EasyJet Holidays targets one million Amie Keeley
EasyJet Holidays is targeting more than one million passengers in its first 12 months of operation after it relaunches before Christmas. The operator currently has an Atol
licence to carry 793,874 passengers, but this can be changed at any time. Chief executive Johan Lundgren said he hoped to double “where it was before” in terms of package holiday customer numbers. EasyJet Holidays will launch
its new-look holidays division next month, offering 500 hotels for beach and city breaks in 100 destinations. It is one of a number of operators to increase capacity in the wake of
the Thomas Cook collapse. Tui grew summer capacity by two million seats, while
Jet2.com added hundreds of thousands of seats for this winter and next summer. Lundgren said the holidays
division would offer “something that doesn’t exist” in the market in terms of flexibility on holiday durations. “We are going to have massive
flexibility. Some operators are flying three, four times a week – we fly three, four times a day. Customers can choose from seven days a week.” He said the operator would “look
to get more volume in fewer hotels”, which he said would “deliver fantastic value”. Lundgren was speaking after the airline reported a 26% drop in
annual pre-tax profits to £427 million in a “difficult year” for the 12 months to the end of September. The downturn came despite an 8.6% rise in passenger carryings to 96.1 million. The airline has vowed to become
the world’s first major “net zero- carbon airline” by offsetting all emissions from its flights. The move, which is expected
Johan Lundgren
to cost about £25 million a year, surpasses pledges by rival airlines, including British Airways, whose parent company, IAG, has pledged to be carbon-neutral by 2050. EasyJet said it would offset
carbon emissions from this week by investing in “forestry, renewable and community-based projects”.
Agents report commission rate cuts by Viking
Harry Kemble
A string of top cruise agents say they have had their commission reduced or have been cut off commercially by Viking Cruises. Travel Weekly understands at least
three agencies – online and high street – have had commission levels reduced, while one cruise retailer said it had lost its commercial deal with Viking altogether. Agency consortia have also been
in talks with Viking. Viking refused to confirm it had
4 21 NOVEMBER 2019
reduced commissions or cancelled contracts, but said in a statement: “Like any business, we review all of our partnerships on a regular basis.” The line would not put forward
anyone for an interview but in a statement, UK head of sales Neil Barclay insisted Viking was “committed to working with travel agents” and that the trade was “integral” to its business. The agents who spoke to
Travel Weekly asked to remain anonymous as they hoped to improve agreements in the future.
One said: “Viking has not
renewed our commercials at all for 2020. The deal has been pulled and I hear we are not the only ones, but that they are reducing the number of agents they work with. “There was no consultation about
it. They didn’t bother speaking to us. We removed Viking from our website immediately.” Another agent said: “Viking have
been very heavy handed.” One leading agency’s sales chief
said the decision to cut commission was “short-sighted” because “there
Viking Cruises says it is ‘committed to working with agents’
are other options to Viking”. They added: “Viking have
indicated they want to stop working with [agencies] that discount and devalue their product.” But Barrhead Travel said the line
was a ‘platinum partner’ and river cruise was selling “exceptionally well”. Barclay’s statement added:
“A significant proportion of our bookings are made via agents and we do not envisage this changing any time soon.” Viking is the only major river line not a member of trade body Clia.
travelweekly.co.uk
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