Originally Posted by
toledoashley
I heard this was in the works a while back, but it went surprisingly quiet. With the direction Thomas Cook are going in, they clearly don’t need an airline. They are close to Club Med - who work on a very similar model, concentrate on the hotel experience and leave the flying to someone else.
There is real credibility in the UK operation being sold to Virgin - it would really create a decent hub in Manchester, and flexibility throughout their network, and the overall flyBe network too if they could keep the cost base low. Don’t assume that as TCX is a holiday/leisure airline, that whoever takes them over would continue as such.
In Germany, it could be a little trickier and a straight fight between LH and IAG, but I also wouldn’t rule out a VC in order to retain the well regarded Condor name.
Its not that Thomas Cook don’t need the airline, the airline is what has kept the company afloat over the past year, and is the only part of the group that has made an excellent profit. Selling the airline, will mean Thomas Cook can clear the debt they currently owe, as it will be worth a lot, and probably to an investment group rather than an airline, so they will continue to operate as Thomas Cook Airlines.