From left: Vince Cammilleri, Air France-KLM; Karen Milward, Premier Holidays; and Fred Olsen’s Kerry Sabberton, Paul Hardwick and Emma Livermore.
Fred Olsen Travel is continuing to recruit staff and look for expansion opportunities as the agency chain’s sales bounce back after the pandemic.
Paul Hardwick, head of commercial, said he has recruited seven staff already this year and is seeking a further six across the network in southern and eastern England.
“It’s a good problem to have – we have enough business to warrant looking at how to build back quicker,” he said.
“And we’re always looking for acquisitions.”
As well as acquiring Travel Norwich Airport, the agency chain opened in Heathfield, East Sussex, and Beccles, Suffolk, during the pandemic but is keen to develop other opportunities, either as acquisitions or affiliate partnerships, he added.
Asked if the chain would expand its footprint beyond its current heartland, he said: “Never say never – but we want a similar demographic: affluent, 55-plus and cruisers.
“Anywhere there is a gap in the market, like in East Sussex.”
Hardwick was speaking at the official launch of the chain’s 18th agency in the terminal of Norwich airport, which opened earlier this year.
Fred Olsen acquired the database and brand of Travel Norwich Airport in October 2020 after it ceased trading in the summer of that year.
It is managed by Kerry Sabberton, who moved from the branch at nearby Thorpe St Andrew, along with Emma Livermore, sales and product specialist, who works part time after returning from maternity leave.
Hardwick and Sabberton painted the walls of the agency in January before it opened but they hope the branch may be able to move back to its original site by the airport entrance, which is currently occupied by a Covid testing firm.
Most of the agency’s customers fly from Norwich and the staff are able to package up flights to sell holidays and cruises. It offers free parking at the airport for holidaymakers – or taxi transfers – as well as free parking during consultations in the agency.
Travel Norwich Airport is also involved in the local community, sponsoring a youth football team and offering discounts to the parents.
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Hardwick said there is no sign of the cost of living crisis having an impact on bookings yet because customers are prioritising their spending on holidays this year.
He also said new business is up by 10% on pre-pandemic times, which is partly because of the stress some people had with DIY and online bookings when they needed help with refunds or advice about restrictions.
“Our staff have done things like buying mobile phones for customers to help them with apps and through the process of travelling,” he said.
“There is a lot more to do; bookings take four times as long nowadays.”
For its official opening, the agency was joined by Vince Cammilleri, Air France-KLM’s consumer sales account manager, and Karen Milward, Premier Holidays’ sales and business development manager, who talked to clients about the departures and destinations on offer from the airport.
Cammilleri said the airline was back up to about 87% of pre-pandemic capacity and was seeing leisure bookings recover quickly, thanks to pent-up demand.
