Thomson boss: No-frills airlines are not a threat
Thomson Holidays md Chris Mottershead has said that the no-frills airlines do not pose a significant threat to the company.
Speaking at the launch of Thomson’s 2003 brochures, Mr Mottershead said that the recent drop in the number of package holidays taken is a result of September 11, not because people are switching away from them to other alternatives.
Mr Mottershead claimed that as the low cost airlines operate in different markets, they are not yet a significant threat to Thomson. He said: “Low cost airlines do take some of the leisure market away from us, but not a signficant amount – not yet – and it is our job to ensure they don’t.”
He added that UK bookings at Thomson are now only 4% down on last year, and that he fully expects “by the end of this year, Thomson will have sold as many holidays as last year.”
Commenting on destination trends for 2003, Mr Mottershead said that they are looking to make Thomson Holidays the “new number one” operator in Florida.
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