I have to say that things didn't feel right at all when we flew to Mexico with them in October.
They advertised heavily that their long haul flights had more legroom than any of their competitors and seat back entertainment.
When we got on the flight, there was no entertainment and honestly, it was so cramped, it was like being on a Ryanair for 11 hours.
They were over the top in trying to flog you stuff fit the whole flight as well.
It smacked of a desperate business to be honest.
I also have a contact in the travel industry who told me that they only have months to trade.
That is all Thomas Cook need. The scare monegering that prevents future bookings just in case.
We went on holiday with these last year and their service was very professional. A nice comfy plane and good value AI 3 star accomodation.
I hope they don't go out of the travel market, as it leaves just First Choice and Thomson who have already mereged, managing a huge chunk of the market.
Mind you just tried to book same holiday, same time next yeat and it's up a grand on what we paid this year. But we only book if the price is right anyway.
Plus the people saying TC don't have internet. TC website is very easy to use from booking, making extra payments,seat bookings,printing boarding passes,pre departure check in.
It's saying the travel agencies are in trouble, not the company itself. They will continue to trade on the Internet. It is sad though, because trooping to the Travel Agents to book the holiday, was always an event in itself and used to get me excited. Booking it online, is not the same. Sometimes having personal recommendations of the travel agent is useful too, if you can't quite find what you want on the Internet.
They're finally having to adjust to a difficult market, and the fact they were reducing their aircraft fleet has been on the cards for a while.
I actually prefer booking online. You have chance to view the market before you book, get the best price and you can also check out your accomodation reviews before you do commit to that booking.
Before the internet though going from shop to shop was good. There used to be loads of small travel firms Lunn Poly, Going Places, etc
It's business as usual & all current bookings are safe. It's almost as if people want the company to fail! Such doom and gloom.
It's totally normal for this time of year for the travel industry to have a different cash flow problem. As TC is a plc company, they have to advise the stock exchange markets if borrowing money etc. That's why the press have got wind of it and now people are assuming they're going into administration....which they're not.
Yes a lot of people book online now, but there are also a lot of people who still like service and face to face help with their travel arrangements. TC match the internet whenever they can.
Another situation where people need to support the high street shops in order for them to exist!
You're blaming the media but you must have missed the fact that the share price crashed almost the moment TC made their announcement. Way before the media reported anything. The stock market obviously thought the borrowing announcement was a problem, dumped the stock, and the media just reported on that surely?
I have to say that things didn't feel right at all when we flew to Mexico with them in October.
They advertised heavily that their long haul flights had more legroom than any of their competitors and seat back entertainment.
When we got on the flight, there was no entertainment and honestly, it was so cramped, it was like being on a Ryanair for 11 hours.
They were over the top in trying to flog you stuff fit the whole flight as well.
It smacked of a desperate business to be honest.
I also have a contact in the travel industry who told me that they only have months to trade.
Absolute rubbish. The only people who know how long they are likely to trade for are their bank and their finance director.
No not clairvoyant, just really high up in the British travel industry with insider knowledge.
Being in the industry myself I would tell your friend that they should know better than to spread such stuff, when the insider starts making such statements its as damaging as the scaremongering from the press. TC will continue even if it cannot sort out its banking issues as another company will buy out its name and assets .
I wouldnt worry, as long as the media does not continue to scare clients into cancelling and booking elsewhere then Thomas Cook will either do a deal with the banks or merge / be taken over with another company , it isnt going to disappear overnight.
Pretty much this. The scaremongering makes people cancel and a company that was potentially only having a temporary blip, goes under.
Re-organising debt doesn't mean going into adminstration, it's simply, well reorganising how you'll pay back the debt.
They have got a loan from there banks like HSBC to help them through the quite periods. Iam a little openminded about whether they are able to pay that back by 2013?
The Hajj dates have changed too. Various IT companies lease out aircraft and crews for the Hajj flights, and this used to occur in the winter, But because the calender has changed (32 year cycle i believe) Hajj is now is still in the traditional UK summer time, and those aircraft are still busy on the bucket and spade routes and can't be contracted out bringing in income during the lean winter.
I think Cookies will be fine in all honesty. The banks would have done the due diligence seen forward bookings and made an assessment on that. You don't get £200m in financing by just saying please.
I was talking about Thomas Cook shutting shops to others when this happened. Then look now 200 hundred shops + hundreds of staff are out on there ear soon. It's a bleak Happy New Year for those. I think we will only see a handfull of travel agents on the high streets in the near future, but people do like to see what they are buying. But it's the online technology which is taking over.
I was talking about Thomas Cook shutting shops to others when this happened. Then look now 200 hundred shops + hundreds of staff are out on there ear soon. It's a bleak Happy New Year for those. I think we will only see a handfull of travel agents on the high streets in the near future, but people do like to see what they are buying. But it's the online technology which is taking over.
They had too many after their merger, just took them a while to realise. High St travel agents must be fairly finished though, god knows why people still use them.
Been looking for a few weeks for a holiday for summer and Thomas Cook do seem to be around £100 per couple cheaper than Thomson.
I know they are ABTA bonded etc and they need the trade but Im not sure though if I would risk it.
Anyone else feel the same way?
We have booked TC this year again, as they are the only ones that go to the hotel we are wanting.
If they were to go down the tubes, then hopefully we would be okay as we booked through a travel agent rather than TC direct, and hopefully they would just change the holiday etc.
Of course I don't want that to happen, but it certainly didn't put us off booking.
We have booked TC this year again, as they are the only ones that go to the hotel we are wanting.
If they were to go down the tubes, then hopefully we would be okay as we booked through a travel agent rather than TC direct, and hopefully they would just change the holiday etc.
Of course I don't want that to happen, but it certainly didn't put us off booking.
We've travelled with TC the last three years for the same reason - a lovely hotel in Crete which doesn't appear in any other brochure. You'd definitely be covered if they went bankrupt, but I don't think it makes any difference whether you book direct or through an agent - the important part is that you book a package, and not individual elements.
I believe, though I could be wrong, that it's the ATOL cover, provided by the tour operator, which is important. ABTA members merely act as an agent in this.
We've travelled with TC the last three years for the same reason - a lovely hotel in Crete which doesn't appear in any other brochure. You'd definitely be covered if they went bankrupt, but I don't think it makes any difference whether you book direct or through an agent - the important part is that you book a package, and not individual elements.
I was more meaning if the worst was to happen it would be easily changed through the agents rather than losing the holiday altogether.
I was more meaning if the worst was to happen it would be easily changed through the agents rather than losing the holiday altogether.
That was quick - I've just edited my reply.
That's ok, I understood exactly what you meant, I don't know how quickly the agents could arrange a new holiday - to be more precise, the agent could obviously arrange a new booking, but you might have to pay for it before you were repaid the cost of the first booking.
Comments
They advertised heavily that their long haul flights had more legroom than any of their competitors and seat back entertainment.
When we got on the flight, there was no entertainment and honestly, it was so cramped, it was like being on a Ryanair for 11 hours.
They were over the top in trying to flog you stuff fit the whole flight as well.
It smacked of a desperate business to be honest.
I also have a contact in the travel industry who told me that they only have months to trade.
Ahh ... a contact.
Is your contact clairvoyant?
Regardless of the answer to this question, he/she is simply guessing ...
We went on holiday with these last year and their service was very professional. A nice comfy plane and good value AI 3 star accomodation.
I hope they don't go out of the travel market, as it leaves just First Choice and Thomson who have already mereged, managing a huge chunk of the market.
Mind you just tried to book same holiday, same time next yeat and it's up a grand on what we paid this year. But we only book if the price is right anyway.
Plus the people saying TC don't have internet. TC website is very easy to use from booking, making extra payments,seat bookings,printing boarding passes,pre departure check in.
I actually prefer booking online. You have chance to view the market before you book, get the best price and you can also check out your accomodation reviews before you do commit to that booking.
Before the internet though going from shop to shop was good. There used to be loads of small travel firms Lunn Poly, Going Places, etc
No not clairvoyant, just really high up in the British travel industry with insider knowledge.
You're blaming the media but you must have missed the fact that the share price crashed almost the moment TC made their announcement. Way before the media reported anything. The stock market obviously thought the borrowing announcement was a problem, dumped the stock, and the media just reported on that surely?
So how may months then? Please let us know from this high up person.
Absolute rubbish. The only people who know how long they are likely to trade for are their bank and their finance director.
Do they work for Thomas Cook at a high level? Or their bank?
Must be one of them.
Being in the industry myself I would tell your friend that they should know better than to spread such stuff, when the insider starts making such statements its as damaging as the scaremongering from the press. TC will continue even if it cannot sort out its banking issues as another company will buy out its name and assets .
Pretty much this. The scaremongering makes people cancel and a company that was potentially only having a temporary blip, goes under.
Re-organising debt doesn't mean going into adminstration, it's simply, well reorganising how you'll pay back the debt.
I think Cookies will be fine in all honesty. The banks would have done the due diligence seen forward bookings and made an assessment on that. You don't get £200m in financing by just saying please.
As I said they wont go under , looks like your contact was badly misinformed.
Not really sure what that has to do with Thomas Cook. Did you expect them to just ignore passengers concerns?
They had too many after their merger, just took them a while to realise. High St travel agents must be fairly finished though, god knows why people still use them.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16679669
Been looking for a few weeks for a holiday for summer and Thomas Cook do seem to be around £100 per couple cheaper than Thomson.
I know they are ABTA bonded etc and they need the trade but Im not sure though if I would risk it.
Anyone else feel the same way?
We have booked TC this year again, as they are the only ones that go to the hotel we are wanting.
If they were to go down the tubes, then hopefully we would be okay as we booked through a travel agent rather than TC direct, and hopefully they would just change the holiday etc.
Of course I don't want that to happen, but it certainly didn't put us off booking.
Like you say, they are ABTA bonded so there is no risk.
We've travelled with TC the last three years for the same reason - a lovely hotel in Crete which doesn't appear in any other brochure. You'd definitely be covered if they went bankrupt, but I don't think it makes any difference whether you book direct or through an agent - the important part is that you book a package, and not individual elements.
I believe, though I could be wrong, that it's the ATOL cover, provided by the tour operator, which is important. ABTA members merely act as an agent in this.
I was more meaning if the worst was to happen it would be easily changed through the agents rather than losing the holiday altogether.
That was quick - I've just edited my reply.
That's ok, I understood exactly what you meant, I don't know how quickly the agents could arrange a new holiday - to be more precise, the agent could obviously arrange a new booking, but you might have to pay for it before you were repaid the cost of the first booking.