Come on guys, the banks had no option other unless they put the company into liquidation. They rightly took the view that there were no assets so they wouldn't get anything back so they opted for a punt. Ask the previous shareholders who got 4% of the company.
They are hardly however a success story to quote from the MyTravel corporate website "This (2006) will be the Group's first profit before tax since 2001".
Any purchase of First Choice will be by issuing new equity.

I guess the bit that most of us are interested in is what happens to MyTravel Airways and First Choice Airways should the deal go through. Peter McHugh states that MyT wish to purchase the UK mainstream tour operation from First Choice and "certain related operations". At this stage I reckon it's anyones guess as to what would and would not be included in any deal. As it's not a hostile approach hopefully we'll all know sooner rather than later..

My GUESS would be that;

The entire fleet of B757, A320 and A321 would go to the buyer.

First Choice Specialist company would retain the B767 and the order for the B787 and then use both to service long and extra long haul destinations.

OK. Lets look at this sensibly.....

1) Why would First Choice want to sell the division (Mainstream Holidays Sector) that makes them 48% of their total profit? It cant be doing that badly....last year First Choice Holidays PLC made £118 million in profit. Thats over TWICE what MyTravel are forcasting for this year....:confused:

2) Shouldnt it be First Choice launching a bid towards MyTravel given that First Choice seems to be the stronger company and aquisitions seems to be what First Choice loves doing (something like 9 so far this year).

3) Just because MyTravel wants to buy First Choice doesnt mean that they are going to succeed.......

4) I cant see it personally. Not a straightforward sale anyway. It just doesnt make any sense. Perhaps a 'you have this and we will have that' situation may develop. But i think the ball is in First Choice's hands at the moment, if they (the shareholders) dont want to sell then this will be MyTravels third failed attempt at purchasing First Choice. (Hopefully the last too!) Of course it could be third time lucky....

5) Other posters (cant be bothered to look through postings) who type things like 'im updating my CV as we speak' and 'i think all junior 757/Airbus pilots should be scared' is of no help to the situation and is simply scaremongering.:ugh:

Rant complete.....comments very welcome.....:mad:

Baron buzz
I think you have missed the point, "First Choice has confirmed it is in talks with a number of parties over the sale of its package holiday business, according to newspaper reports".
MyTravel is one of the companies that has shown an interest.
So as you can see it is First Choice that started all this and not MyTravel.:confused:

My Travel had massive debts which were swapped with equity. At that point in time they still had debts, namely in the area of aircraft leasing. Since that time the debts have increased as the total profit over that period has been negative. My Travel has never been debt free, and those aicraft leases debts are large - ask the former directors who retired on these lease deals.
They annouced an all airbus fleet sometime ago until someone looked more carefully at the lease agreements :}

When its all said and done, I think this move will not happen. If anything, I reckon that My Travel (or Airtours) will themselves be taken over given their poor performance for shareholders and the public over the years. orry I can't be more optimistic but their management have taken some weird and wacky decisions over the years. Look at My Travel Lite for instance...

Well said Swedish and quite honestly I couldn't be bothere to reply to Duff Beer when he/she pulled me up for saying that MYT has debts. Of course you are right and this has been confirmed in the press over the last few days. Their massive debts of a few years ago might have been soaked up by the City but you only have to look at the fact that they havent made a profit yet to tell you something. OK they might make one this year but not nearly enough to clear previous years losses.
Fo what it is worth I don't think that FC will end up as part of MYT but as for what will happen? well your guess is as good as mine.

Mr @ Spotty M,

I think you'll find MyTravel made an unsolicited approach to First Choice.

Regards.

Hostile approach from a firm with a very precarious financial situation bidding for aspects of the IT market which are facing the strongest possible threat from low-cost airlines and the boom in self-organised internet vacations. Whilst FC may wish to dispose of the lower end of the market to maximise its own performance why on earth would anyone want to bankroll such a purchase by MYT. Despite denials to the contrary perhaps a sale of unwanted assets by FC to MYT or indeed another operator would allow the much discussed tie-up between FC and Kuoni to regain some momentum.

Not getting the point?
 

I'm not so sure its me not getting the point MR @ SPOTTY M. As has been said, MyTravel have made an 'unsolicited' approach to First Choice, not the other way around. First Choice has said:

"First Choice Holidays PLC confirms that it has been reviewing how it might continue to maximise the potential of this market leading tour operating business. It is considering a range of alternatives in this market and discussions with a number of parties are at a preliminary stage. However, there can be no certainty that any transaction will be forthcoming"

Now, that doesnt say (as you put) First Choice is in talks with a number of parties regarding the sale of its package holiday business". It says that they are looking at the best way of taking that particular part of the business forward. (Its also the bit that made them just under £50m in profit last year).

So it brings me back to the point.....why sell what is making you money, can anyone rationalise that one???
:ugh:

From one of FCA's board.........‘...We got the offer, we’re looking at it. We might sell, but we might acquire, we might do something else,’ he said.

MyTravel’s move, he suggested, was a result of pressure on MyTravel. He said that its chief exec Peter McHugh ‘had done all the obvious’ and had to be be seen to be doing something by MyTravel shareholders after it told the market that the UK business would not end the year in the black.

‘After the summer just gone, the weakest will always be harmed,’ he said. ‘There is pressure on MyTravel to do something; we don’t need to do anything.......'

Profit & Loss

First Choice Holidays PLC Year End Date - 31October.
2001 (365) 2002 (365) 2003 (365) 2004 (366) 2005 (365)
Turnover £m 2,369.20 2,183.30 2,249.10 2,317.50 2,578.60
Operating profit (reported) £m 50.10 48.70 68.40 75.20 90.90

2006 estimated profit 113
2007 162

Profit & Loss

MyTravel Group PLC Year End Date - 31October.
30-09-01 (365) 30-09-02 (365) 30-09-03 (365) 2004 (397) 2005 (365)
Turnover £m 5,050.80 4,379.20 4,190.20 3,183.68 2,910.10
Operating profit (reported) £m 52.90 -92.10 -738.10 -91.76 20.70

2006 est prof 56
2007 113


MyTravel reiterates FY profit guidance but cautious on 2007 UPDATE
(Adds detail)

LONDON (AFX) - MyTravel Group PLC, the holiday group, has reiterated its profit guidance for its year to end-October 2006 but cautioned it may not hit its target of a 3.5 pct operating margin in the UK in the following year if the trading environment doesn't improve.

MyTravel issued a profit warning on Sept 13, blaming the World Cup, the July heatwave, UK security alerts and terrorist attacks in Turkey and Jordan for a slump in summer bookings.

'It's very early to say what's going to happen in the summer [2007]. Last summer we really had an extraordinarily bad summer in the UK. We need to return to a more typical summer,' McHugh told AFX News.

--------------------------------------------------------------

It is obvious that there is quite a lot of resentment here."FC should be taking over MYT" and all that. It is true that FC have done very well by concentrating on specialist and activity holidays, not mass market.There needs to be some consolidation in the mass-market sector .I think some deal will be struck somewhere but who knows when and with whom.Any deal with FC and MYT would enable cost cuts and synergies to spread and help preserve jobs in the long run.It would be good for the industry and mutually logical deal for both parties.

Resentment?
 

No, no resentment here.

It's simply a situation that I don't understand (there a quite a few like that!:confused: )!! Seriously though, I think people are only questioning the situation because First Choice are the ones who like buying other companies, have a profitable mainstream brand etc and its everyone (myself included) that is simply surprised by all this.

If the rumour was 'First Choice is looking at buying MyTravel', there would of course be similar debate, but the surprise element would probably be much less.

No resentment though, i think most would agree there needs to be some kind of cost cutting/deal making to be done. I for one, have absolutely nothing against MyTravel in the least.

Anger after Lapland flight halted
 

(Taken From BBC News Online)

Passengers were left angry after a day trip to Lapland was cancelled because of technical problems with an aircraft.

Police were called to Cardiff International Airport on Sunday after a small number of passengers became "extremely aggressive" with staff.


An airport spokesman said a braking problem had been found by engineers.
Operator First Choice said the 179 passengers would be offered a full refund or an alternative trip, which they hoped would be before Christmas.
One passenger, Heidi Bennett, who was with her husband David and their six-year-old son Jacob, told BBC Radio Wales that children due to leave on the flight were left "very disappointed".
She said: "There were a lot of very, very upset children and some very upset parents too. There will all ages there, from four to teenagers."
Peter Phillips, head of marketing and communications at Cardiff International Airport, said the aircraft was one of three flights leaving for Rovaniemi airport, in northern Finland.

The captain identified a braking problem which was at first thought not to be important.

Engineers were called but the passengers were allowed to advance through to the boarding gate.

'Bad behaviour'
Mr Phillips said the engineers then found that the fault was more serious than first thought and the flight had to be cancelled He said: "The captain and flight crew came down in person to explain what the problem was.

"At this point a small number of passengers - three or four - became extremely aggressive with airport staff and airline personnel.

"Police were called and one woman was cautioned. The airport these days is no place to show temper or bad behaviour. "


A spokeswoman for First Choice said the option of using an alternative aircraft from Gatwick would have led to passengers losing a large part of their day trip. She said the cancelled flight had been rescheduled for next Saturday at 0700 GMT and customers would be informed of the schedule.

Perhaps the Captain should have announced that he was prepared to chance taking off and being able to brake to a standstill on arrival. Adding that the airline would not be responsible for any deaths or injuries caused and that pax were welcome to add their name to a disclaimer list.

Ah the Chavs strike again :)

Given the likely braking action on the Rovaniemi runway at this time of year I would be only too pleased that the crew had identified any braking deficiency in advance.

Absolutely. Totally agree with the decision. Can also understand the families being upset :{ , but of course there is never a need for violence.

On another note, The Times is reporting today that Thomas Cook are in the running to make a bid for First Choice, which the paper reports 'is for sale'. Seems there could be a bidding war going on! One thing is for certain though, First Choice's share price has gone up loads! Alright if you have got shares i suppose!!

:mad: how rude! ha no we arent all the same you know, and i actually like wearing the pink!!what base are you commenting on ??

FCA confirm 2 x more 787 orders totalling 8 on order
SEATTLE, Dec. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) today confirmed that UK-based carrier and integrated-tour operator First Choice Airways has ordered an additional two Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners with deliveries beginning in 2011. This order previously was listed on Boeing's Orders and Deliveries webpage attributed to an unidentified customer.
First Choice, the European launch customer for the 787, placed its first order for six 787s in July 2004. With today's announcement, First Choice now has eight 787s on order. Boeing will deliver First Choice's first 787 in the first quarter of 2009.