p6 oct24 22/10/08 20:02 Page 6
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TTA courts ‘major firms’ In brief
Lucy Huxley.
irrelevant because they can negotiate terms ■ Air traffic falls for first time in 25 years
THE TTA said it is talking to about eight large themselves and build their own bespoke technol- Air passenger traffic fell for the first time in 25
travel firms about them joining its ranks, claiming ogy and do their own marketing. years in September, by 1.1%. The drop followed
it can reduce their financial protection costs. “The only thing that would be attractive would three months of low growth figures, according to
TTA managing director Simon Hargreaves said be to reduce their costs per booking. figures from the Association of European Airlines.
he hoped to be “cracking a number of big deals”, “So the TTA is finding systems to do that, The downward trend in the three major operating
including at least one with “a household name through blending the trust fund approach with regions of Europe, the North Atlantic and the Far
brand” by the end of the year. bonding and insurance; I had thought you had to East was compounded by large falls in domestic
Hargreaves said he had approached 11 or 12 have 100% bonding or be covered 100% by a traffic, which fell by 12.4% in September. But
firms and had been invited to submit business trust fund, but you can have part bonding and one region bucked the trend: the South Atlantic
plans for seven or eight of them, indicating how just have to engineer a company accordingly. market posted a 9.5% rise in September.
the TTA could reduce their costs. “It’s all about paying less for your protection
He refused to give names, but said: “I’m and these companies will take 90% of the benefit. ■ Hotels4U touts winter discounts
talking to one Abta member with a £100 million We’ll take a percentage of what we save them.” Hotels4U.com is offering discounts of up to 25%
turnover, and one that’s part of another consor- Hargreaves added: “Two years ago, no one to winter destinations such as Egypt, the Canary
tium, but most are outside any group. Most are would even talk to us, but because of the islands, Mexico and the Dominican Republic. The
suppliers which have their own retail operation. downturn everyone is looking for ideas.” discounts from the Thomas Cook-owned bed bank
“As soon as a business goes over £30 or are available on selected dates between November
£40 million turnover, all the consortia become ■ TTA takeover of Worldchoice: Analysis, p14 and April for bookings made before October 31.
Elite blames XL for delegate drop
■ Birmingham gains new route to Philadelphia
US Airways is to launch flights from Birmingham
to Philadelphia from summer 2009. The airline
ELITE Travel Group has blamed poor member again, particularly after it was announced that will operate a daily service from May 13 until the
attendance at its conference last week on the Elite and Advantage will act as one commercial end of September. US Airways will use a Boeing
collapse of the XL Leisure Group and the timing body yet still have separate conferences in 2009. 757-200 on the route with 164 economy and 12
of school half-term in the Midlands. Meanwhile, Elite’s pre-conference claim that it business-class seats. Outbound flights will leave
The conference was attended by 47 suppliers had attracted four Worldchoice members to join at 08.45, arriving in Philadelphia at 11.50. Return
and 28 agencies, at least 10 of which were owned has been rebutted by Worldchoice. flights will arrive in Birmingham at 06.25.
by Elite directors. Last year, 48 agencies attended. Colin Heal, Worldchoice chairman, said just
Elite marketing director Peter Buckell said one member had considered defecting and he ■ BA sets up website for High Life magazine
about 10 members pulled out at the last minute believed this was now unlikely following the British Airways is launching a website to
after losing flights booked with XL and had found Elite/Advantage tie-up. He added that an agency complement High Life, its 35-year-old inflight
that rebooking was too expensive. named by Elite, Vimaro Holidays, had never been magazine. The BAhighlife.com website will
Suppliers at the conference raised concerns part of Worldchoice. borrow content from the print magazine and its
with TTG over agent numbers, with some ques- short-haul spin-off Business Life. It will also in-
tioning the value of attending the conference ■ Elite Conference report, p10-11 clude information and advice on BA destinations.
■ Cruise.co.uk wins at World Travel Awards
Cruise.co.uk, the online cruise agent, has won the
prize for the best cruise agency in Europe at the
World Travel Awards. Cruise.co.uk beat Gill’s
Cruise Centre to win the award at the event held
in Poprad, Slovenia. Victoria Travel, which owns
the website, said it featured more than 20,000
cruise reviews. The site is the most visited cruise
travel agency site in the UK, according to Hitwise.
■ Cheapflights appoints account manager
Cheapflights is planning to expand its business
with the appointment of Spencer Davies as senior
account manager. Davies, who previously worked
for Teletext, will be based in London and report
to head of sales, Sarah Hanan.
YOUTH ZONE: Royal Caribbean has unveiled the final “neighbourhood” onboard Oasis
of the Seas: the Youth Zone. Targeted at children and teenagers, it will include a nursery,
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For the latest news, reviews and comment
arcade, science lab, surf simulators, and DJ classes. The ship launches November 2009. from the travel industry, visit ttglive.com
06 24.10.2008
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