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Flybe sale is good news for routes in Midlands
Story: Flybe finalises asset sale to Virgin Atlantic consortium Pleased to see an airline saved from disaster, especially one which can help Virgin and keep those Birmingham routes for us Midlanders!
JOEL BRANDON-BRAVO
Cook has two airline options: sell or improve
Comment: Who will buy Thomas Cook’s airline? I agree there’s no added value in flying on a Thomas Cook plane rather than anyone else’s. I’m not surprised that Thomas Cook have come to this conclusion, though. There are two options here. One is to sell, and Virgin could be a real lifeline for the crew. The other is to add some value to the product. Give passengers an experience they can’t get on another carrier.
JAMES MARTIN Flybmi shows need to gauge balance sheets
Story: Which? warns of industry ‘instability’ following Flybmi failure To retain licences, airlines and travel operators should have their balance sheets reviewed. All intangible assets should be shown as zero, and a sensible view should be taken on how much they rely on using customers’ cash while maybe having a poor balance sheet.
NICK COOPER
TWEETS THIS WEEK
Shane Lewis-Riley @ShaneRileyVV (Virgin Voyages) Introducing @Gemmasmith9, sales manager UK South. Don’t worry North (God’s country), we have someone equally as incredible coming soon.
Nick Harding-McKay @HardingMckay (Travel Designers) I believe unbonded agents should be outlawed – let’s hope tour operators sit up and listen!
Chloe Palmer @ChloePalmer_CUK A week to go until the @AdvantageHQ cruise conference! Looking forward to seeing lots of lovely agents and talking all things P&O Cruises.
QUOTE OF THE
WEEK
“I’m intensely worried about the impact of Brexit on the economy. If GDP falls, travel falls. [Yet] I’m
surprised how relaxed airport managers are.”
TIM COMBS, managing director, Aviation Economics › Business, page 79
TALK BACK TO US: Email
editorial@travelweekly.co.uk. Please write ‘Talk Back’ in the subject line. Deadline: Midday Monday. All correspondence must be accompanied by a name, job title and company address; these will be withheld on request. Please limit letters to 150 words maximum. We reserve the right to edit for brevity and clarity. Other comments are taken from
Travelweekly.co.uk.
28 February 2019
travelweekly.co.uk17
As regards to Abta, its hands are tied. Commercial decisions that companies take are not part of its remit. The protection of clients’ money is what is paramount. PATRICK DOYLE
LETTERS OF THE
WEEK
TALK BACK WHAT YOU’RE SAYING THIS WEEK
EDITORIAL@ TRAVEL WEEKLY.
CO.UK
Unbonded agents divide opinion
Story: Agents hit out at suppliers rewarding non-bonded agents Never a truer word printed. It is grossly unfair that non-bonded or non-consortium agents are treated the same. Different conditions should apply. We all bang on about bonding and being ethical, so how is being an unbonded agent fair on the consumer, the operator or bonded agents? Or maybe we should all become unbonded, save costs, push the burden back on the operators and hope for the best. BONDED AND PROUD
Playing the service card is irrelevant. The service levels provided by some very large call centres are abysmal and a non-bonded person can easily surpass their standards. Whether you choose to bond or not is a personal choice. And the decision by operators to deal with a non-bonded agent on a ‘referral’ basis is a matter for them. PAULY
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