Tui aims for a 50% increase in long-haul passengers in the next five years, up on the more than one million a year it carries already.
Peter Long (pictured), Tui Group joint chief executive, revealed the target in a presentation to investors and analysts yesterday.
Long said: “We start from a huge position of strength compared with our competitors. We have scale, access to over 20 million customers, one of the most efficient airlines in the world and the largest fleet of Boeing 787s in Europe.
“No one else operates 787s on leisure routes.
“We have the aircraft, the hotels and the infrastructure. We have the scale and ability to grow our hotel portfolio. We can go into a destination and own it.”
Long said: “We’re in a unique position in that we control the end-to-end customer experience.
“We plan to grow long-haul 50% over the next five years.”
He talked of “conquering destinations” and said: “Our traditional travel competitors don’t compete with our offer. Virgin or British Airways can’t compete with our offer.”
Citing the example of Jamaica, Long said: “We’re now market leader in Jamaica where we were number three.
“We’re not constrained by lack of bed availability. We can get a brand new hotel built for us. Our tour operators will fill it. Others can’t replicate that.
“There are big opportunities east and west. Customers want to fly direct [and] we have the aircraft to fly east to Thailand and Mauritius.
“We’re in a unique position, and it’s a sustainable position rather than taking advantage of a market situation.”