To me, this merger makes sense on many different levels, and we've known for some time that the next round of industry consolidation between the package holiday companies was just around the corner. Keeping the Thomas Cook brand for both the airline, the tour operators (does this mean the end of the Airtours brand?) and the holiday shops was obvious given the well-known and respected brand of "Thomas Cook" compared to the fairly unknown moniker MyTravel. We should see a more healthy airline, operating fuller planes, getting rid of needless overlap etc. though it'll be interesting to see where planes will be based for S08, what the fleet with look like etc.