| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 17/07/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 3 |
| Copyright: Other |
Action taken to stem losses in Germany
AIRTOURS has taken immediate steps to reduce the losses from German operator FTi after taking 100% control.It has appointed European Leisure Group non-executive chairman Lars Theusen as chief executive officer – replacing FTi founder Dietmar Gunz – and replaced chief financial officer Ralph Damm with former Belgium and France chief financial officer Nick Mitchell. Moves have also been made to cut capacity as part of a business overhaul. Overheads will be reduced which is expected to lead to job cuts.
“There is overcapacity in Germany and we are partly to blame,” admitted Byrne.
He said FTi had doubled passenger numbers to 2.2m since 1998 and has a 8% market share.
“The rapid expansion was deliberately aggressive,” he added. “We could foresee a time when the capacity was unsustainable and it’s better to reduce capacity from large numbers than small.”
He admitted there would be no summer profits and predicted year-end losses of £80m. “We believe it is important to take full control now in order to manage the business during a period of significant change.”