TexanScot

What does the fact that hundreds of thousands of people are involved have to do with it?

Thomas Cook is part of a dying breed of travel agents, who have failed to keep up with changing consumer demand and the rise of the internet. The business has no sustainable future, and I'm struggling to see any long-term game plan where the country benefits from an injection of hundreds of millions of pounds worth of taxpayer's money that is just going to go up in smoke.

Those who are stuck abroad will be able to make it back to the UK via ATOL and the CAA regardless of whether or not the company goes into public ownership, so it's not going to materially impact the public either way.

I feel genuinely sorry for those who are going to be losing their jobs, but I just don't see how injecting public money or nationalizing the company is really going to make a difference; the Scottish Government STILL owns Prestwick Airport after nationalizing it for a pound and is STILL throwing millions away each year plugging the holes in it's finances.

TexanScot

If it was just an airline then I'd actually have less of a problem injecting cash, as you can put the company into administration whilst you liquidate the assets or find a buyer - aircraft and landing slots will always be useful to their competitors.

The issue here is that Thomas Cook is a budget package holiday company rather than just an airline, and that business has been dying on it's arse for years - there's no real future for the company as a going concern.

Giantaxe

I'll believe this when I see it....WOW air relaunch.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/trave...eady-take-off/

petitefrancaise

and the German government manages to bailout Condor - a thomas cook company.
https://onemileatatime.com/condor-airlines-future/

scrubbedexpat099

TC were a minority shareholder and Condor made money. TC had been approached to sell it recently.

TexanScot

Giantaxe

I was about to post pretty much the same thing. Condor is an airline not a travel company with an anti-diluvium business model. I still wonder whether this assistance will fall foul of EU competition rules though.

Really, the collapse of the airline part of Thomas Cook is a classic case of one part of a business killing a part that could have been a going concern.

Steerpike

I've flown two round-trips to UK with TC so far, and I recall seeing quite a bit of 'Condor' branding; can't recall now if it was the boarding passes, aircraft markings, or what ... but I'm assuming my flight Saturday was to have been with TC, and not Condor ... (hope so now since I've 'disputed' the TC purchase (in order to get a refund) and bought a new ticket

Giantaxe

I think there's been a lot of interchange of aircraft and staff between TC and Condor.

Giantaxe

That sucks...

I used to fly Air Canada to Manchester 25 years ago and unless someone else picks up the SFO to Manchester route, it's looking like a good bet for my out to Manchester, back from Glasgow/Edinburgh trip next year.

Steerpike

be sure to bundle a car in with that purchase

jkeller

Looks like Air Canada makes it easy for Americans to connect in Toronto....

scrubbedexpat091

It's pretty easy to connect from US to elsewhere via Vancouver as well, but in Vancouver it's mostly western US passengers connecting to Asia in Vancouver.

Thairetired2016

Once again the German taxpayer will foot the bill.
May be LH will take them in.

TexanScot

There's a different between providing liquidity support to a going concern, and just handing money over to a loss-making enterprise.

Since this is just operating capital for a profitable business, I have no doubt that the German taxpayer will be getting every Euro back in the end.