INDEPENDENT operators are struggling to find charter capacity for next summer as more flying is brought in-house by airlines’ tour operator parents.
Many have seen capacity cut to the bone and fear the situation will get considerably worse if Airtours does eventually take over First Choice.
First Choice’s Air 2000 is a significant supplier of charter seats and it is thought it would be brought in-house by Airtours.
Priceright Holidays, part of the Libra Group, has seen its capacity on Caledonian halved to 50,000 seats as more flying is taken in-house by Thomas Cook for the Sunworld tour operation.
Priceright is now looking to invest in a new broking company, Excel Aviation, which is being set up by former Goldcrest Aviation and Caledonian Airways sales director Steve Tomlinson to help alleviate the charter-seat capacity problem for independents (Travel Weekly June 7).
Libra managing director Andreas Drakou said: “Two-thirds of our flying was with Caledonian and to have that halved has been a real problem. We have contracted extra seats with Eurocypria for summer 2000 but for 2001 it will be tougher as more operators will also be looking elsewhere for seats.”
Drakou added that he was 90% certain of a deal with Tomlinson -Êgiving Libra 25% of the new company.
“It will secure us capacity,” he said.
Olympic Holidays admitted the situation was a concern with charter airlines hand-picking who they want to work with.
National sales manager Steve O’Loughlin said:”Some operators are being squeezed out. We have brokers on the telephone every week offering seats but we can only afford to work with the large and credible airlines.”
Greece and Cyprus specialist Argo Holidays is thought to have had its Airtours International allocation almost totally wiped out. The operator declined to comment.
Cyplon Holidays managing director Harry Hajipapas said it has seen a reduction in its flying with Caledonian and Air 2000. “If Airtours succeeds in getting First Choice the situation will get worse,” said Hajipapas. “We want to expand yet we are being told by the airlines that our capacity is being reduced.”
The issue of airline capacity was one of the Association of Independent Tour Operators’ key arguments to the European Commission about why the EC should block the Airtours/First Choice deal. AITOsays it will continue to put pressure on the EC about the problem as it launches its phase two investigation into the deal.