Sunvil boss warns of price hikes


Juliet Dennis Aito Overseas Conference, Poland


Operators and OTAs face big hikes in the cost of airline seats following the collapse of Tomas Cook, former Abta chairman Noel Josephides has warned. He described the current big


players – Tui and Jet2.com and Jet2holidays – as “out for domination” over hoteliers and the industry. This will result in higher charges


to third-party operators and agents which want to buy airline seats, said Sunvil chairman Josephides. Tui has said it would add one


million outbound seats for 2020, and Jet2.com and Jet2holidays have also announced one million more


seats. EasyJet Holidays is targeting one million passengers in its first 12 months as a relaunched business. Cook, which collapsed in


September, was licensed to carry almost 2.5 million customers. Speaking at the Aito Overseas


Conference, Josephides said: “Thomas Cook supplied an endless supply of cheap seats in the market. What we have now are more-efficiently-run companies out for domination over hoteliers and the industry and an airline now going into packages. “In the short term there will be


a lack of capacity. We have all got to get used to paying more for what we are buying. We now have ruthless organisations that want to get any


Barrhead forges ahead with plans to open 20 shops


Amie Keeley


Barrhead Travel Business Partner Conference, Ayrshire


Barrhead Travel plans to open 20 stores by the end of March and has recruited two more former Tomas Cook senior managers. President Jacqueline Dobson said


the agency had already identified 15 locations and recruited 75 staff – the majority former Thomas Cook employees – for the branches. The number of recruits would rise to 96 by the end of the year, Dobson added.


4 28 NOVEMBER 2019 In October, Barrhead named


seven locations where it would open new shops, with exact premises yet to be confirmed. These will be in Burnley, Isle of Wight, Liverpool, Northwich, Wallasey, Warrington and Widnes, and will open ahead of the peak trading season in January. Speaking to Travel Weekly


at Barrhead’s Business Partner Conference last week, Dobson said two of the seven would be open and trading within the next two weeks. It follows plans announced by


Barrhead last month to grow its shop


network by 100 branches. Barrhead has appointed ex-


Thomas Cook learning development head Phil Hudson as head of people development and culture, and former Thomas Cook regional sales manager Catherine Finlan as head of sales for the north. They both joined in October and will work in the expansion team led by Chris Mottershead, Kathryn Darbandi and Nicki Tempest-Mitchell. Dobson said: “We believe in


bricks and mortar and that’s definitely part of our strategy moving forward.”


Noel Josephides, Sunvil, and Matt Purser, Travel Trade Consultancy


for those cheap seats that enabled them to compete with package operators. When we [Sunvil] buy seats for tailor-made holidays in the summer, they will be more expensive.” He said Sunvil had been unable


to replace flights on regional routes, such as from Bristol, because there are no flights directly replacing Thomas Cook’s. Another specialist operator,


Overseas Conference


growth for themselves. They will not be as eager to supply cheap seats in the market. “The OTAs will have to pay more


Cyplon Holidays, said it had so far been able to source alternative, competitive flights for its programme. But sales and marketing director


Tass Anastasi said: “We would love to see more flight availability across the


UK and lower prices.” i Aito Overseas Conference, page 16 i Aito: Kids stop parents flying, page 6


Jacqueline Dobson: ‘We believe in bricks and mortar’


But she added: “It’s not about


size, it’s about the offering, the service and expertise of our staff, so that’s our aspiration.” Asked about Hays Travel’s swoop


for Thomas Cook’s shops, Dobson said: “It’s great for the industry, great for the high street and for all those staff that have been re-employed.” Barrhead’s annual revenue for


2018 grew 7% to £318 million. The company reported a record sales fortnight in January this year


with revenue up 10% on 2018. i Barrhead Travel conference, page 14


travelweekly.co.uk


PICTURE: Malcolm Cochrane


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