longer flights. APD raised £4.2 billion for the


Treasury in 2024-25 and is forecast to raise £4.7 billion in the year to April.


travelweekly.co.uk


about it. It’s not an expression I like. Last time I checked, we had 620 suppliers and some of them are very niche and very small.” She said agents are “never”


forced to book through Vista, Hays Travel’s in-house tour operator, but are instead trained to listen to the customer and “give the customer the best available deal”. “Vista doesn’t always offer the


best deal for everywhere in the world,” she said. “On occasion it does, but you have specialists out there who are very good at what they do and we are realistic about that.” Hays added it would be wrong for


anyone to suggest Hays Travel was “taking over the world”. “You’ve just got to look at the


Atol figures to see the people who are taking over the world, and it certainly isn’t Hays Travel,” she told Huxley. Hays said Hays Travel had been


growing by 10% a year, which she described as “good” for a company of its size. However, she added that some


stores “go backwards” and needed to be closed or relocated. Referring to the three recent


acquisitions, Hays said all stores and employees are set to be retained, with the owners of each business exiting.


Watch the interview with Hays in full at: travelweekly.co.uk


Chancellor Rachel Reeves


PICTURE: Shutterstock/Fred Duval


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