NEWS ROUND-UP
Government faces Heathrow challenges after MPs’ approval
The government faces the prospect of legal challenges as MPs voted overwhelmingly in favour of a third runway at Heathrow on Monday. Airlines welcomed the
296-majority vote backing the £14 billion plans but critics suggested legal challenges could delay the proposals for at least two years. Carriers said they would
work with the Civil Aviation Authority to design a regulatory framework that will “ruthlessly protect passengers from increased costs”. Greenpeace UK said it was
ready to join a cross-party group of London councils and Mayor Sadiq Khan in a legal challenge against the runway. Transport secretary Chris
Grayling is now expected to sanction the final Airports National Policy Statement approved by Parliament. This will set the policy framework for Heathrow’s northwest runway consent application. Heathrow is preparing to hold
a second public consultation. If development consent
is granted, work on the new runway could begin in 2021 and it could be operational by 2026. › Business, page 63
Sealy leaves If Only to lead Exsus Travel’s trade sales campaign
Former If Only head of sales Neil Sealy has joined specialist tour operator Exsus Travel to spearhead its launch to the trade. Sealy left If Only last Friday and started in the new role of head of trade sales this week at the luxury tailor-made
COMMENT: “Using management cliches will spell disaster if you want to be found on any search engine” Steve Dunne, page 24
Attraction World warns ‘a handful’ of jobs to be axed
Amie Keeley
amie.keeley@
travelweekly.co.uk
Attraction World, the theme park and attraction ticket specialist, has put nine members of staff in its sales and product teams under consultation.
The roles affected include five business development managers and head of sales Simon Garrido. Garrido joined the business
last November, having previously worked as head of trade sales at Monarch until its collapse. Group chief executive Paul
Stobbs suggested there could be a “handful of redundancies”. Stobbs said: “A review of the most effective ways of working with our strategic partners has necessitated us entering into a period of consultation with employees within our sales and product teams. “We hope to complete this over
the next week or so, but there is a risk that a handful of employees may face redundancy at the end of this process. “This is in no way a reflection of
the efforts of these individuals to drive forward the business, simply
“A handful of employees may face redundancy at the end of this process”
a reflection of current business needs. We thank all those affected for their continued support and commitment, and hope that we can move forward with the process as smoothly as possible. “We remain committed to
providing fantastic levels of service to our industry partners.”
specialist, which has been mostly direct-sell until now. He will embark on a push to
raise awareness of the 20-year- old London-based brand as it looks to gain a foothold in the luxury travel agent sector. Sealy said his priority
Neil Sealy
8
travelweekly.co.uk 28 June 2018
would be to get commercial agreements in place with all the agency consortia, while meeting agents face-to-face to start training them on the Exsus product range. He said: “Exsus operates in 87
GARRIDO: Sales head is one of nine staff under consultation
Attraction World completed a £6.9 million management buyout in 2010 after its senior management team, including then managing director Paul Stobbs and sales and marketing director Tony Seaman, secured external investment. It made seven staff redundant in 2014 after a drop-off in sales when Tui took most of its ticketing operation in-house. Attraction World became the
exclusive ticket provider for Thomas Cook Group in 2016. Founded in 1996, it also owns consumer family attraction website Day Out With The Kids.
countries but has never worked with agents properly. “It’s been very ad hoc, and the
trade has never been a major focus – until now. My job is to get the business in and I’m starting from scratch.” Sealy said Exsus offered
“competitive commissions”, adding that it would look to develop an agent group on Facebook and an agent area on its website, as well as fam trips to get agents out to experience its product worldwide.
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