When you walk into Thomas Cook’s new offices, you notice how much the company has changed.
It’s bright, open and modern and feels like a company that’s going forward. Thomas Cook always used to feel a bit like a favourite old uncle – reliable, but stuck in the past and a bit dull.
But Thomas Cook has still got some massive challenges ahead. It has a messy portfolio of tour operator and airline brands and is currently working out exactly what to do with them.
It must get the name Thomas Cook on its aircraft – what better way is there to advertise the company? Some have said that third-party operators buying seats from the company wouldn’t like that, but Thomas Cook is planning a big increase in in-house flying anyway, so that argument is redundant.
Others have said that carrying your name on the aircraft is too much of a risk to your image in the event of an accident. But every scheduled airline takes that risk every day. Using Thomas Cook as the main tour operator brand is more difficult if you want racking in other retailers.But there must be some way of making more use of the name and binning some of the other brands in the portfolio. At the moment, Thomas Cook just isn’t making the most of a great name.
Jeremy Skidmore – editor