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German tour operator TUI plans to cut up to 550 jobs in Germany as it moves to cuts costs and revamp its hotel portfolio as the traditional one-size-fits-all package holiday dwindles in popularity.

TUI said it wanted to introduce more exclusive hotels to its range in response to rising demands for more individual holidays, as well as expand its online offering.

The company, which has about 10,000 employees in Germany, earlier this year said it wanted to cut costs to become more competitive and warned last month of job cuts to come.

source: Reuters

Tui Travel, Europe’s biggest tour operator, with brands including Thomson and First Choice, said today that it expected to cut capacity for the coming winter season by 15 per cent after a slide in demand.

The company said that it was mindful of the trend towards later bookings and had retained the flexibility to increase capacity in the event of a late rise in demand.

source: Times Online

German travel and transport group TUI and airline Lufthansa are working on creating a new low-cost carrier, the TUI Travel subsidiary said on Tuesday.

The partners have signed a letter of intent for a merger of TUI Travel, Hapag-Lloyd and Hapag-Lloyd Express with Lufthansa units Germanwings and Eurowings, a statement said.

source: AFP

Deutsche Lufthansa AG and TUI AG are planning to enter into official negotiations concerning the set up of a joint low-cost airline.

Following months of preliminary talks, TUI Travel head Peter Long is to announce this at an investors’ conference in London tomorrow, the paper said.

According to the report, Lufthansa and TUI are to each hold 40 pct in the new airline, while Germanwings co-owner Albrecht Knauf is to hold the remaining 20 pct.

source: Hemscott