Tui Travel has had to deal with a £500 million increase in the costs of fuel and other charges since 2007, equal to £100 per passenger, and UK managing director Johan Lundgren accused the government of not helping.
Speaking at a Captains of Industry lunch at World Travel Market in London, Lundgren said: “We have to deal with these costs, but the government is hindering us. We have both the package travel regulations and the airline denied boarding regulations. We have air passenger duty.”
He said: “We have to deal with it, but we are concerned about the government. We do not want air passenger duty to go up, and we can’t get a clear message from the government about whether airline emissions trading [due in 2012] will replace APD. It is critical whether the government retains the tax alongside emissions trading.
Lundgren appealed for the industry to unite to lobby ministers, saying: “We are a little fragmented in our lobbying.”
He also described the customer experience at some UK airports as “not flattering the UK”. However, Lundgren said: “At least we have some certainty now following the government’s package of cuts.”
The Tui Travel UK boss added: “We are cautious on summer 2011. We plan for capacity to be flat or slightly up next summer on this year.”
- More from World Travel Market at travelweekly.co.uk/wtm2010