MY TRAVEL (again)
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As someone who has felt the pain of the axe falling (Air Europe, Caledonian), I hope all at MYT don't have to suffer the same worry and heartache that such an event brings.
I deal with the guys at MYT (airline) on a fairly regular basis, and even with all the c%^p that is flying around at the moment, they still remain cheerful, helpful and professional. Good on 'em.
So to all those who would wish ill on these good people (you know who you are) I say 'Watch yer back sunshine, next time it could be you'
TTFN
I deal with the guys at MYT (airline) on a fairly regular basis, and even with all the c%^p that is flying around at the moment, they still remain cheerful, helpful and professional. Good on 'em.
So to all those who would wish ill on these good people (you know who you are) I say 'Watch yer back sunshine, next time it could be you'
TTFN
Terrier
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I still don't think my comments were any worse than some others on here on this subject.
I accept many of you may not like them, but that cannot always be MY fault. It is an unpalatable story, and is in the public domain.
I do not recall saying MYT would go bust on here in this thread, I only offered my view of what may help save them.
However, that may not be enough for some people, because it is an unpalatable subject.
Hawk
You are a moderator for god's sake. Stay neutral why don't you? Instead of posting PM's for everyone to see, why don't you shut the thread if it is so offensive?
Oh, it's because it isn't is it? That's why it remains open! Not offensive, just difficult reading for some individuals. I appreciate that, but it ain't no more than that.....
flex42
Always nice to hear from you.....................
I accept many of you may not like them, but that cannot always be MY fault. It is an unpalatable story, and is in the public domain.
I do not recall saying MYT would go bust on here in this thread, I only offered my view of what may help save them.
However, that may not be enough for some people, because it is an unpalatable subject.
Hawk
You are a moderator for god's sake. Stay neutral why don't you? Instead of posting PM's for everyone to see, why don't you shut the thread if it is so offensive?
Oh, it's because it isn't is it? That's why it remains open! Not offensive, just difficult reading for some individuals. I appreciate that, but it ain't no more than that.....
flex42
Always nice to hear from you.....................
Ok some more rumours: Some uk travel agents are refusing to sell MYT holidays for 2004. And the TTG magazine ran a very doom and gloom artical about myt on their front page (Nov 10th) basicly saying that the CAA are being pressured to call in the 400 million bond and that the banks are no longer sure that a viable company can come out of it.
Dont know what truth is behind any of this as I didnt write the artical for the TTG and I havent tried to buy a MYT holiday.
Having been in a similar position I wish everyone at MYT good luck for the future.
ps is there any truth that they are having to subcharter flights because all the crews are leaving?
Dont know what truth is behind any of this as I didnt write the artical for the TTG and I havent tried to buy a MYT holiday.
Having been in a similar position I wish everyone at MYT good luck for the future.
ps is there any truth that they are having to subcharter flights because all the crews are leaving?
Terrier
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There you go you see.
Rumours... at least my article was fact, because the guy has resigned and everyone has seen it happen.
Some of my comments have p?ssed people off, true enough. However, at least my article was correct. In that I feel slightly vindicated that all the slatings I took were worth it.
Rumours... at least my article was fact, because the guy has resigned and everyone has seen it happen.
Some of my comments have p?ssed people off, true enough. However, at least my article was correct. In that I feel slightly vindicated that all the slatings I took were worth it.
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Travel Trade Gazette
Two of MyTravel’s most senior and respected directors resigned last week just days before the group was expected to unveil full-year results.
With the City now predicting losses of more than £300 million and rumours that UK and Ireland chief executive Duncan Wilson could be the next to go, overseas purchasing director Bill Allen and aviation director Bill McGrorty resigned from the troubled company.
News of their departures coincided with former deputy chief operating officer Steve Endacott publicly lifting the lid on MyTravel’s woes.
At the Travel Trust Association conference in London last week, he said: "If you owe £1 billion, the money simply isn’t there. Even if aircraft, hotels and shops are sold off, it wouldn’t make enough. The banks’ best solution is to trade out of it."
Mr Endacott added: "It would be good for the rest of the industry if MyTravel did go because it would decrease capacity. But this is not likely to happen in the short term."
MyTravel had still not set a date for the release of its results as TTG went to press, but a spokeswoman said an announcement was expected in the next couple of weeks.
She claimed Mr Allen and Mr McGrorty’s departures were unrelated and would not unsettle their "very stable teams".
Newspaper rumours that Mr Wilson was also resigning were dismissed by the spokeswoman as "pure speculation". But sources suggested it would be hard for him to stay if losses were as high as predicted, and he is rumoured to be interested in buying back Direct Holidays, which he founded.
If Mr Wilson were to leave, it would leave MyTravel with no substantial UK tour operating experience at board level. National press reports highlighting this are understood to have piled new pressure on the board to retain him.
With the City now predicting losses of more than £300 million and rumours that UK and Ireland chief executive Duncan Wilson could be the next to go, overseas purchasing director Bill Allen and aviation director Bill McGrorty resigned from the troubled company.
News of their departures coincided with former deputy chief operating officer Steve Endacott publicly lifting the lid on MyTravel’s woes.
At the Travel Trust Association conference in London last week, he said: "If you owe £1 billion, the money simply isn’t there. Even if aircraft, hotels and shops are sold off, it wouldn’t make enough. The banks’ best solution is to trade out of it."
Mr Endacott added: "It would be good for the rest of the industry if MyTravel did go because it would decrease capacity. But this is not likely to happen in the short term."
MyTravel had still not set a date for the release of its results as TTG went to press, but a spokeswoman said an announcement was expected in the next couple of weeks.
She claimed Mr Allen and Mr McGrorty’s departures were unrelated and would not unsettle their "very stable teams".
Newspaper rumours that Mr Wilson was also resigning were dismissed by the spokeswoman as "pure speculation". But sources suggested it would be hard for him to stay if losses were as high as predicted, and he is rumoured to be interested in buying back Direct Holidays, which he founded.
If Mr Wilson were to leave, it would leave MyTravel with no substantial UK tour operating experience at board level. National press reports highlighting this are understood to have piled new pressure on the board to retain him.
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Tailscrape
Might one of the problems a few people have with your posts is that sometimes they come across as quite aggressive and that your opinion is the only one and the correct one? When directing comment to other PPRuNe users do you thing you might appear as confrontational and inconsilatory? This is a rumours network and understandably there has been, is and will be comment on MYT and rightly so. However, is it not surprising individuals have problems with such posts when they involve their careers, families, livelihood, mortgages etc. From reading a few of your posts I suspect that you do not take criticism well, but what the hell, at least they stimulate comment and sometimes even debate!
Happy and peaceful Christmas and New Year to all.
Might one of the problems a few people have with your posts is that sometimes they come across as quite aggressive and that your opinion is the only one and the correct one? When directing comment to other PPRuNe users do you thing you might appear as confrontational and inconsilatory? This is a rumours network and understandably there has been, is and will be comment on MYT and rightly so. However, is it not surprising individuals have problems with such posts when they involve their careers, families, livelihood, mortgages etc. From reading a few of your posts I suspect that you do not take criticism well, but what the hell, at least they stimulate comment and sometimes even debate!
Happy and peaceful Christmas and New Year to all.
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Tailscrape, sunshine
The penny still hasn't dropped has it?
I don't think anyone doubted the accuracy of the quote you pulled out of the press! So, as reported, said director has resigned; no insight or foresight on your part!
It's not what OTHER people say, it's what YOU say and the way in which YOU say it that pisses people off.
I've seen 'arrogant', 'aggresive' as a couple of words used to describe YOU; a bit generous on their part, imho.
Its YOU everyone is complaining about, not what is written in the press.
Has that sunk in?
Feel as vindicated as YOU like, but I doubt anyone here will change their opinion.
The penny still hasn't dropped has it?
I don't think anyone doubted the accuracy of the quote you pulled out of the press! So, as reported, said director has resigned; no insight or foresight on your part!
It's not what OTHER people say, it's what YOU say and the way in which YOU say it that pisses people off.
I've seen 'arrogant', 'aggresive' as a couple of words used to describe YOU; a bit generous on their part, imho.
Its YOU everyone is complaining about, not what is written in the press.
Has that sunk in?
Feel as vindicated as YOU like, but I doubt anyone here will change their opinion.
Terrier
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Jack the Lad,
Good for you. That is your opinion. You are entitled to it, just like I am to mine. So, we agree on that.
As an aside, there are two more articles in today's SUNDAY TIMES.
Both are posted below.
Sharewatch: Dickens of a difference in two tour firms
Edited by Dominic O'Connell
THIS week’s results include a tale of two tour operators, First Choice and MyTravel.
With apologies to Dickens, for the former it will hardly be the best of times, but for the latter it will definitely be the worst. All tour operators face hard times, with terrorism, Sars and lack of consumer confidence making selling holidays an uphill task, but First Choice is at least meeting its shareholders’ great expectations. This week it is likely to report pre-tax profits of £80m-£85m, in line with analysts’ expectations.
But a nasty twist is waiting for MyTravel shareholders. The company could, according to some estimates, lose more than £300m at the pre-tax level, with perhaps as much again taken in exceptional items. Wrapped up in this sorry set of figures is the admission — first made at a recent company EGM — that MyTravel made a hefty loss during the peak summer months, traditionally the time that British holiday companies make bumper profits.
Someone had to pay the price and, as we predicted last week, Duncan Wilson, chief executive of UK operations and a main-board director, resigned on Friday. In the statement accompanying his departure no mention was made of the mess the company made of this year’s trading, but you don’t have to be a genius to link that awful performance with Wilson’s abrupt farewell.
It is tempting to compare and contrast the fortunes of First Choice and MyTravel to try to divine what makes a good holiday company. But it is a meaningless exercise.
First Choice, which closed last week at 137¾p, kept its head above water because it did what any well-managed business would do when things turn sour — it cut back capacity, judged the market correctly in terms of discounts, and moved away from the cut-throat mass market to more lucrative niche products. Not exactly rocket science.
Gallingly for a company that was once lauded as the smartest operator in British leisure, MyTravel appears to have been unable to do any of this.
After shooting itself in the foot last year with a string of profit warnings, accounting black holes and top-level departures, the company has misjudged the market, despite protestations earlier in the year that its products were selling at decent prices.
Its parlous financial position means it cannot afford many more mistakes like this and as the share price indicates, falling back last week to 11p — not far off its year-low of 7½p — the prognosis is not good.
##
MyTravel fears for survival over losses of £600m
Dominic O’Connell
THE embattled MyTravel holiday company is set to unveil losses in excess of £600m when it reports its full-year results this week.
MyTravel’s pre-tax loss is expected to be about £350m, but when exceptional items are added — mainly related to restructuring costs, goodwill write-offs on disposals and accounting adjustments — it is expected to exceed £600m.
The deficit is about 10 times greater than the company’s market capitalisation, which stood at £63m at the close of trading last week.
MyTravel has been in crisis since a string of profit warnings and the discovery of an accounting black hole in 2002 led to a boardroom clear-out. But its problems were exacerbated this year by a failure to cash in on peak summer demand.
British tour operators traditionally make all their money in the summer, but MyTravel stunned shareholders last month by saying in a circular that summer trading had been “weaker than expected” — which was taken as a profit warning.
Before the circular, released at an extraordinary meeting, analysts were forecasting full-year pre-tax losses of about £170m, but they now expect the figure to be double that.
As predicted in The Sunday Times last week, Duncan Wilson, chief executive of the company’s UK tour operations and a main board director, resigned on Friday. MyTravel’s statement announcing the departure said Wilson felt “his current role had come to a natural conclusion,” and made no mention of the poor summer trading.
But executives at rival firms said the two events were clearly linked. “You do not have to be Einstein to work out that if you have bad trading in the UK and the UK boss leaves, then that might just be the reason for his going,” one said.
Wilson’s exit takes the tally of departed directors in the past 12 months to seven — all but one of them executive directors.
At the extraordinary meeting, MyTravel also warned shareholders it might not have sufficient cash to survive the next year if it did not win backing for a series of disposals. Shareholders gave their approval for the sell-off, but the company’s share price has continued to slide, finishing last week at 11p, 3½p off its year-low.
The price of the company’s debt has also tumbled. The company’s convertible bond, part of which will be traded for equity under a complicated financial restructuring agreed earlier this year, was on Friday trading at 22p in the pound.
Analysts said the company faced an uncertain future, but poured cold water on City rumours that its banks — led by Deutsche Bank and Bank of America — might take it private.
##
I will refrain from commenting, or offering an opinion, save to say that it would appear that I am not the only person who shares the same opinion.
The last line about the banks not taking the company private do say a lot IMHO.
However, the articles are both written by the same author as last week... which may invalidate their value in some people's eyes. But, seeing as they are not that complimentary, they will be dismissed as unfair and favouring other firms by some.
Discuss....
Good for you. That is your opinion. You are entitled to it, just like I am to mine. So, we agree on that.
As an aside, there are two more articles in today's SUNDAY TIMES.
Both are posted below.
Sharewatch: Dickens of a difference in two tour firms
Edited by Dominic O'Connell
THIS week’s results include a tale of two tour operators, First Choice and MyTravel.
With apologies to Dickens, for the former it will hardly be the best of times, but for the latter it will definitely be the worst. All tour operators face hard times, with terrorism, Sars and lack of consumer confidence making selling holidays an uphill task, but First Choice is at least meeting its shareholders’ great expectations. This week it is likely to report pre-tax profits of £80m-£85m, in line with analysts’ expectations.
But a nasty twist is waiting for MyTravel shareholders. The company could, according to some estimates, lose more than £300m at the pre-tax level, with perhaps as much again taken in exceptional items. Wrapped up in this sorry set of figures is the admission — first made at a recent company EGM — that MyTravel made a hefty loss during the peak summer months, traditionally the time that British holiday companies make bumper profits.
Someone had to pay the price and, as we predicted last week, Duncan Wilson, chief executive of UK operations and a main-board director, resigned on Friday. In the statement accompanying his departure no mention was made of the mess the company made of this year’s trading, but you don’t have to be a genius to link that awful performance with Wilson’s abrupt farewell.
It is tempting to compare and contrast the fortunes of First Choice and MyTravel to try to divine what makes a good holiday company. But it is a meaningless exercise.
First Choice, which closed last week at 137¾p, kept its head above water because it did what any well-managed business would do when things turn sour — it cut back capacity, judged the market correctly in terms of discounts, and moved away from the cut-throat mass market to more lucrative niche products. Not exactly rocket science.
Gallingly for a company that was once lauded as the smartest operator in British leisure, MyTravel appears to have been unable to do any of this.
After shooting itself in the foot last year with a string of profit warnings, accounting black holes and top-level departures, the company has misjudged the market, despite protestations earlier in the year that its products were selling at decent prices.
Its parlous financial position means it cannot afford many more mistakes like this and as the share price indicates, falling back last week to 11p — not far off its year-low of 7½p — the prognosis is not good.
##
MyTravel fears for survival over losses of £600m
Dominic O’Connell
THE embattled MyTravel holiday company is set to unveil losses in excess of £600m when it reports its full-year results this week.
MyTravel’s pre-tax loss is expected to be about £350m, but when exceptional items are added — mainly related to restructuring costs, goodwill write-offs on disposals and accounting adjustments — it is expected to exceed £600m.
The deficit is about 10 times greater than the company’s market capitalisation, which stood at £63m at the close of trading last week.
MyTravel has been in crisis since a string of profit warnings and the discovery of an accounting black hole in 2002 led to a boardroom clear-out. But its problems were exacerbated this year by a failure to cash in on peak summer demand.
British tour operators traditionally make all their money in the summer, but MyTravel stunned shareholders last month by saying in a circular that summer trading had been “weaker than expected” — which was taken as a profit warning.
Before the circular, released at an extraordinary meeting, analysts were forecasting full-year pre-tax losses of about £170m, but they now expect the figure to be double that.
As predicted in The Sunday Times last week, Duncan Wilson, chief executive of the company’s UK tour operations and a main board director, resigned on Friday. MyTravel’s statement announcing the departure said Wilson felt “his current role had come to a natural conclusion,” and made no mention of the poor summer trading.
But executives at rival firms said the two events were clearly linked. “You do not have to be Einstein to work out that if you have bad trading in the UK and the UK boss leaves, then that might just be the reason for his going,” one said.
Wilson’s exit takes the tally of departed directors in the past 12 months to seven — all but one of them executive directors.
At the extraordinary meeting, MyTravel also warned shareholders it might not have sufficient cash to survive the next year if it did not win backing for a series of disposals. Shareholders gave their approval for the sell-off, but the company’s share price has continued to slide, finishing last week at 11p, 3½p off its year-low.
The price of the company’s debt has also tumbled. The company’s convertible bond, part of which will be traded for equity under a complicated financial restructuring agreed earlier this year, was on Friday trading at 22p in the pound.
Analysts said the company faced an uncertain future, but poured cold water on City rumours that its banks — led by Deutsche Bank and Bank of America — might take it private.
##
I will refrain from commenting, or offering an opinion, save to say that it would appear that I am not the only person who shares the same opinion.
The last line about the banks not taking the company private do say a lot IMHO.
However, the articles are both written by the same author as last week... which may invalidate their value in some people's eyes. But, seeing as they are not that complimentary, they will be dismissed as unfair and favouring other firms by some.
Discuss....
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BREAKING NEWS: MyTravel hit by more resignations
FYI Only - No comment
E-Tid has the following
BREAKING NEWS: MyTravel hit by more resignations
MyTravel has lost another two experienced tour operators with the resignation late last week of aviation director Bill McGrorty and overseas purchasing director Bill Allen. The news comes days after UK & Ireland CEO Duncan Wilson announced his decision to quit, leaving hands on control of the UK and Ireland businesses with chief operating officer Philip Jansen. MyTravel’s results for the FY to end-Sept03 will be released on Thursday 11 December.
E-Tid has the following
BREAKING NEWS: MyTravel hit by more resignations
MyTravel has lost another two experienced tour operators with the resignation late last week of aviation director Bill McGrorty and overseas purchasing director Bill Allen. The news comes days after UK & Ireland CEO Duncan Wilson announced his decision to quit, leaving hands on control of the UK and Ireland businesses with chief operating officer Philip Jansen. MyTravel’s results for the FY to end-Sept03 will be released on Thursday 11 December.
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Tailscrape
You say:
"I will refrain from commenting, or offering an opinion...............
The last line about the banks not taking the company private do say a lot IMHO."
Is this not an absolute contradiction by you?
"I will refrain from commenting, or offering an opinion...............
The last line about the banks not taking the company private do say a lot IMHO."
Is this not an absolute contradiction by you?
First Choice sees 20% rise in earnings
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