THOMAS Cook has finally retaliated to Airtours’ claims
on holiday prices by launching its own aggressive ‘no bull’ campaign for
agents.
Warning the trade not to be fooled by Airtours’
cheaper price claims, which compare second-edition prices with Thomas Cook’s
first editions, the advert tells agents ‘not to be led by the nose’ by rival
operators.
Thomas Cook commercial director Mike Beaumont
confirmed it was a direct response to Airtours, and did not rule out taking the
campaign to consumers should the battle continue.
“The adverts make it clear we are very competitive on
price,” he said.
“This is a big thing and it’s an unusual situation to
be in. I don’t know how it’s going to be resolved. In terms of Thomas Cook tour
operations, we are comfortable with our prices and our products are good, and
we are advertising that.”
Beaumont said Airtours product sold through Thomas
Cook had dropped “in excess of 50%”.
“We’ve had frank discussions with people at MyTravel
and they make their own commercial decisions, but our figures speak fairly
loudly,” he added. “The ball’s in their court. I really don’t know how long
Airtours is going to keep this up. It is a delicate situation, but we’ve made
our position clear.”
Despite this, Airtours has stepped up the pressure on
rivals and taken its price comparison adverts to billboards nationwide.
In a defiant move, the operator is blaming rivals for
diluting its price message with the on-going tit-for-tat battle.
Airtours managing director Seamus Conlon said: “We are
stepping up a gear with a poster campaign. When this started, we were looking
to promote our low prices. But our competitors have diverted everyone’s
attention away from this.”
The posters will appear on key sites nationwide,
although initially the adverts will appear in the north.
Meanwhile, Lunn Poly shops are still refusing to sell
Airtours product and are offering clients a 40% discount on summer 2003
holidays.
However, MyTravel-owned
specialist Bridge maintains Lunn Poly’s stance has had little impact on bookings.
Sales director Andrew Williams said: “Fortunately, independents are the
cornerstone of our business and our strategy for next year is very much geared
at independents. We have to accept the current situation and deal with it.”