An advertising watchdog has reprimanded Irish airline Ryanair over an ad campaign that suggested British travel company Thomas Cook was likely to collapse.
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The London-based Advertising Standards Agency says in a judgment Wednesday that Ryanair’s newspaper ads in the run-up to last Christmas misled viewers and denigrated Thomas Cook, which was struggling financially after a string of profit warnings.
source: Boston.com
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TUI Travel waltzed into the spotlight on Monday after UBS initiated coverage on the holiday company with a “‘buy'” rating and 220p target price.
The broker added TUI to its merger watch-list following recent speculation that its parent company, TUI AG, is looking to buy out the remaining 45.5pc of the business it does not already own.
UBS also initiated coverage on TUI’s beleaguered rival Thomas Cook, which it handed a “‘neutral'” rating. The broker said it preferred TUI because of its developed product mix and stronger balance sheet.
source: Telegraph.co.uk
Thomas Cook Airlines has been named as the worst short-haul carrier by a consumer watchdog.
The company had the poorest results for overall customer satisfaction and the likelihood of being recommended to a friend. A panel of more than 8,000 ‘Which?’ members gave the airline a rating of 37%, while Ryanair was scored at just 38%.
The cabin environment of Thomas Cook Airlines was given one star out of five and Ryanair got the same rating for the quality of its boarding process. Both airlines were given two stars for their value for money.
Swiss International Air Lines was voted as the best short-haul carrier with a satisfaction rating of 76%. Aer Lingus came second with 67%. In the long-haul category, Singapore Airlines came number one with a rating of 89%. Air New Zealand was second (88%) and Emirates third (80%).
source: AP
A strong performance from its UK and Nordic arm, a bigger range of exclusive holidays and a broader customer base have all helped Tui Travel widen the gap with its troubled rival Thomas Cook.
Tui Travel highlighted “‘a number of headwinds'” ahead, however, including high fuel costs, weak sterling and “‘slower than anticipated recovery in the important North African destinations'”.
source: Telegraph.co.uk
Thomas Cook delivered more bad news for the travel industry, warning that full-year profits would be “‘at the lower end of market expectations’â€, blaming weak demand in the UK.
The announcement came a day after a similar warning from rival Tui Travel, where fewer bookings by Britons and price-cutting led to poor trading in the crucial summer period.
Unlike Tui, which exacerbated some of its problems by boosting capacity earlier this year, Thomas Cook had cut winter capacity and kept summer offerings steady.
The group does not operate in the emerging markets that have helped shore up results for other leisure industry companies and its high exposure to British holidaymakers – who accounted for 40 per cent of operating profits last year – has left it hostage to some of the poorest consumer sentiment in Europe.
source: FT.com
