UP to 25 First Choice UK specialist holidays staff face
redundancy amid plans to relocate Citalia and axe the Real Spain
brand.
One hundred out of more than 320 staff in the division began a
90-day consultation this week after a management shake-up was
announced.
Citalia’s Croydon office is to close and staff relocated
to Crawley, where Hayes and Jarvis and Sovereign are based.
While Citalia will continue, the Real Spain brand will be
dropped at the end of this summer.
Agents should continue booking as normal but alternatives are
likely to be offered after the summer. Sovereign also operates to
Spain.
Sovereign, Hayes and Jarvis and Meon managing director Ian
Simkins, who has been promoted to MD of the UK specialist division,
said: “We looked at the Real Spain business and believe we can
better use our resources where there is more growth potential and
better returns.”
He denied Real Spain, with 15,000 annual passenger carryings,
was struggling.
Simkins has restructured senior management in his division,
which was already divided earlier this year into three product
sectors: short-haul, villas and worldwide.
Citalia MD Mark Olszowski becomes MD of UK short-haul specialist
businesses, covering Citalia, Sovereign short-haul and Exclusive
Destinations.
First Choice mainstream UK general manager of revenue generation
Clare Tobin replaces Jane Sheppard as MD of villas for Meon and
Sovereign.
Air Miles product and purchasing director Maria Whiteman joins
in November to replace worldwide MD Len Mooney, retiring early next
year.
A new role of channels director is being recruited as well as an
operations director to replace Kaye Robertson, who is relocating
internally.