TM Insider 221

The TravelMole Insider – Issue 221
ISSN 1474-2292
13 August 2002
http://www.travelmole.com

A message from ThisIsTravel:
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LATEST INDUSTRY NEWS
1. ebookers on course for the black in 2003
2. MyTravel launches low fares airline
3. Jeremy Skidmore and Ginny McGrath join TravelMole
4. TravelMole Interview: Tom Allen, md, The Theme Park People
5. US Airways files for bankruptcy
6. Galileo gets new chief executive
7. Lewsey leaves Amadeus
8. Less paper with Amadeus
9. Telewest debt pile makes further change inevitable
10. lastminute.com shows continued growth
11. Tiscover sees increase in online visits
12. Traveleye adds Hoseasons
13. ABTA ends doubts over Palma for 2003 event
14. Yorkshire-based agent goes bust
15. eBay keen to work with agents
16. Spaceman to speak at ASTA event
17. Renaissance back from the dead
18. Holiday Hotels adds to management team
19. Amex’s Coles joins business travel rival
20. New York announces September 11 anniversary plans
21. UK visitor numbers show improvement, but down on last year
22. Community-based tourism project exposed to US market
23. Site of the Week: Thisistravel.co.uk

COMMENT by Jeremy Skidmore
The name Tim Jeans must trigger a few wry smiles in travel
agencies throughout the country. The outspoken airline man
recently disembarked from Ryanair to join Airtours’ new low-cost
carrier, the incredibly named MyTravelLite.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/84292

Whilst at Ryanair, most travel agents will remember that Jeans
had little time for them. When the Irish carrier had a dispute
with ABTA over unpaid commission on Passenger Service Charges,
Jeans famously branded them “lemmings” and suggested they “jump
off a cliff.”

Now his situation is slightly different. MyTravelLite needs all
the help it can get as a new start-up in a highly competitive
market. And, my, how Jeans’ tone has changed. Now he wants to
forge a relationship with the trade and admits that consumers
often feel more comfortable booking through agents. MyTravelLite
will not be paying commission to agents, but Jeans said they are
free to add a service fee to fares. At least he doesn’t expect
agents to work out of the goodness of their hearts. Many will
say that Jeans’ different approach is just business and at
Ryanair he was doing what was right for the carrier. Fair
enough, but sugary overtones to agents leave a nasty taste in
the mouth.

Agents should work with MyTravelLite for one reason only – if
they can make a profit from the partnership. Don’t believe any
promises of long-term partnerships, because when you are not
required by a company you will be dropped like a hot potato.

Jeremy Skidmore

—
Have your say! If you would like to add your thoughts to this
or any other TravelMole article, click on the ‘Add a Comment’
button at the top of the story.

Best wishes
Richard Hammond
mailto:[email protected]

LATEST INDUSTRY NEWS
Breaking Stories: http://www.travelmole.com/news/index.html

1. ebookers on course for the black in 2003
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ebookers has reported a 46% growth in sales for the second
quarter of this year. The online travel agency plans further
aquisitions to help it reach a medium-term sales target of GBP 1
billion.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/88399

2. MyTravel launches low fares airline
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MyTravel Group has announced that MyTravelLite is the new name
for its low fares airline and that Birmingham International
Airport will be its operating base.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/88000

3. Jeremy Skidmore and Ginny McGrath join TravelMole
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Former Travel Weekly editor Jeremy Skidmore and ‘Young Travel
Writer of the Year 2001′ Ginny McGrath have joined the
TravelMole editorial team.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/88305

4. TravelMole Interview: Tom Allen, md, The Theme Park People
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Former Walt Disney UK boss Tom Allen is setting up his own call
centre travel agency dedicated to the sale of theme parks from
September.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/88311

5. US Airways files for bankruptcy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
US Airways has filed for bankruptcy; the first major US airline
to do so since 11 September.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/88341

6. Galileo gets new chief executive
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sam Galeotos has been promoted to the post of chief executive at
GDS firm Galileo International, its parent company Cendant has
announced.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/88202

7. Lewsey leaves Amadeus
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Amadeus has confirmed that its marketing director Mark Lewsey
left the firm on Tuesday (August 6) to “pursue other
opportunities.”
http://www.travelmole.com/item/88184

8. Less paper with Amadeus
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Amadeus has expanded its e-ticketing capabilities for agents in
the UK.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/88317

9. Telewest debt pile makes further change inevitable
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Communications giant Telewest – one of the UK’s two viewdata
providers – has debts of GBP 5.3 billion it has revealed.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/87863

10. lastminute.com shows continued growth
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
lastminute.com has announced strong Quarter 3 results for the
three months to 30 June 2002.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/88107

11. Tiscover sees increase in online visits
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tourism portal Tiscover claims that visits to its portfolio of
destination websites increased by 24% during the first half of
the year compared to the same period in 2001.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/87951

12. Traveleye adds Hoseasons
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Self-catering specialist Hoseasons is the latest tour operator
to join X-TANT’s selling system Traveleye.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/87946

13. ABTA ends doubts over Palma for 2003 event
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ABTA has confirmed that its 2003 Convention will be held in
Palma, Mallorca.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/88016

14. Yorkshire-based agent goes bust
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Skipton-based travel agent, Waterfall Travel, has ceased trading.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/88293

15. eBay keen to work with agents
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Auction giant ebay, which recently launched a travel section on
its site, is stepping up efforts to work with US agents. If
successful, the company may start forging relationships with UK
agents.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/88373

16. Spaceman to speak at ASTA event
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Captain Jim Lovell, Commander of the ill-fated Apollo 13 space
mission, has been named as a speaker at the American Society of
Travel Agent’s Congress in November.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/87949

17. Renaissance back from the dead
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Defunct US cruise line Renaissance Cruises is set for a comeback
after a mystery buyer acquired the rights to the name.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/88371

18. Holiday Hotels adds to management team
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Holiday Hotels, the new accommodation-only booking service, has
recruited three new members to its senior management team.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/88044

19. Amex’s Coles joins business travel rival
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alan Coles has left American Express to take up the post of
managing director at rival travel management firm P&O Travel.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/87954

20. New York announces September 11 anniversary plans
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
New York City will commemorate the anniversary of September 11
with a day long event.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/88190

21. UK visitor numbers show improvement, but down on last year
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The number of visitors to the UK was still down in June
according to the latest figures released by the British Incoming
Tour Operators Association (BITOA).
http://www.travelmole.com/item/88302

22. Community-based tourism project exposed to US market
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The community-based tourism project, Sonke Cape Route, has
forged an association with the Africa Travel Association, which
promotes tourism packages to the North American market.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/88289

23. Site of the Week: Thisistravel.co.uk
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is Travel is an independent holiday website from the
publishers of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday, the Evening
Standard and Metro newspapers.

TravelMole reviewer Adrian Mann says: “An interesting approach
from what might otherwise be regarded as ‘just another travel
site’. It might be looked at more like a portal than a site
where you could research and book travel, as most of the
functionality is provided by external sites and operators. This
is not a bad thing, so long as you don’t mind being presented
with advertisements at every opportunity.” Read his full review:
http://www.travelmole.com/featured_sites.html

LATEST PRESS POSTINGS
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http://www.travelmole.com/news/press

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