DeepKnight
Perhaps the truth lies closer to the fact that rather than blaming Lemming like cadets, the Thomas Cook group (and the airline) has been a turgid, stodgy mess for a good decade or so.
After 9/11 the rot set in. The pilots accepted a good shafting then and indeed new Captain contracts were forced through allowing for demotion - unlike anyone promoted prior to 9/11.
That charmer, El Borai, neatly drove a wedge between pilot groups there and then.
That was the moment things started changing in the airline.
Pathetic seat only attempts to "compete" with easy or Ryan followed, despite the fact that the seats were wildly expensive. And hence of no significance in sale volumes.
On the tour Ops front, the most unfriendly website experience of all time - which actually sold more competitor products than TCG products......
A merger with the remains of the Airtours/MyTravel combined neatly with an expansion into high street shops.....just as the recession took hold and high streets died nationwide.
Need I say more?
But, to add to this, long haul "scheduled" services to compete with BA,AA,VIRGIN etc are to commence to margin sensitive destinations such as MCO.
The cadets had absolutely nothing to do with your lamentable situation. Face it, the group was a disaster until Harriet Green arrived. Hopefully she will rebuild it.
I left TCX in 2006, as I couldn't see a future there. That was in 2006.
Is the future brighter today?