FIRST
Choice has overhauled its summer 2003 portfolio to offer defined brands for
target markets.
The
move will substantially bolster the Sunstart range which in the past has lacked
the size to compete against budget rivals such as JMC’s Essentials and
Airtours’ Aspro Holidays for Less.
The
revamp will address the problem of competition between the Unijet and First
Choice programmes, overlap with Sunstart, and confusion among agents and
customers over what the brands stand for.
First
Choice has redefined its target markets for its brands:
–
First Choice positioned as a more quality mass-market brand
–
Unijet to cater more
for experienced travellers
– Sunstart to be the larger budget
brand.
Sales director Martin Froggatt
described the revamp as the biggest overhaul of group products in recent years.
He said demand in the early-booking
family market justified bringing out brochures at the usual time after calls to
delay them so agents could push more bookings for this summer.
Roadshows will be run to educate
agents on the changes.
Sunstart gains two and three-star
product from the Unijet and First Choice brochures, with 88 new properties, and
moves into the long-haul market for the first time.
Sunstart general manager Richard
Curtis said: “We have never had a sizeable budget brand before. Sunstart has
been plodding along on small numbers for some time.”
Unijet is repositioned away from the
mass market, and western Mediterranean and long-haul destinations which compete
with First Choice product have been dropped.
The slimmed-down range has been
condensed into three main Unijet brochures: Summersun, Florida and beyond, and
Greece and Turkey.
Taxi and car-hire transfers have
been added for the first time. Coach, taxi and car transfers are priced
separately and a training manual is being sent to agents to help book the new
options.
Unijet general manager John Riley
said: “We have repositioned much of our core business but the same popular
product still underpins it.”
The amount of premium four-star
accommodation in First Choice’s 10 first-edition brochures for 2003 has doubled
as the operator attempts to establish itself as a quality mass-market brand.
A new offer for its Premier Choice
product includes 50% off VIP lounges in UK departure airports.
More
emphasis has been given to the Premier Choice range in brochures although the
operator insists it is not trying to shake off its mass-market image or tread
on the toes of Sovereign, its own upmarket operator.