The TravelMole Interview: Seamus Conlon, Airtours Holidays

Tuesday, 23 Jul, 2002 0

Airtours Holidays managing director Seamus Conlon (left) is banking on his new controversial pricing policy to sell more packages early in the season.

The operator, part of MyTravel, caused a stir earlier this month by slashing holidays for 2003 by up to 30% and claiming that ‘the price you see in the brochure is the price you pay for your holiday’.

“The way we have marketed in the past is that we have charged higher prices so that we can afford to offer big discounts,’ Mr Conlon told Travelmole.

“We have had 10, 20, 30, 40% discounts, but we just don’t think it is feasible to carry on and go to 60%. With this new message we believe we will sell more holidays early and that’s the key.

“We make more money by selling holidays earlier in the season”

Mr Conlon declined to give details about its current level of early season selling and how much he expected this to rise. But he claimed that Airtours Holidays would be cheaper than rivals like Thomas Cook, even though they will offer big discounts on brochure prices.

“Other companies may say they have got discounts. But are they for the life of the brochure and are they available in every agent?,” he asked.

Mr Conlon added: “With our brochures, what you see is what you get.”

Mr Conlon said tactical discounts would still be available at certain times of the year. He also claimed the quality of Airtours’ packages had improved.

“In our questionnaires for summer 2001, 95% of people rated their holidays as good or very good. So far for summer 2002 it is 97%. Historically that is not where Airtours has been, but we have improved and our holidays are now as good as everyone else’s.”

He claimed that bookings for this season had picked up significantly after the World Cup.

Meanwhile, Airtours’ new advertising campaign to promote its new pricing policy has incensed Thomson so much that it has withdrawn all MyTravel brochures from Lunn Poly travel agencies.

Thomson objects to Airtours’ claim that “we are cutting prices, others are cutting corners” – a reference to Thomson’s decision to charge extra for transfers and meals. Mr Conlon was not available to give a reaction to being deracked, but a spokesman said: “We will not let our competitors dictate our marketing strategy.”

See our previous stories:

12 Jul 2002: Airtours gambles on clearer brochure prices

See previous TravelMole Interviews:
15-Jul-02: David Soskin, cheapflights.co.uk
09-Jul-02: Bruce Bishins, Genesis TDS
01-Jul-02: Howard Frost, Travelink
25-Jun-02: Rob Wortham, RWA
17-Jun-02: Paul Blackney, Worldspan
11-Jun-02: Mark Jones, Online Travel Corporation
27-May-02: Oliver Hillel, UNEP
20-May-02: Keith Webber, Telewest
13-May-02: Mark O’Brien, Rosenbluth International
07-May-02: Alicia Gardner, Sabre
29-Apr-02: Carolyn Ezzell, Delta Air Lines
23-Apr-02: John Davis, Pegasus Solutions
15-Apr-02: Gregory Hunt, ABTA Arbitration Scheme
09-Apr-02: Stuart Winter, Atinera
03-Apr-02: Roberto Da Re, Dolphin Dynamics
26-Mar-02: Arnaud Debuchy, Amadeus
19-Mar-02: Helen Baker, Lastminute.com
12-Mar-02: Pat Minogue, Galileo
07-Mar-02: Jon Hart, MyTravel
28-Feb-02: Lawrence Hunt, Rapid Travel Solutions