Adiós Thomson: last call for holiday firm that took Britons to sun and sangria

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/may/13/thomson-travel-sun-tourist-tui-britons

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“Benidorm for £37”: that was the promise in the Thomson brochure. There would be en suite facilities in every room, “a choice of menu” in the restaurant and dancing twice a week.

The Sunshine Savers offers of the 1970s are long gone; now the venerable Thomson brand is to disappear into the night as well.

Thomson is just one name that is being being swept away by the Tui Group, as it clears out old brands from its package-holiday empire. First Choice is also being axed.

The tour operator names will be replaced by one single Tui brand within three years, the company announced on Wednesday. “It is not a secret that I am not a fan of having lots of brands,” said the joint chief executive, Fritz Joussen.

The switch to one Tui brand will also extend to the group’s airlines, which have around 140 planes. All five Tui carriers — Thomson Airways, TUIfly, TUIfly Nordic, Jetairfly and Arkefly – will be merged into one Tui-branded operation in the UK, as part of a plan to cut costs. But Joussen said it could take up to two years before the Thomson brand disappears completely because of the need to take care with such a well-known name.

Thomson Airways first took off in 1962, when it flew 82 passengers from Manchester to Palma for 13 guineas. As a new generation discovered the pleasures of the Costa del Sol, Thomson moved into selling complete package holidays in 1965 – making foreign holidays vastly more affordable. One deal from 1974 offered two weeks in the sun from £29.

The company was founded by the Canadian press baron Roy Thomson, who owned the Times, the Sunday Times and the Scotsman. Thomson was a shrewd businessman with an eclectic portfolio – he also owned 800m barrels of North Sea oil.

His foray into the holiday industry paid off: Thomson expanded steadily in the 1970s and 80s, creating the travel agency Lunn Poly that ensured its holidays were easy to buy on the high street.

Thomson Travel floated on the London stock exchange in 1998, but soon became a takeover target, as it was seen as overly dependent on the UK. In 2000 it was taken over by an unlikely suitor in the German mining company Preussag, which was already evolving into the travel and leisure company that became Tui AG.

Last year, Tui AG and London-listed Tui Travel merged to create the world’s largest travel and leisure company. The newly-merged group is based in Hannover, but listed in London.

Tui has been faring better than its rival Thomas Cook, as it was quicker off the mark in responding to changing expectations of the package holiday. Tui was among the first agents to offer customers exclusivity on hotels – accommodation that can only be booked through one operator – seen as a crucial way of securing customers in a book-it-yourself era.

The group reported a €168m (£121m) loss in its second quarter, a 17% improvement on its performance in the previous year and a period that covers winter, when bookings are typically lower.

The company said it was pleased with its progress on restructuring. “Our post-merger integration process is ahead of our original plan. Our growth phase is gaining momentum,” said a statement.