Author Topic: Thomas Cook  (Read 16311 times)

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Offline Maik

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Thomas Cook
« on: Monday, 23 September, 2019 @ 05:13:23 »
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Thomas Cook collapses as last-ditch rescue talks fail

Thomas Cook has collapsed after last-minute negotiations aimed at saving the 178-year-old holiday firm failed.

The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said the tour operator has "ceased trading with immediate effect".

It has also triggered the biggest ever peacetime repatriation aimed at bringing more than 150,000 British holidaymakers home.

The tour operator's failure puts 22,000 jobs at risk worldwide, including 9,000 in the UK.

All customers currently abroad with Thomas Cook who are booked to return to the UK over the next two weeks will be brought home "as close as possible" to their booked return date, the Department for Transport (DfT) has said.

Customers will be brought home to the UK on special free flights or booked onto another scheduled airline at no extra cost.

Flights will start operating from Monday, with details of each flight to be posted on a dedicated website as soon as they are available. However, the website is currently showing an error message.

The DfT added that a "small number" of passengers may need to book their own flight home and reclaim the costs.

Customers have been urged not to cut short their holiday or go to the airport without checking the website for more information about their return journey.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-49791249

Offline Maik

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Re: Thomas Cook
« Reply #1 on: Monday, 23 September, 2019 @ 15:36:29 »
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Thomas Cook's collapse strands about 50,000 in Greece, hotels fret

About 50,000 tourists are stranded in Greece and mainly on island resorts after British travel firm Thomas Cook collapsed, the tourism minister said on Monday as extra flights were booked to ease their return home.

“We have about 50,000 people in Greece and there has been a rescue plan, a plan of repatriation currently underway,” Tourism Minister Harry Theoharis told Reuters.

“We are supporting as much as we can,” he said, adding that the Greek authorities had a contingency plan.

“Extra flights have been booked at Greek airports and already the first 15 have come to ensure those people go back smoothly to their homeland. Also, the cost of their stay for the rest of their holidays is being covered,” Theoharis said.

Thomas Cook’s financial collapse would deal a significant blow to hoteliers, since many vacation packages were not prepaid, the head of Greece’s hotel federation said.

“The situation is quite difficult. It does not affect just British tourists but other nationalities as well,” Grigoris Tassios told state TV ERT.

Many hotels were expected to make losses on payments affecting vacation packages for the last two months, meaning “many millions of euros,” he said. “Up to Oct. 15, there are high occupancies, we will suffer losses from this segment, too.”
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-thomas-cook-grp-investment-greece/thomas-cooks-collapse-strands-about-50000-in-greece-hotels-fret-idUSKBN1W80H9

Offline Maik

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Re: Thomas Cook
« Reply #2 on: Monday, 23 September, 2019 @ 15:38:37 »
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Thomas Cook UK Plc and associated UK entities have entered Compulsory Liquidation and are now under the control of the Official Receiver.

The UK business has ceased trading with immediate effect and all future flights and holidays are cancelled.

A dedicated support service is being provided by The Civil Aviation Authority to assist customers currently overseas and those in the UK with future bookings.
Please visit:
thomascook.caa.co.uk
for further information.
https://scdn.thomascook.com/status.html

Offline Maik

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Re: Thomas Cook
« Reply #3 on: Tuesday, 24 September, 2019 @ 00:46:56 »

Offline TonyKath

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Re: Thomas Cook
« Reply #4 on: Tuesday, 24 September, 2019 @ 17:48:40 »
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Cost of Thomas Cook bankruptcy for Greek tourism between 250-500 mln euros
http://www.ekathimerini.com/244832/article/ekathimerini/news/cost-of-thomas-cook-bankruptcy-for-greek-tourism-between-250-500-mln-euros
Strewth!  :(

In the longer term presumably plenty of companies will be looking to pick up the business - hence the rise in some share prices.


Tony

Offline Maik

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Re: Thomas Cook
« Reply #5 on: Saturday, 28 September, 2019 @ 10:45:54 »

Offline Maik

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Re: Thomas Cook
« Reply #6 on: Sunday, 29 September, 2019 @ 23:50:01 »
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Thomas Cook boss 'sorry' over collapse but defends pay and bonus

Top directors at the holiday company have been paid a combined £20m in salaries and bonuses since 2014.
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-49869183

Offline Maik

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Re: Thomas Cook
« Reply #7 on: Tuesday, 08 October, 2019 @ 23:00:28 »
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Online Refund Service for Thomas Cook Customers Opens
https://news.gtp.gr/2019/10/07/online-refund-service-thomas-cook-customers-opens/

Offline Maik

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Re: Thomas Cook
« Reply #8 on: Wednesday, 09 October, 2019 @ 22:19:05 »

Offline Maik

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Re: Thomas Cook
« Reply #9 on: Tuesday, 22 October, 2019 @ 08:15:37 »
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Thomas Cook used its auditors to justify £5m bonus

Audit firm EY, which signed off on Thomas Cook's financial health before its collapse, also wrote a report used to award its former boss a £5m bonus.

The bonus, paid to former boss Manny Fontenla-Novoa, followed a heavily-criticised 2007 merger with MyTravel.

Senior EY staff will on Tuesday appear before a panel of MPs investigating Thomas Cook's collapse.

The audit firm, which also faces an investigation by the Financial Reporting Council, declined to comment.

Christine Cooper, chair in accounting at the University of Edinburgh's Business School, questioned the ability of auditors to provide truly independent advice when they are paid for by the company they audit and, as in the case of EY, may have provided them with other advice in the past.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-50099288

Offline Maik

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Re: Thomas Cook
« Reply #10 on: Monday, 28 October, 2019 @ 14:35:11 »
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EU Votes to Protect Consumers, Employees in Bankruptcy Cases

Stronger and better consumer and employee protection in cases of corporate failure is the focus of a European Parliament resolution passed on Thursday, aiming to address issues created by the collapse of Thomas Cook.

MEPs are calling on EU governments to use the European Social Fund and Globalization Adjustment Fund to help businesses and affected employees, and is urging the Commission to identify EU instruments that could compensate for the damage to the sector as well as assess the need for new measures to prevent future crises, particularly in view of the fact that 32 airlines have gone bankrupt since 2017.

The Commission and EU governments should ensure that workers impacted by insolvency are guaranteed their earned wages and retirement benefits, MEPS said.

They are also expecting the Commission to table a proposal on employee rights to receive information and be involved in consultation.
https://news.gtp.gr/2019/10/25/eu-votes-to-protect-consumers-employees-bankruptcy-cases/

Offline Maik

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Re: Thomas Cook
« Reply #11 on: Monday, 04 November, 2019 @ 22:41:58 »
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China’s Fosun Acquires Thomas Cook for $14.2m

Thomas Cook’s largest shareholder, Chinese conglomerate Fosun International Limited, said on Friday, that it would be purchasing the bankrupt UK travel group for 14.2 million dollars weeks after it collapsed leaving behind thousands of holidaymakers stranded.

In July, as part of a rescue plan, Fosun had announced that it would be injecting 450 million pounds together with bondholders and banks that would provide Thomas Cook with the liquidity to trade through to 2020 and invest for the future. The plan collapsed.
https://news.gtp.gr/2019/11/04/chinas-fosun-acquires-thomas-cook-14-2m/

Offline Maik

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Re: Thomas Cook
« Reply #12 on: Thursday, 14 November, 2019 @ 13:07:26 »
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Thomas Cook Germany Goes Down Too

The Thomas Cook domino effect continues to be in full swing with its Germany subsidiary, Thomas Cook GmbH, announcing this week that it had cancelled all trips for 2020 leaving some 660,000 customers and 2,100 employees affected.
https://news.gtp.gr/2019/11/13/thomas-cook-germany-goes-down-too/

Offline TonyD

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Re: Thomas Cook
« Reply #13 on: Thursday, 14 November, 2019 @ 13:26:55 »
From a recent easyJet announcement...

easyJet has successfully acquired Thomas Cook's slots for £36 million

Gatwick Airport (12 summer slot pairs and 8 winter slot pairs)
Bristol Airport   (  6 summer slot pairs and 1 winter slot pair )

Contractual terms have concluded and the slots have been awarded to easyJet.
We will provide further details in the airline's full year results announcement on 19 November 2019.

(anyone know what date(s) might constitute a "winter slot"?)

Offline Maik

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Re: Thomas Cook
« Reply #14 on: Thursday, 19 March, 2020 @ 08:17:44 »
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Thomas Cook: Taxpayers face £156m bill for company's collapse

Taxpayers face a bill of at least £156m for the response to the collapse of Thomas Cook, according to a report by the government's spending watchdog.

The travel company's collapse last September left 9,000 staff out of work and 150,000 holidaymakers stranded.

The National Audit Office (NAO) said the government had agreed to pay £83m towards the cost of getting customers back home, as well as £58m in redundancy and related payments.

But the final cost is not yet known.

Other costs include at least £15m for liquidating the business.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-51955635