Thomas Cook

[Tarn Spotter]

No profitable TC bases. For every £3 TC spending on leasing aircraft and other finance costs, their earning £1, this is the company problem.
As we have seen with Carillion (and now Interserve) is you sub contract all your operations, when margins come under pressure, there is a limited how much your sub contractors can move.

 

[Aviador]

The latest news is worrying and very disappointing for LBA and no doubt concerning for its new owners. LBA will definately not be the only airport to suffer next year. As a nation we are digging ourselves deeper and deeper into the Brexit rabbit hole. Just about every outcome will leave the UK deeply broken. Flybe and Thomas Cook scaling back ops for servival in the UK along withTUI cutting ops. It's fairly plain to see we will be having a significant downturn in the economy next year. How long it will last is anybody's guess but it's a recession in the making. "Brexit means Brexit" but it's what we voted for.

 

[a300boy]

How can we know whats gone on ?
No information, no statements, a press release blaming the Lba management then a retraction its just like the politicians circus and Brexit.
If all your submissions are correct the airport can do very little.
Is anyone in the know or could it be an increase in fees or a discount no longer being offered thats the route of the problem.
Too late anyway they are gone. I noticed today the Tui travel outlet in Otley is gone too.

 

[White Heather]

Well I have written to LBA re both TUi and Thomas Cook to advise them that on Thursday, at the next consultative meeting, I will be asking the relevant questions of their Aviation Development Director. How much they can, or will, say remains to be seen. If there is a bright side it is that next summer, the expected chaos within the terminal (whilst the extension is being built) may now not be quite as bad as expected. LBA management have said several times that LBA is too leisure orientated and we need to bring about a better balance between leisure and business. We all hoped that meant more business airlines and routes, not the loss of two of the country's main Inclusive Tour operators, within weeks of each other.

 

[rollo]

The great British public voted for Brexit and now they are getting what they voted for...a very hard 5-10 years ahead of us Im afraid. I have always said if you need anything really screwing up nobody is better than doing that than the Brits.....and its going to get a lot worse before it gets better.

Nobody's told Jet2 as they bought Primeras 5 737 800s yesterday making 14 additional aircraft to join the fleet before the summer season so hopefully additional flights will be spread around their network with LBA probably first in line given TUIs and Cooks decisions.

 

[Finger66]

Indeed. Let's hope that was part of their thinking. Also they have recently lost GDFH sooner than anticipated so that would have had to be replaced. Knowing Jet2 a good deal will have been struck. They are currently the forward and proactive thinkers in these very challenging times

 

[paully]

TC and TUi are the perfect example of poor management.Chopping and changing their business plan ditto senior staff and then wonder why it's no going well..more to do with these factors than Brexit I think

 

[Jerry]

That's probably more to do with the additional planes they had to lease last year would have cost a small fortune and still quite a few of the old 737-300's to replace.

I did read somewhere that they were looking to lease less aircraft from the likes of Smartlynx next year so like you said many of those aircraft will be replacements for those aircraft that were previously leased.

 

[rollo]

That's probably more to do with the additional planes they had to lease last year would have cost a small fortune and still quite a few of the old 737-300's to replace.

Yes I did wonder about retirement of older aircraft etc after posting but it was too late to edit by the time it crossed my mind and certainly the leased A321 based at Bhx last summer didn't have a great reputation regarding on time performance.

 

[a300boy]

Thanks to White Heather for asking the questions of the management that we would all like an answer to ! Lets see what happens.
As for Brexit I think thats a debate for another forum I am a pensioner now so my situation makes me more secure than working people.
I have always thought if you put 27 people together and ran a business where three people paid funds in to the bank and the rest took funds out it would not be too long before the business fell apart.
The Belgians and other Europeans that I worked with accused British people of being anti- European when we would not join the euro currency.
My reply was to tell them we were not happy with the direction the union was going and for me nothing has changed.
We all have our reasons for our views both political and personal but the problem we have at Lba is more than Brexit blues we have had a history of new routes and airlines coming and going which is disappointing. to say the least how many of us would pay more and re-route to fly from Lba rather than Manchester as its often difficult to justify.

I have to say my friend who lives near Manchester Airport points out to me that they loose routes all the time too but these are a small proportion of a massive operation so not so noticeable.
The Airport management tell us they want to be less reliant on holiday flights but we are more and more reliant on two airlines who are doing just that.

 

[White Heather]

Exactly - which is why LBA management wish to concentrate more on securing new airlines and routes which are less holiday orientated and more business orientated - although reality is whichever route you operate there will be a mix of passengers. That would suggest more city routes on their agenda - and as we all know, we have had, then lost, quite a few over the years. Madrid, Valencia, Hamburg, Munich, Weeze, Cork, Inverness, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Copenhagen, Aberdeen and Milan to name only a few. Berlin will soon join the list. Frankly, unless a new domestic carrier emerges pretty soon (Finger66 I am thinking of you!!) I can't imagine us getting much in terms of domestic new routes, but the international options are ones that should do well on paper at least. But then there is that B word which is still causing enough uncertainty to stop airlines venturing beyond what they feel safe with.

 

[Tarn Spotter]

Well I have written to LBA re both TUi and Thomas Cook to advise them that on Thursday, at the next consultative meeting, I will be asking the relevant questions of their Aviation Development Director. How much they can, or will, say remains to be seen. If there is a bright side it is that next summer, the expected chaos within the terminal (whilst the extension is being built) may now not be quite as bad as expected. LBA management have said several times that LBA is too leisure orientated and we need to bring about a better balance between leisure and business. We all hoped that meant more business airlines and routes, not the loss of two of the country's main Inclusive Tour operators, within weeks of each other.

Interesting today received a city briefing paper on TC which intermates that Fosun who own 12% of TC may well increase there stake up to 49% the maximum they can hold under E.U. rules (They will run the company). There intention is to increase there holiday exposure in China and move the company from there european holiday business, to holidays to Thailand, Japan, South Korea rather then CDS etc.
What is left of the airline business will go.
If true (John Collingridge) has the same story in the Sunday Times, shows nothing LBA management could do and nothing to do with brexit.
Everything now blamed on Brexit, even todays Dollar movement, yet traders issued reports last night, that the fear of a labour government the reason for the pounds weakening, not Brexit.

 

[LBA8098]

https://www.facebook.com/134335183511/posts/10156184649323512

 

[Aviador]

Everything now blamed on Brexit, even todays Dollar movement, yet traders issued reports last night, that the fear of a labour government the reason for the pounds weakening, not Brexit.

If you follow what the pound does when Teresa May is at the dispatch box you'll see the pound tumble every time she opens her mouth.

 

[Aviador]

https://www.facebook.com/134335183511/posts/10156184649323512

I thought no flights were showing for 2019 now?

 

[LBA8098]

Enfidha (Tunisia) is bookable.

 

[louis_walton]

Tunisia being available may be another TUI Verona situation. They have already agreed to use the aircraft so they will continue this year and leave next.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I really think that is a little unfair on the airport operator.

If TC and TUI make a business decision to retrench to more profitable bases there is little the airport could have done about it.

TUI in particular hasn't retrenched entirely to its main bases. In summer 2019 Cardiff is getting an additional based B738 (the third) and Exeter and Bournemouth are both seeing a number of new routes.

None of these could be considered major bases.

Cardiff has a one-aircraft Thomas Cook summer base but neither Bournemouth nor Exeter has Thomas Cook presences.

Neither Cardiff, Bournemouth nor Exeter has a Jet2 presence so that might have a bearing on TUI's expansion at those airports.

 

[a300boy]

so what are the other two new routes and which airline is operating them.

 

[LBA4EVER]

It is just beyond belief whats going on at LBA. we are talking about the city of leeds (3rd largest city and the 2nd financial hub of england) with an ever expanding city centre with new buildings going up 24/7 at the moment inc some new 25 floor plus soon to rise, and west yorks in general(4th pop). Lba should be a 2 or 3 aircraft base each for both tui and tc and the airport should be attracting at least 8million pax per year with the likes of AF,LH,SAS to major European hubs! Manchester airport is a big problem but I will say it again, the main issue is the infrastructure at Lba and esp the runway, that is the big big draw back! Most cant face the fact that's the main issue, and until something major is done, Lba will always remain the way it is! It will grow a little bit each year but other airports will leave it behind!