Thomas Cook ......GONE.

[WINKIE]

Sad day for all who have booked, worked or are on holiday with the above. Another travel company sadly bites the dust. Spent many holidays with them, cant believe this mornings news  . Hope all folks currently in the village, who travelled with them, are able to get home safely soon.

[diane13]

Really sad for everyone affected 

[maggiesaes]

We have one here in Little Prince but he was booked with Tui who moved him to a different flight and airport and a Thomas Cook plane.
He is worried but he actually paid Tui.

[Jimbo]

Tell him his contract is with TUI. They often use planes leased from other airlines or book seats. They used to use Easyjet from Leeds, for example. Thomas Cook never had anybody at Little Prince.

[Jimbo]

Maybe I should add that I did a consumer phone-in program for years when I was BBC Producer and Presenter, and that's a typical issue. In UK law your contract is with the seller, not the brand owner, manufacturer or sub-contractor.

TUI has 150 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, all of which are grounded. A spokesperson said, in March:

“... Tui has taken precautions along with other airlines, covering the time until mid-July, in order to be prepared for the Easter, Whitsun and start of the summer holiday season and to secure holidays for its customers and their families.”

Of course, July came and went and the planes are still not flying, so TUI, whose shares are severely down in value, has a major shortage of aeroplanes. It doesn't matter is they rent planes from Sunwings or Timbuktu Air, as far as the purchaser of a TUI hoilday is concerned, they are TUI planes. This summer our TUI flight from Doncaster was a Sunwings plane, with Canadian aircrew and TUI cabin crew. On the way back it was the same plane, but the (exuberant) cabin crew were flown by TUI from Ireland to service our flight. Aviation is a crazy world!
 

[Tredegar Boy]

Earlier this month we had a TUI holiday but flew on ASL Airlines (France) with French cabin crew and they were excellent.

[maggiesaes]

What puzzles me is he had a call from the travel agent ( doesn’t book on line) and was told so he says that his holiday was cancelled but for an extra £120 he could come from East Midlands instead of Birmingham with Thomas Cook.
There was no transport for him at this end but Tui did send him up eventually on a minibus by himself.
All sounds a bit odd but he does get confused.

My son had a holiday booked for half term with TC and although he will get a refund eventually he says prices have gone up by 50% now as he is trying to find something.
How cynical it all is,always ready to give people another kicking  when they are down.

[geordieborn]

Unfortunately it is what they get away with by calling “supply and demand”. I’m afraid it then comes down to a matter of personal circumstances i.e. many of us probably can/could simply pay whatever or wait and go at any other time when the cost will be less. A very privileged position to be in and one we try to remember when complaining about our lot from day to day. Those working, with other commitments or simply don’t have the cash-flow do not have the same choice.

[maggiesaes]

Yes sadly that is so.
Many have paid in full for their holidayband could not book again anyway until they have their refund,by which time their holiday dates may well have passed.

Our worried passenger had a visit from Giota on her day off today confirming his flight details and pick will go ahead as planned.
Well done Tui rep for understanding his fears.

[Karen]

Yes sadly that is so.
Many have paid in full for their holidayband could not book again anyway until they have their refund,by which time their holiday dates may well have passed.

Our worried passenger had a visit from Giota on her day off today confirming his flight details and pick will go ahead as planned.
Well done Tui rep for understanding his fears.

Maggie, that's the TUI rep that helped us in July.  She is fantastic and offered to meet us at the airport, on our departure, on her day off, as we had a few problems.

[Tredegar Boy]

The Spanish government are calling the demise of TC a disaster for their hotel industry. It's going to be tough for quite a few resorts. Who can you see plugging the TC gap.
I know Virgin are interested in some of the TC airport slots but I can't see them taking up the hotel vacancies

[geordieborn]

Not too sure if it is quite simply a case of “x” number go on holiday to “y” number of places and that will continue in the long run. In the meantime I’m sure the vultures will come looking to buy cheap slots, aircraft, staff and the likes and gain from it all.
Those Spanish hotels that have locked people out of their rooms should be named and shamed, along with full praise going to those that simply continue to ensure those folks on holiday with them just now see little difference and enjoy it as much as possible.

[RedroseMax]

Not too sure if it is quite simply a case of “x” number go on holiday to “y” number of places and that will continue in the long run. In the meantime I’m sure the vultures will come looking to buy cheap slots, aircraft, staff and the likes and gain from it all.
Those Spanish hotels that have locked people out of their rooms should be named and shamed, along with full praise going to those that simply continue to ensure those folks on holiday with them just now see little difference and enjoy it as much as possible.

Good call that, there should be a website dedicated to these things, if there isnt already that is

[Jimbo]

I sympathise with all involved, apart from the Directors of TC, who took huge bonuses and salaries when the company was losing millions. Ask anybody who had a TC apartment block in Agios Stefanos or globally what they think, and they'll tell you that TC paid at least 90 days in arrears. In an area like Corfu, with about a six month season, that would currently mean - since you're not going to get your last payment - losing about half your income. That's a big hit; possibly a catastrophic blow. They will be paid eventually by ABTA/ATOL, but eventually can be a very long time.

Most, if not all, Agios Stefanos TC apartments saw the writing on the wall and went with Jet2. On the face of it that was stupid. From TC - one of the biggest package operators in the world - to a small Yorkshire company? Daft, as we say in Yorkshire. But they rolled double-sixes.They knew TC were way behind the times, and very bad payers. And guess how many planes TC actually owned? An astonishing three! The rest were leased, and the second TC went bankrupt they reverted to the owners. Three planes are not anywhere near enough assets to cover the debt. So what about the astonishing 600 shops in the UK? Look at your local High Street - they're pretty much worthless.

At the same time it's awful that honest-to-goodness ordinary people are being chucked out of apartments.

I think - don't know if you agree - that ABTA/ATOL should state in writing to owners exactly then they will be paid. The paperwork and legal fees involved will be huge.

We should also feel a bit of sympathy for the TC flight crews. Some are stuck thousands of miles from home with no pay and no means to return. TC cabin staff were payed about £17,800 per years on average. That's about the same as an unqualified teacher.

Very sad all round.

[Richard/Jackie/Nathan]

As I understand it ABTA/ATOL will only pay the property owners the amount due after TC went into administration. They will just be like any other creditors for the previous 90 days that they haven't been paid for so the situation is a lot bleaker for them then first meets the eye.