TM Insider 226

The TravelMole Insider – Issue 226
ISSN 1474-2292
17 September 2002
https://www.travelmole.com

A message from EyeForTravel:
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LATEST INDUSTRY NEWS
1. Industry again criticised over brochure pricing
2. NTL repackages Traveleye
3. US agents in Disney row
4. Interview: Alan Croft, deputy md, Bridge Travel Service
5. Air France axe US commissions
6. Taking operators online
7. Agents offered fast track to getting online
8. US agents offered internet training
9. Nectar signs a host of travel suppliers
10. BAA reports late summer surge
11. War of words over low fares
12. Ryanair claiming ‘favourite airline’ status
13. Stelios will make early exit
14. bmibaby says future of Jersey flights depends on fees
15. BA in U-turn over Exec Club status
16. Air France launches new service: Paris- Aberdeen and Bristol
17. Emirates launches Mauritius service
18. Hotel managers take the academic route
19. JTB resignations follow investigations

COMMENT by Jeremy Skidmore
The travel industry, according to everyone outside it, is run by
cowboys. Despite the abundance of professionally run companies,
both big and small, the perception is still that holiday firms
rip off unsuspecting customers.

Television programmes like ‘Holidays from Hell’ and
advertisements from companies like Holiday Claim Line just
reinforce this perception. The travel industry is a soft target
and it was shot again last week with the publication of the
Holiday Which? report which attacked the confusing pricing
system by tour operators. Again, the clear message is that the
public is being conned.
https://www.travelmole.com/item/90628

ABTA fights gamely to defend the industry, but it’s like pushing
water uphill. Even though a lot of the criticism is unfair, you
can’t help thinking that the industry has brought much of it on
itself.

Tour operators may be trying to be innovative, but the result is
that many brochures are a confusing mess of prices. And then, of
course, there are always the huge discounts to shift stock. The
whole issue of bonding also needs sorting out. With the
abundance of low-cost flights and accommodation sold separately,
who exactly is covered in the event of a failure?

But the biggest problem is that operators are often selling a
product where the gap between perception and reality is huge.
Mass-market holidays are often sold as a dream vacation when
they are often anything but.

The industry has made massive steps forward in the past ten
years. But unless it can get its house in order in some key
areas, it will continue to be the whipping boy for many more
years to come.

Jeremy Skidmore

—
Have your say! If you would like to add your thoughts to this
or any other TravelMole article, click on the ‘Add a Comment’
button at the top of the story.

Best wishes
Richard Hammond
mailto:[email protected]

LATEST INDUSTRY NEWS
Breaking Stories: https://www.travelmole.com/news/index.html

1. Industry again criticised over brochure pricing
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The travel industry has come under fire yet again for misleading
consumers over brochure pricing.
https://www.travelmole.com/item/90628

2. NTL repackages Traveleye
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
X-TANT, the company behind Traveleye is re-branding as NTL
Business (Travel Division).
https://www.travelmole.com/item/90688

3. US agents in Disney row
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
US travel agents have reacted in disbelief to Walt Disney’s
bizarre new rules concerning its training programme.
https://www.travelmole.com/item/90719

4. Interview: Alan Croft, deputy md, Bridge Travel Service
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Short-break operators are being forced to diversify their
products because of a change in buying habits among
holidaymakers and increased directional selling in the market.
https://www.travelmole.com/item/90645

5. Air France axe US commissions
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Air France has joined Lufthansa and KLM in axing commissions to
US agents.
https://www.travelmole.com/item/90721

6. Taking operators online
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A software solutions company has designed an internet booking
engine specifically for tour operators.
https://www.travelmole.com/item/90336

7. Agents offered fast track to getting online
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Travel agents can have their own website for GBP 1,100, in a
number of hours.
https://www.travelmole.com/item/90616

8. US agents offered internet training
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Agents in the US have been targeted for a training seminar aimed
at increasing online sales.
https://www.travelmole.com/item/90525

9. Nectar signs a host of travel suppliers
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lunn Poly has signed up with the customer loyalty scheme,
Nectar, which launched on Monday.
https://www.travelmole.com/item/90331

10. BAA reports late summer surge
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
UK passenger numbers for August were up on last year.
https://www.travelmole.com/item/90511

11. War of words over low fares
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A slanging match has started between British Airways and two
no-frills carriers over BA’s claim to offer low fares.
https://www.travelmole.com/item/90715

12. Ryanair claiming ‘favourite airline’ status
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ryanair has wasted no time in placing its bid to take British
Airways’ slot in the FTSE 100.
https://www.travelmole.com/item/90500

13. Stelios will make early exit
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Easyjet’s founder, Stelios Haji-Ioannou is to step down earlier
than expected.
https://www.travelmole.com/item/90522

14. bmibaby says future of Jersey flights depends on fees
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bmibaby has announced that it will serve Jersey from Cardiff and
East Midlands airports, but is unhappy with landing fees at the
Channel Islands airport.
https://www.travelmole.com/item/90676

15. BA in U-turn over Exec Club status
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
British Airways has stripped loyal Executive Club members of
their discretionary Silver card status.
https://www.travelmole.com/item/90325

16. Air France launches new service: Paris-Aberdeen and Bristol
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Air France has announced plans to launch two new routes to Paris
from Aberdeen and Bristol.
https://www.travelmole.com/item/90401

17. Emirates launches Mauritius service
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Emirates has launched flights out of Dubai to Mauritius.
https://www.travelmole.com/item/90338

18. Hotel managers take the academic route
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A new diploma has been created to train hotel managers.
https://www.travelmole.com/item/90619

19. JTB resignations follow investigations
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Several senior members of the Jamaica Tourist Board have
resigned in the wake of anonymous allegations of impropriety and
an internal audit investigating them.
https://www.travelmole.com/item/90722

LATEST PRESS POSTINGS
16-Sep: Farebase portal puts Unijet product at West Midlands
Co-op’s fingertips
12-Sep: Growth in local content opens door to significant Sabre
expansion
12-Sep: New Scandinavian transport function lets Sabre agencies
book customers door to door
12-Sep: RWA to launch comprehensive online selling solution for
tour operators
04-Sep: e-Travel spells streamlined management and an even
better end-user experience
https://www.travelmole.com/news/press

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