Looking east: Which low-cost European destinations are Brits flocking to in search of a cheap getaway? Athens, Kraków and Buda Strong demand for low-cost eastern European destinations is driving a surge in the number of UK families booking city breaks, according to an online holiday company. Thomas Cook said family city break bookings so far this year are around 40 per cent higher compared with the same period in 2022. This is partly due to [...]
Thomas Cook hits back after rumours over Chinese owner selling its stake HITTING BACK Thomas Cook has pushed back against reports that its Chinese owner Fosun Tourism Group was looking to sell its stake in the company. “Fosun Tourism Group has no plans to sell Thomas Cook,” a Thomas Cook spokesperson told City A.M. Sources today told Sky News’ Mark Kleinman that the Chinese powerhouse was contemplating either raising [...]
Bankruptcy watchdog clears Thomas Cook bosses of wrongdoing Thomas Cook cleared The Insolvency Service, the UK’s bankruptcy watchdog, has reportedly cleared the bosses of global travel group Thomas Cook of wrongdoing, more than two years after the company collapsed. “The liquidation of Thomas Cook Group is a complex and significant insolvency, with the Official Receiver carrying out his duties to ensure an orderly wind-up of the [...]
Holidaymakers rush to make bookings after travel rules update September 18, 2021 Holiday firms have reported a surge in demand from customers after the government announced plans to simplify international travel rules in England. Transport secretary Grant Shapps said the traffic light system would be replaced with a single red list. Bookings are expected to surge as Brits look to escape abroad during the half-term holidays later [...]
Thomas Cook is back – but how long will the digital travel company last? September 18, 2020 Launching a new travel brand during a pandemic is brave. Launching a travel brand synonymous with failure is even braver. But backed by a new owner and a reinvented online-only model, Thomas Cook is back. The move to online-only makes sense. Its airline was conspicuously old-fashioned. And in a market today polarised between low-cost, low [...]
Thomas Cook relaunches as online-only firm September 16, 2020 Iconic holiday firm Thomas Cook will today relaunch as an online-only company, a year after going bust in dramatic circumstances. To start with, the new travel company will sell holidays to destinations that are on the government’s safe travel list. In November, Chinese firm Fosun, which also owns package holiday brand Club Med, acquired the [...]
Thomas Cook tipped for relaunch as online-only travel agent September 7, 2020 Iconic travel agent Thomas Cook could be relaunched as early as this month, a year after the firm went bust in dramatic circumstances. Sky News reported that Chinese conglomerate Fosun, which bought the company’s name and intellectual property assets for just £11m, is drawing up plans to reinvent the 178-year-old firm as an online travel [...]
Revealed: Why the government bailed out Flybe, but not Thomas Cook January 15, 2020 At first glance, some might find it hard to understand why the government decided to save Flybe – a small, regional airline – but not holiday giant Thomas Cook. After all, when the latter went bust in September more than 150,000 Brits were left stranded abroad, prompting a mammoth repatriation effort by the Civil Aviation [...]
Watchdog extends Thomas Cook probe December 19, 2019 The UK’s accounting watchdog is extending its investigation into the collapse of travel operator Thomas Cook. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) announced a probe into EY’s audit of Thomas Cook’s financial statements for the year ended 30 September 2018 following the company’s collapse earlier this year. Read more: Thomas Cook went bust with liabilities of [...]
Revealed: Thomas Cook went bust with liabilities of £9bn December 16, 2019 Thomas Cook collapsed with total liabilities of £9bn, it has emerged this morning, making the immediate financial toll of the company going bust even greater than that of Carillion in early 2018. In a report on the failure released this morning, it has emerged the travel operator owed £585m to customers and £45m to employees [...]