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Thomas Cook Airline Division Is Up For Sale
11 - Feb - 2019

Thomas Cook Airline Division is up for Sale

Thomas Cook has announced plans to sell its airline divisions in Great Britain, Germany, Scandinavia and Spain.

The airline has been struggling to pay its debts and according to its CEO Christoph Debus, the move is a strategic decision for the airline to turn profitable again.

The airline is seeking to raise more than £1billion after recording a widened loss of over GBP60 million in the first Quarter of the 2018/2019 financial year.

Thomas Cook Group PLC, which owns the airline, plans to focus on its hotel business as it is bringing in more profit.

Chief Executive of Thomas Cook Group Peter Fankhauser said: “As expected the knock-on effect from the prolonged summer heatwave and high prices in the Canaries have impacted customer demand for winter sun. Where summer 2018 books started very strongly, bookings for summer 2019 reflect some consumer uncertainty, particularly in the UK. 

The airline has a fleet of 103 aircrafts and flies to holiday destinations in Europe, Scandinavia, Northern Africa and across the Atlantic.

Luthfansa has expressed interest in purchasing the long-haul operations of Thomas Cook’s German Airline Division, which is under Condor Group.

The Financial Times reported that the European Commission may not allow Luthfansa to take over Condor’s short-haul operations due to the overlap of routes.

Ryanair, EasyJet and airline consortium IAG are also interested in purchasing Thomas Cook.

Many other airlines have filed for bankruptcy over high fuel prices and poor exchange rates. Recently, low-cost carrier Germania filed for bankruptcy and Virgin Atlantic is in the process of acquiring Flybe.

Thomas Cook was established in 1841 and employs 22,000 people. 

By Airport Pickups London