T he slow and painful death of the alliance between Airtours and Advantage has been on the cards for some time.
Airtours Holidays former managing director Chris Mottershead admitted back in November at theMidconsort conference that it wasn’t working. But even before then there were plenty in the industry whoseriously doubted whether such an alliance could work.
A franchise deal between a vertically integrated company and an independent is a contradiction in terms. Airtours doesn’t want you to be independent – it wants you to sell its holidays. Advantage doesn’t really know what it wants to be, but it has to decide pretty quickly.
The campaign to the consumer has claimed that Advantage offers independent advice – a claim that has raised eyebrows in light of the franchise. Then there are some agents in the franchise and some out.
Advantage should concentrate on what it does best – being a strong independent consortium tying up a range of deals for members. I believe the franchise deal with Airtours is doomed and it is time for both parties to move on. The only way it can work is if those franchise agents split off from Advantage and become a separate group promoting Airtours. But then that wouldn’t really be a franchise with Advantage, would it?
Do you agree? E-mail your views tojeremy.skidmore@rbi.co.uk or fax us on 0181 652 3956.
Jeremy Skidmore – editor