The Monarch Group cited support from the trade for helping it through an uncertain period as it confirmed a takeover deal by Greybull Capital.
The deal, which secured the future of the airline and operator, was announced on Friday night, hours before Monarch’s extended Atol was due to expire.
It marked the end of ownership by three generations of the Swiss Mantegazza family, and secured funding for Monarch to survive the winter and underpin projected profitable growth.
Chief executive Andrew Swaffield said the complexity of the deal meant it appeared negotiations had gone right to the wire. Privately, both Monarch and the Civil Aviation Authority, which was closely involved, had been confident the deal would be finalised for weeks.
However, Swaffield said support from the trade, customers and staff was vitally important as Monarch fought for its future.
“We have not seen any diminution of consumer or trade confidence throughout the whole process. That people have stayed with us has been one of the most gratifying things.
“Since the third week in August we have had consistently strong bookings and are ahead of plan for winter – something we have not been able
to say for a very long time.”
Swaffield said Monarch management had been distracted by the sale process but now wanted to forge closer ties with the trade.
“I don’t think I’ve ever worked as hard as I have over the last two months. I’m looking forward to having time to go out and build relationships,” he said.
“My experience of the UK travel trade is it has always been very easy to work with. It’s a mature market and there’s no reason to exclude anybody or do anything that’s exclusive.”
Swaffield also praised the dedication of Monarch staff, 700 of whom will lose their jobs as a result of the deal.
He said even staff at a leaving party in Luton for 200 being made redundant cheered when the deal was announced.