| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 05/06/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 2 |
| Copyright: Other |
Packages start at £1 on Late Escapes site
Airtours’ on-line holiday auction angers retailers
Report by JEREMYSKIDMORE
AIRTOURS has risked increasing the wrath of travel agents by auctioning holidays from just £1 on the Internet.Just one week after Airtours offered concessions to agents over direct phone numbers in brochures, the operator is offering hugely discounted deals on its new Late Escapes Web site.
June departures to various destinations in the Mediterranean have been offered from just £1 to publicise the new site.
Scottish Passenger Agents’Association president Val Foylan said:”It’s a difficult issue because this site is a retail outlet.
“I can’t compete with these holidays and I’m not happy about it but companies are entitled to discount as long as the policy is not at the expense of agents.”Airtours sales, marketing and development director Ed Sims defended the Internet deals.
“We are only selling a strictly limited number of cheap deals and we obviously hope people will pay more than £1,” he said.
“But auction sites are growing faster than any other sites, because they retain the public’s interest and make them come back again and again.”
Airtours product and commercial director Seamus Conlon, who is responsible for the new site, said: “We’ve limited it to 50 holidays and if I’d given away 50 holidays we’d have received less publicity.
“We want people to experiment on the site and see how they use it.”
Meanwhile, Foylan said she had confirmation from Airtours that it would stop telling customers to only book direct on its main Web site.
“I had a problem with that because Airtours is the name on the brochures which people pick up from shops,” she said.
“But we have talked to Airtours and had assurances that the situation will be changed.”
Sims: said Airtours are only selling a strictly limited number of deals