Cook boss Green reveals strategy for the future

By Phil Davies

Thomas Cook today unveiled long-awaited plans for a turn-around in the business involving the sale of non-core assets to raise up to £150 million.

No businesses were identified but ski arm Neilson and Preston-based luxury operator Gold Medal are thought to be among the divisions considered for disposal.

The group said the non-core disposal programme is underway with the opportunity to realise gross proceeds of £100 million to £150 million.

In a brief trading update ahead of half year results being published in May, the group described the UK turnaround as being on track.

Cook said its new profitable growth strategy was focused on “simplification, web innovation, flexible new products and services, enabled by rigorous execution and an integrated IT platform”.

Group chief executive Harriet Green said: "Our business transformation plans are ahead of schedule and already delivering substantially improved performance, which resulted in our recent return to the FTSE 250.

"We have exceeded our initial commitments and today announced a further £50 million of cost out actions, bringing the total profit improvement actions identified already to £350 million, £290 million of which is still to come.

"Stabilising the business has been our priority through addressing our cost and cash challenges, and strengthening the leadership team to create a more effective, aligned organisation focused on rigorous execution."

She added: "We are excited to now reveal our new strategy based on four cornerstone principles; delighting customers with trusted, personalised holiday experiences through a high-tech, high-touch approach.

"Based on comprehensive consumer research we aspire to occupy a unique position in the market through our new strategy, deliver industry leading margins and customer loyalty, whilst maintaining consistent quality that can be trusted.

"We will expand our already successful hotel concepts; and build a new portfolio of flexible, trusted products and services; creating a single gateway for customers to access personalised recommendations, specifically tailored to meet their needs.

"The operational credibility of this strategy rests on the success of our self-help measures to date, our trusted brand and the clear targets and KPI's against which we are ready to be judged.

"We have real options now, with the prospect of delivering improved revenues, strengthened gross margin, better cash flow and disposal opportunities, to build a strong and exciting future for the Thomas Cook Group, worthy of our customers and our heritage."

Cook said the new strategy, which includes raising web penetration to half of all sales, has been based upon extensive research and analysis including a comprehensive, in-depth survey measuring the attitudes and changing needs of almost 18,000 travellers, validated against the experiences of many of its own customers.

The group added: “Building on its trusted brand and 171 year heritage Thomas Cook will deliver personalised holiday experiences through a high-tech, high-touch approach.”

This comes a week after the company under UK boss Peter Fankhauser announced 2,500 job losses and the closure of 195 travel agency branches.

Today the group said the “thorough” UK restructuring was underway to re-shape the organisation to meet customer needs with a target to deliver UK EBIT margin in excess of 5% by 2015.

A transformed approach to hotel purchasing to utilise group scale is already delivering “tangible benefits”.

Cook described its business transformation as gaining momentum with a further £50 million of “cost-out actions” identified bringing the total profit improvement actions so far to £350 million with more to come.

The Northern and Central Europe divisions continue to build on their industry leading positions while Cook is creating a group-wide airline business to improve costs, quality, reliability and customer experience to build a stronger business.

Princess Cruises increases base rate commission

By Lee Hayhurst 

Princess Cruises has insisted its move to pay a basic upfront 10% commission on all bookings is not an admission that the move to a headline rate of 5% in 2011 was a mistake.

The Complete Cruise Solution brand has split from its fellow members of the Carnival UK trade arm by deciding to increase its basic agency payment for bookings for 2014 cruises.

Agents were told of the move this week, with UK director Paul Ludlow saying it came as a result of feedback from the trade.

He told Travel Weekly that despite Princess moving to the headline rate of 5% in 2011, along with P&O Cruises and Cunard, it was never actually that low due to other earning options.

Agents were able to earn an extra 3% on the cruise element when booking air through Princess (a so-called ‘air kicker’) and could also earn more by taking out a group deal.

However, these were both paid after sailing on a quarterly basis and Ludlow said agents told Princess they wanted a simpler arrangement so they know what their earnings will be.

“We were never at 5%,” said Ludlow. “We were always more than 5%, but we chose not to pay those commissions at the time of the booking.

“From the point of view of the sales consultant, they saw 5%, and we had feedback that agents liked the extra earning opportunities, but there was a degree of complexity and they wanted it simplified.

“For 2013 Princess is doing very well and we have our new ship Royal Princess coming into Southampton in a few months' time.

“We are not making these changes for 2013, this is for 2014 onwards. So this is not a knee-jerk reaction because 5% has not worked. This is based on agent feedback.”

Under the previous groups programme, agents could earn up to 6.25% extra commission on the cruise element once they had made 16 bookings on a particular sailing.

This came in the form of a free tour-conductor place on the cruise or the equivalent monetary value – an average of the cruise value of the other 16 bookings.

Under the new arrangement, from March 14 both the air kicker and group programme trade incentive will be removed in favour of the 10% upfront payment.

Ludlow said the change should make selling Princess Cruises more attractive for all agents, even those who were good at exploiting the additional earning in the group programme.

“We are improving commission. From a travel agents’ perspective, they could earn more money at the time of bookings. For all agents this will be attractive," he said.

Asked whether the move to 10% would risk reviving big discounting – something the move to 5% was meant to stamp out – Ludlow replied: “The changes that we are making aren’t about reneging on our 5%, it’s about simplifying the offering in the market.”

Ludlow said there were no plans for P&O and Cunard to follow Princess Cruises’ commission restructuring.

“P&O and Cunard have never had the complexity of the airline kicker and the group commission, so as they haven’t had that feedback regarding simplification, I don’t think there’s any need to make that change,” he said.

Ludlow said he had contacted a number of travel agents about the decision, and that feedback had been "very positive”.

Cunard to celebrate 10th anniversary of QM2 in 2014

By Tom Stieghorst

Cunard Line announced its 2014 deployments, and said its Queen Elizabeth ship will spend the second half of the year in the Mediterranean.

This year, it is spending most of the summer in northern Europe before transitioning to the Med in late August.

Cunard said it will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Queen Mary 2 with two May commemorative crossings that include special events and celebrations.

QM2 will also make 10 crossings between New York and Hamburg that feature two-night tours of Hamburg and Berlin. 

Celebrity invests in New York

By Tom Stieghorst

Having finished the Solstice-class shipbuilding program, Celebrity Cruises has pivoted to focus on yields.

Typical is the campaign unfolding in the New York area, one of 10 urban centers where the demographics match up well with Celebrity’s pitch for "modern luxury."

To goose sales while moving rates upward, Celebrity is making its presence known in multiple ways. It has a list of 1,500 agents in the New York area it will be contacting to get better acquainted.

Representatives have been attending targeted events, such as the New York Wine Expo earlier this month.

Through May 31, Celebrity is offering area agents a bonus commission for sailings of six nights or more of $200 for a suite and $75 for balcony cabins, plus $100 onboard credit for clients. And starting next week, Celebrity will conduct a sales blitz with the goal of face-to-face contact with 750 New York area agents. 

“We’re going to be out for a full week,” said Celebrity’s Northeast sales manager Sheri Pasternak. “We won’t see our families, but it's all good,” she said.

With three sales reps for New York, northern New Jersey and Long Island, Celebrity normally keeps in touch with 300 to 400 area agents. For the March Madness push, Pasternak is getting help from a sales team flown in from Miami for the week.

To capture agents’ attention, there will be extra commission incentives, giveaways, mystery caller contests, and consumer offers exclusive to the New York area. 

“It’s kind of something new for us, that we’re trying,” Pasternak said.  “We don’t have the kind of dollars that our sister company Royal [Caribbean] has for TV, so we’re really doing more local efforts and truly laser-focused.”

The push continues in April, Pasternak said, with “lunch n’ learn” sessions in three or four northeastern cities.

Sailing options from New York will increase this year with the year-round debut of Norwegian Breakaway in May.  That month, Celebrity Summit starts a summer of sevem-day New York-Bermuda cruises, the same route offered by Breakaway.

“We’re up against some hefty competition, and we understand that,” Pasternak said.

But she thinks the time is right for Celebrity’s "modern luxury" branding to break through. 

“Even though we’ve had it for a year and a half, its now just starting to resonate with the consumer,” she said. “So we’re going to continue that even more so, and really get the price that we deserve.”

Travel Counsellors targets Cook employees with 'discovery days'

By Phil Davies 

Travel Counsellors today reported an “unprecedented” rise in job seekers following Thomas Cook announcing the closure of 195 agency branches and 2,500 redundancies.

The homeworking agency says there is a future for “talented travel professsionals” and is organising a number of recruitment initiatives including ‘discovery days’ across the UK.

These will offer an insight to the future of travel and show retail agents that there is an alternative to life on the high street.

Cook staff facing job losses are being invited to annual mini-conferences being held in Manchester, Birmingham and London on April 15-27. A special webcast will also be held.

Travel Counsellors who have previously worked on the high street, and for Cook in particular, will be attending the discovery days and will host the webcast.

Some existing Travel Counsellors have offered to open their homes to those interested in joining so they can see how the company works and answer questions.

“This will give potential recruits the chance to speak directly with people who have been in their position before, and hear why they took the leap to run their own business,” Travel Counsellors said.

The company believes its impressive sales for the start of the year is proving a “compelling reason” for Cook employees to express interest in joining Travel Counsellors.

Average earnings for UK Travel Counsellors are up to £21,000 in the past year, with the top 100 earning £59,871.

Head of global recruitment Simon Burke said: “We have had to reprint a new batch of our information packs as the demand has outstripped our normal supply.

“We are mindful that this is very difficult time for Thomas Cook employees and we want to give them as much support as possible, so this is why we’re going to lengths to ensure they see that there is light at the end of the tunnel.”

Travel Counsellors quoted former Cook employee Donna Horner who said the idea of working from home had worried her but "it really has been the best thing I’ve ever done".

“I’ve never known support like it, not in all the years I worked on the high street. I feel far from isolated, in fact that couldn’t be further from the truth – I felt more isolated when I was working on the high street. 

"Importantly, I do earn decent money. I can understand why some Thomas Cook employees may feel anxious about taking the leap and may want to try to find a job on the high street, but all I can say is taking the step to work for Travel Counsellors have allowed me to truly enjoy working in travel again.”

Airlines work to improve speed and availability of in-flight WiFi

By Kate Rice

Airlines and their in-flight WiFi service providers are upgrading their technologies — both terrestrial- and satellite-based — in an attempt to provide more robust service to a greater number of passengers.

The challenge with in-flight WiFi is that passengers who go online in flight are sharing a finite amount of bandwidth. Moreover, they’re sharing that bandwidth not just with other passengers on that flight.

In some cases, they are sharing it with passengers on other planes being flown at the same time by the same airline, who can be accessing the Internet from the same terrestrial towers or satellites.

Simply having more than 25% of passengers on any single plane online at the same time can seriously degrade WiFi service.

But it appears that is about to change. Airlines are adding capacity to satellite-based WiFi or upgrading their air-to-ground (ATG) services.

Gogo, which has the bulk of the aviation market, currently provides WiFi service to 1,800 planes. It is upgrading from its original ATG technology to an improved version known as ATG-4, which it says will enable up to half the passengers on a plane to be online simultaneously without degrading the quality of service.

At the same time, Gogo is adding satellite-based WiFi to its menu of offerings.
Until now, the company has relied on air-to-ground technology, having built out its own network of data transmission towers across the U.S.

ATG-4 increases speeds by adding a second modem and doubling the number of antennas on planes from two to four. Increasing speed basically means more people can be online without degrading the experience, according to a Gogo official.

So far, the company has installed ATG-4 on 100 aircraft, including one flown by Virgin America. As for satellite-based WiFi, Gogo is also outfitting more than 400 planes flown by several airlines with that technology.

The industry’s two other major players are Row 44, whose biggest U.S. customer is Southwest Airlines, and Panasonic Avionics, which provides WiFi service to several U.S. carriers. Both use satellite-based technologies.

Southwest uses Row 44 technology for both in-flight WiFi and on-demand TV shows and movies, which customers view on their own portable or mobile devices. This means that it can offer WiFi on its new Caribbean service to San Juan.

Some airlines are offering passengers a choice of speeds. United Airlines, for example, which has said it should have 300 mainline aircraft equipped with satellite-based WiFi by the end of this year, is offering its customers a choice of two speeds: Standard speed, which initially will be priced between $3.99 and $14.99 depending on the duration of the flight, and Accelerated speed, priced initially between $5.99 and $19.99.

JetBlue Airways is beginning the installation and certification process for its satellite-based in-flight WiFi. However, it must go through extensive testing and certification by the FAA before customers start using it, according to an airline spokeswoman.

While overall uptake of in-flight WiFi is currently small — under 6% overall, according to documents Gogo has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission — usage can vary widely from one flight to another.

Virgin America, for example, has a huge uptake on its flights because it attracts a younger, more technically sophisticated demographic.

Across brands, there tends to be more WiFi usage on transcontinental flights because longer flights increase the demand for in-flight entertainment.
Major business routes tend to have greater uptake, as well.

Thomas Cook job cuts are necessary, says expert

By Melanie Hall 

Thomas Cook Group’s decision to cut 2,500 jobs and close 195 stores has gone down well in the City as a much-needed restructuring following its “dismal” financial performance, said a leading analyst.

Douglas McNeill, investment director at stockbrokers Charles Stanley, told Travel Weekly that the move, although sad for those at risk of losing their jobs, was necessary.

“The City is pleased to see restructuring taking place,” said McNeill. “No-one is ever keen to see other people losing jobs so the restructuring that is underway is tempered by thoughts about those losing jobs, but it’s beyond question that things needed to change at Thomas Cook.

“I would say that the City has thought something like this was on the cards for quite some time. The management has led the City to expect cost savings without being particularly specific.”

“lt hasn’t required much imagination to realise that a lot of reductions was on the way,” said McNeill, as it is doing less business than it used to.

“Capacity is down this summer season, 4% down at the last count,” he said. “That’s not the first such reduction. Reduction in the winter season was greater than that. Sooner or later, you are going to conclude that you are going to need fewer staff.”

McNeill said that Thomas Cook’s chief executive Harriet Green was instilling confidence because of her plans to cut costs.

“Financial performance has been dismal for quite some time and the share price tells you that the City is confident in Harriet Green’s ability to restructure," he said.

Thomas Cook saw its share price drop by more than 4% yesterday in the wake of the travel group’s mass jobs cut announcement a day earlier.

Shares in the company were down 3.5p to 82.5p but this was more than 15% below its 52-week high of 97.38. At yesterday’s rate, the group’s market capitalisation was £787.92 million.

Cook is to cut 2,500 jobs and close almost 200 agency branches as part of a financial turn around plan. An update on the business transformation plan and new strategy for the group is due to be given by chief executive Harriet Green on Wednesday.

A brief trading update will be given ahead of first half results to be announced in May.

Thomas Cook staff talk of shock and anger at store closures

Thomas Cook staff who have been told their shops have been earmarked for closure have spoken of their shock at Wednesday's announcement.

The company revealed that 2,500 jobs were under consultatation, more than 900 of which will be from the retail estate. The rest will be back office roles at its premises in Accrington, Peterborough, Preston and Egham.

One staff member who wanted to remain anonymous and who was told her shop would soon be closing told Travel Weekly:

"We feel we've been treated absolutely appallingly. We are an A performing store and we were told categorically by our regional sales manager that no shop closures were imminent.

"We have very long-standing staff in our store. We have worked so hard during peaks, including Sundays and evenings with no extra pay, just to make the shop a success.

"We've been told not to tell any customers or staff who aren't in today about the closures, we just have to smile and get on with it. The staff have been left reeling, we feel shocked and sick."

Another staff member wrote on travelweekly.co.uk: "How sad and unfair, I have two kids, rent and I feel like my life has just been put in to overload, what will I do?"

A stream of comments, many purporting to be from staff, on Travel Weekly's original story revealed the depth of anger among many employees who are either facing redundancy or changes to their current terms of employment, as Cook confirmed to Sky News yesterday.

Recruitment consultants have suggested some Cook staff may become homeworkers, while others may be forced to leave the industry.

Fire put out on Norwegian Getaway

By Tom Stieghorst

Construction on the Norwegian Getaway was halted Monday after a fire broke out on the newbuild in its covered drydock building in Papenburg, Germany.

A statement from the Meyer Werft shipyard said the fire led to "significant smoke formation," causing the affected production areas and the visitors center to be evacuated.

Members of the shipyard fire brigade and Papenburg's fire department were called to put out the blaze.

The cause remains unknown. The statement said completion of the 4,000-passenger ship in 2014 "is not at risk according to information currently available."

The Getaway is scheduled to enter service next January in Miami.

Hurtigruten ship runs aground

By Tom Stieghorst

Hurtigruten said a ship with 258 passengers aboard hit an underwater rock and was grounded outside Trollfjord, in Norway.

The Kong Harald took on water as it waited for the tide to rise to be taken off the rock, a company statement said.

All guests were disembarked safely, and the ship then sailed to Svolvaer. It will be taken to a shipyard in Fiskarstrand for repairs, said Hurtigruten, an expedition cruise line based in Norway.

The sailing from March 4 to 12 has been canceled, and all guests will be flown home, the statement said. 

Thomas Cook to cut 2,500 jobs

The back office roles will include staff at the head offices in Peterborough and Preston. The consultation also includes the proposed closure of the Accrington office.

Thomas Cook Group is to cut 2,500 jobs across its back office and retail network.

The group also plans to close 195 stores as part of the restucture of the UK business.

A 90 day consultation begins today over the future of 2,500 jobs, both back office and retail. The group currently employs 15,500 people in the UK.

Stores will close which do "not meet the performance targets of the business" and are in areas where Thomas Cook has more than one retail outlet. 

Peter Fankhauser, chief executive Continental Europe & UK, said:  "It is never easy to make decisions that impact directly on our people, but we also owe it to our customers to shape the business effectively and ensure that, when they book their holiday with us, our administrative costs are as low as possible.

"As we improve and develop our online capabilities, maintaining a strong presence on the High Street is an important part of our omni-channel strategy. Even after these changes we will still have one of the largest retail networks in UK travel.

He added: "It is essential that we operate with the right number of people as we move forward into the next era for our company, allowing us to meet the future needs of our customers more effectively.

"These proposals will mean a stronger Thomas Cook that continues to be a major employer in the UK dedicated to providing excellent holiday experiences to our 23 million customers. We are in consultation with our unions and employee representative bodies to minimise the impact of these changes and I am speaking personally to all employees today to provide information and support through this period of consultation."

100 years of Florida cruising

By Tom Stieghorst

Can it be 100 years since the first cruise from Florida?

Yes it can, according to The Cruise People, a London travel firm that has identified the Key West steamship Evangeline as the first true cruise ship to depart a Florida port in 1913.

With its prominent, upright funnel and boxy profile, the 3,678-ton Evangeline resembled nothing so much as a smaller version of the Titanic, lost in the icy North Atlantic nine months earlier.

That same year, 1912, Henry Flagler’s ambitious extension of the Florida East Coast Railway to Key West was completed. Then, as now, leisure cruises depended on land-based transportation links to prosper. 

But in 1913 railroads, not airlines, brought distant tourists to the departure terminal. The Evangeline was owned by the Peninsular & Occidental Steamship Co, a joint venture between Flagler and his Florida railroad rival Henry Plant (P&O eventually went on to own a modern cruise subsidiary, today's Princess Cruises). The ship was built in Scotland, at the same shipyard that later built the former Carnival Cruise Lines ship Carnivale. 

The Evangeline did a series of eight 11-night cruises, visiting Havana, Kingston, Jamaica, and Colon, Panama, to see the canal, then still under construction.

The fare for the initial season was $110, but that went up to $125 in 1914 when the homeport moved to Jacksonville, Fla.

Today Jacksonville is still a homeport, hosting the 70,367-ton Carnival Fascination. Key West, which will serve as port of call for nearly 300 cruise ships this year, is no longer a home port, its rail connection wiped out by the 1935 hurricane.

Miami, which didn’t receive a regular leisure cruise route until 1935 when ships began going to Nassau, Bahamas, is now the biggest cruise port, not only in Florida but worldwide. Port Everglades and Port Canaveral are second and third. Each is connected to an international airport (in the case of Port Canaveral, buses take passengers from Orlando International Airport).

And now, as then, Florida remains central to the cruise business. The industry’s biggest convention, Cruise Shipping Miami, will open next week at the Miami Beach Convention Center.

According to CLIA, Florida accounted for 40% of the industry’s passenger and crew visits in North America and 35% of direct expenditures.  No. 2 California had about one-tenth as many passenger visits, CLIA says.

The Evangeline was scrapped in 1936, succeeded by the Florida, which by 1952 was doing two-night cruises from Miami to Havana for $42 plus taxes. That all ended eight years later. And for the past half century the cruise industry has prospered in Florida, going almost everywhere but the port of call 90 miles to the south.   

Universal Orlando taking reservations for new hotel

By Jerry Limone

Universal Orlando Resort said the reservations book is open for the Cabana Bay Beach Resort, an 1,800-room hotel scheduled to open in early 2014.

Reservations are being accepted for stays beginning on March 31, 2014.

The hotel, the fourth within Universal Orlando, will “evoke the classic, retro feel of iconic beach resorts from the 1950s and '60s,” Universal Orlando said.

An area located around the North Courtyard will open first, followed later in 2014 by an area located around the South Courtyard.

Guests will have two room options: a standard guestroom or a 430-square-foot family suite that sleeps six. Family suite rates will begin at $174 per night; standard room rates will begin at $119 per night.

Package rates are available with savings based on length of stay. Universal Orlando said that a family of four can stay for seven nights for $47 per person, per day — including accommodations and tickets to both Universal Orlando theme parks.

When complete, there will be two pool complexes with sand beaches, a lazy river, a 10-lane bowling alley, a food court and a game room.

Alice Norsworthy, executive vice president of marketing and sales at Universal Orlando Resort, said that Cabana Bay will be a “value-driven option for families that want to stay within the Universal Orlando Resort.”

Loews Hotels will operate the resort.

Virgin reveals brand for new domestic services

By Phil Davies 

Virgin Atlantic’s new UK domestic services will operate under the name Little Red.

Flights start on March 31 from Manchester with three flights a day to Heathrow followed by six a day from Edinburgh on April 5 and three a day from Aberdeen on April 9.

Services will operate to Heathrow Terminal 1 with bus transfers to connect with Virgin Atlantic long-haul routes to long-haul destinations from Terminal 3.

Fares start at £99 as Virgin seeks to compete head-to-head with rival British Airways on UK routes for the first time.

Virgin won key take-off and landing slots at Heathrow after Bmi was taken over by BA parent International Airlines Group and willI  use leased Aer Lingus aircraft.

BA runs around 52 daily flights between Heathrow and Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow together with services to Scotland from Gatwick and London City airports.

Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson said that Little Red will "go head-to-head with BA to provide domestic flights that deliver Virgin Atlantic's rock and roll spirit as well as real value for money."

Boeing and battery maker clash over 787 fix

By Phil Davies

Boeing and the Japanese company that makes lithium-ion batteries for 787 Dreamliner disagree about what should be included in a package of measures aimed at returning the aircraft to service.

Battery maker GS Yuasa Corporation believes the fix for the battery should include a voltage regulator that could stop electricity from entering the battery, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing government and industry officials.

Boeing proposed its fix to the US Federal Aviation Authority on Friday.

But on Thursday, Yuasa told the agency that its laboratory tests indicated a power surge outside the battery, or other external problem, started the failures on two batteries, according to the newspaper.

The FAA confirmed the meeting with Yuasa, but did not give any details. A Yuasa spokesman declined to comment.

A Boeing spokesman said that the investigation has not showed that overcharging was a factor and that the 787 had quadruple-redundant protection against overcharging in any case.

"Our proposal includes multiple layers of protection covering the known potential probable causes of the events," he said.

He added that Boeing was co-ordinating with key suppliers.

Research finds two thirds of holidaymakers will book online

By Ian Taylor 

The latest TNS consumer insight for Travel Weekly underlines the popularity of digital channels. Ian Taylor reports

Two thirds of UK adults planning an overseas holiday or break intend to book online this year, according to research for Travel Weekly.

A survey of more than 2,000 adults by TNS in early February suggests up to 20 million could book their travel online, compared with more than eight million with a high street agent or by phone.

Researchers found that 42% of respondents (including those not planning an overseas holiday) said they would book online, 12% on the high street and 5% by phone.

Of course, booking online does not have to mean going direct or buying from someone outside the trade. Few high street retailers fail to sell online; Tui Travel reported 37% of its summer 2013 bookings were made online up to early February and expects this proportion to increase this year.

However, the results confirm consumers are increasingly at ease booking all kinds of holidays – including package holidays – on the internet.

Young adults are clearly most at ease: 55% of 16 to 34-year-olds said they would book a holiday or break online, against 25% of over‑55s. The proportion of student online-travel bookers (60%) was three times higher than those of retired age (20%).

More than half (54%) of adults in better-off households expected to book online, as did a similar proportion (52%) of those with children living at home.

Londoners and those in the southeast showed a similar propensity to book on the internet (54%), while less than one-third did so in Yorkshire, the East Midlands and Scotland and just 36% across the north – suggesting a digital divide.

However, the greatest variation in the survey results was in the proportion planning to take an overseas holiday, rather than how they would book it.

TNS found more than one third (36%) of respondents did not expect to go overseas in 2013 and a further 4% were undecided.

That suggests 60% intend to have a holiday abroad – a healthy market in light of previous research showing less than half the adult population (44%) are likely to go away in any year.

It is important to note people often express an intention to go abroad at this time of year but subsequently fail to do so – the young being especially prone to this.

February’s TNS survey found three-quarters of 16 to 24-year-olds planned an overseas holiday (and 56% intended to book online). Yet previous TNS research which asked 16 to 24-year-olds whether they had a holiday abroad in the past 12 months found 60% had not.

Almost half (48%) of adults over 55 said they were not planning an overseas holiday this year; neither were half the adults in less well-off households (47%).

Most adults with children did plan a holiday (68%), compared with 56% of those with no children. But the former appear more dependent on finding a cheap holiday – 38% of those with children identifying price as an important factor in whether they go away, against 28% of those without children.

TNS group director of travel Tom Costley noted “significant age variations” in online booking habits but said: “The proportion choosing to book via a high street agent does not vary to any significant extent, irrespective of age.”

He added: “It’s evident that being able to access a cheap price allows some to go on a holiday which might otherwise not be available to them.”

Royal Caribbean takes more relaxed stance on discounts

By Lee Hayhurst

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line has told agents it has decided to “relax its approach” to policing discounting after feedback from the trade.

Travel Weekly understands that since the start of the year the operator had been closely monitoring pricing and threatening to act against agents who continued to discount.

Questions have been raised about the legality of this sort of approach, as Travel Weekly reported on January 24.

One cruise agent, who asked not to be named, said: “Royal Caribbean has relaxed the rules and are no longer policing what people do.”

She added: “I’ve not noticed any immediate upturn in discounting levels.”

Another claimed the change came after an agent challenged Royal Caribbean over the legality of its attempt to maintain prices in the market. Royal Caribbean denied this, saying 
the change was part of its “consultative approach” to trade relations after it reduced commission to 
10% in January.

A spokeswoman said: “Based on some agency feedback we have decided to relax this approach.

“We have advised our agency partners and continue to work closely with them on promoting our brands.”

She added: “We encourage agents to continue to sell on value and maximise their earning potential. We are impressed with the results that our marketing campaigns, training and incentives have delivered and the enthusiasm from the trade.

“We will continue to invest significantly in driving consumer demand to agency partners, in addition to incentivising them directly.”

- See more at: http://www.travelweekly.co.uk/Articles/2013/02/28/43305/royal-caribbean-stops-policing-cruise-discounts.html#sthash.JgoMcVcg.dpuf

Carnival to use Royal Caribbean island

By Tom Stieghorst

Carnival Cruise Lines has arranged with Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. to use its private island at Coco Cay for selected sailings of two Carnival ships this year.
Starting March 14, the Carnival Fascination will call there 19 times this year on its five-day cruise from Jacksonville, while the Carnival Ecstasy will call 11 times on five-day cruises from Port Canaveral.

For each ship, the calls replace a stop in Key West. The switch is being made to expand and diversify Carnival's port of call/destination options, Carnival said.

Guests are currently being notified about the itinerary change.

Carnival brands use two other private islands in the Bahamas, Princess Cay and Half Moon Cay, which was developed for Holland America Line.

Carnival spokesman Vance Gulliksen said that given the short duration of the cruises and the other ports on the itineraries, it would be difficult to reach Half Moon Cay and still maintain the ships' published schedule.

In addition, Princess Cay does not offer tender operations, he said.

Asked about payment, Gulliksen said Carnival entered into a commercial agreement with Royal Caribbean for the use of Coco Cay, also known as Little Stirrup Cay. 

Missing cruise ship found floating near Irish coast

By Melanie Hall

Image credit: Dan Conlin

A cruise ship that went missing in January has been spotted floating toward the coast of Ireland.

Lyubov Orlova was on its way to the scrapyard when it broke away from a Canadian tug in international waters last month, not to be seen again until it was spotted late last week.

It had been drifting across the northern Atlantic and is now reportedly within 1,200 nautical miles of the Irish coast, Gadling reported.

The Russian-built cruise liner was seized in St John's, Newfoundland, in 2010 because its owners were $250,000 in debt and the crew hadn't been paid in over five months.

Last February, the ship was bought by Neptune International Shipping, according to Gadling, and was scheduled to be scrapped in the Dominican Republic.

It was heading to the scrapyard when the ship broke free from the tug pulling it, and when the crew failed to recapture it due to high winds and choppy seas, the vessel was left to drift across the open ocean.

Canadian authorities refused to mount a salvage operation because the vessel was adrift in international waters.

The current owner of the vessel, Reza Shoeybi, is now trying to reclaim the ship, reported Gadling, who said he is working with salvage companies in Ireland to attempt to retrieve the vessel.

- See more at: http://www.travelweekly.co.uk/Articles/2013/02/26/43281/missing-cruise-ship-found-floating-near-irish-coast.html#sthash.2qj3oFP7.dpuf