Jetline assets bought by Travelodeal Travel Weekly reporters


London-based tour operator Travelodeal has acquired “specific assets” including the brand names and database of Jetline Travel following its failure last month. Jetline ceased trading as an Atol


holder on March 6, with administrators appointed on March 28. The company, based in Barnet in


north London, had traded since 2000 and held an Atol for 4,790 passengers but primarily transacted as an agency selling cruises and package holidays. A spokesperson for Travelodeal


said the business had taken over assets including customer and marketing databases, website domains and content, the Jetline Holidays and Jetline Cruise


brand intellectual property, the “Caps tech system”, and the Avaya server and phone numbers. No existing bookings or


obligations are included in the deal, the spokesperson confirmed, adding Travelodeal would be “happy to help” affected customers if possible. A “handful” of Jetline staff have


been helping with customer-facing support on a freelance basis and there are “ongoing conversations” with some of the team about potentially taking on longer-term roles. The Jetline brand is under review,


with a decision to be made on whether to relaunch it “with a new face” or to instead run all operations under the Travelodeal brand. Travelodeal managing director Mazdiyar Daruwala said: “The


Travel Counsellors builds ‘premium leisure’ operation


Robin Murray


Travel Counsellors is shifting its focus towards becoming a “premium leisure tour operator” as it targets customers seeking more- complex, multi-centre bookings. Chief executive Steve Byrne


outlined the ambition as the company unveiled a new “interactive itineraries” tool which will “transform traditional, static travel documents” for its 2,200 homeworkers. The launch of the technology


follows that of AI-powered virtual assistant TC Co-pilot, which “transforms how agents


4 24 APRIL 2025


work with their clients”, and TC Journeys, which allows agents to create bespoke itineraries. “Our strategy is to focus on the


premium leisure customer – we are increasingly becoming a premium leisure tour operator,” said Byrne. “Customers who want simpler,


more price-driven holiday types are less inclined to book with us compared with some of our competitors.” Byrne said Travel Counsellors


was increasingly attracting customers willing to “pay a bigger premium for something a bit more complex”. “That’s what we want to focus on, and that’s what we are doing,” he said.


The Jetline brand aligns with our vision to lead the UK market in tailor-made, escorted tours and cruises


acquisition of the Jetline brand and customer base aligns perfectly with our vision to lead the UK market in tailor-made holidays, escorted tours and cruises.” Travelodeal is headquartered


in the City of London and was incorporated in 2014. In addition to Daruwala, the


company’s senior management team includes head of cruise Justin Bond and marketing director Kay Bustin.


The sale was managed through


Axia Valuation Services, which handled the transaction on behalf of the administrators: Neil Bennett, of corporate recovery and insolvency firm Leonard Curtis, and Alan Clark, of financial assistance specialist Carter Clark. Jetline ceased trading in early March


with 800 forward bookings under its Atol and 20 customers overseas. Carnival brands Princess Cruises,


Cunard and Holland America Line had previously cancelled some outstanding bookings due to an unspecified “breach of contract”. It is understood Jetline, which


traded under multiple brands, had failed to pass on customer payments. Travel Weekly contacted Jetline


director Steven Roberts for comment.


Steve Byrne addresses agents at a TC Together event in London


Travel Counsellors reported


a record peaks period, achieving £242 million in sales across January and February. Sales for the financial year to date are up 12% year on year, with premium leisure accounting for 15%-18% of that growth. But while sales have been strong


overall, Byrne reported “a bit of a slowdown” in the lead-up to Easter. “There was still good growth but not quite at the same level as peaks,” he said, as he noted a slowdown in US bookings. “Since Trump’s inauguration,


demand for the US has reduced. It’s still up year on year but less than it was,” he added. “The more experiential parts of the US – road trips and some cities – are still doing OK, but Florida, California and the theme parks have been a bit softer.” He said Travel Counsellors was still


on track to reach its goal of achieving £2 billion in annual turnover in the next five to seven years. “We’ve topped £1.1 billion and


we’re heading towards £1.2 billion in the next 12 months, so I still think that is a realistic goal,” he added.


travelweekly.co.uk


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