Gordon urges firms to tackle mental health from the top
Travel companies need to lead from the top in tackling mental health issues among employees, The Telegraph columnist Bryony Gordon told delegates in Seville. Gordon, who suffers from
Johan
Lundgren, easyJet
Mark Tanzer, Abta
EasyJet Holidays ‘would discuss sales via agents’
An expanded easyJet Holidays is prepared to sell through travel agents, but it will not become a major tour operator of the size of Jet2holidays, according to boss Johan Lundgren.
Speaking at The Travel
Convention, the former Tui chief revealed that he had poached Jet2 head of web and e-commerce James Hardy to head the low-cost carrier’s digital unit. Lundgren described agents as
providing a “meaningful service” and said many already sell easyJet. “If there are travel agents out
there who would like to be part of this story, we would like to have that discussion,” he said. EasyJet Holidays’ Atol licenses it
to carry 81,000 passengers. Further plans to enlarge the
budget carrier’s holidays arm are due to be unveiled soon. Lundgren said discussions were under way with hotel chains and individual properties to partner with the airline to expand the holidays brand, introduced three years ago. He pointed out that easyJet’s
website attracts 350 million unique visitors a year and was a “fantastic
opportunity for distribution”. Lundgren also confirmed the
airline was interested in parts of Alitalia and talks were continuing. He also warned of further airline
failures following the collapses of Air Berlin, Monarch and most recently, Primera Air. “Consolidation is going to come
about with weaker players. We will see more failures,” said Lundgren, who took the helm of the UK low-cost carrier 10 months ago. Airlines exposed to higher oil prices who have not hedged against price hikes should be
worried, he added. Asked about the strikes at
Ryanair, Lundgren admitted that easyJet had had a good year due to the “benign environment” prompted by such industrial action and other airline failures. “We have pilots who fly our
aircraft,” he said pointedly. Lundgren also backed plans for
a third runway at Heathrow and pledged to sell flights at lower fares than incumbents if easyJet were allowed access to the London hub headquarters of competitor British Airways.
‘Don’t let accountants run your company’
One of the leading figures in UK marketing urged industry leaders to be “careful of allowing accountants” to run their businesses. Rory Sutherland, vice-chairman of the Ogilvy Group, said: “Business is trapped in an efficiency bubble, [but] efficiency is inimical to trust. We trust our friends, and nobody has a friend because they are efficient. Maybe you can’t trust anyone completely until you have a chat [with them].” “Be really careful about allowing your business to be run by
accountants. Trust and brand loyalty are ultimately where profits come from . . . through a commitment to the customer that goes beyond the single transaction.”
a form of OCD and is a recovering alcoholic and drug addict, said tackling mental health issues can translate into improved productivity. She suggested businesses
could train people to become mental health first-aiders, create mentor schemes and run exercise regimes. Gordon, who interviewed
Prince Harry about how he suffered from mental health problems after the death of his mother Princess Diana, revealed she had to take three months off work to go into rehab due to drink and drug addictions. “I felt ashamed asking for time off for an illness that’s in my head,” she said on the eve of World Mental Health Day. “We need to get better at saying no to things and managing our boundaries.” A poll of delegates showed
56% would be prepared to talk to their boss about a mental health problem while 44% would not.
Bryony Gordon, The Telegraph
18 October 2018
travelweekly.co.uk 17
PICTURES: ARIF GARDNER/AG STUDIOS
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