MyTravel Group PLC
Encyclopedia
This article contains historical information about My Travel until its merger with Thomas Cook AG - for the new company see - Thomas Cook Group
MyTravel Group PLC was a package holiday
company based in the United Kingdom. The group included brands such as Airtours, Aspro, Cresta, Direct Holidays, Escapades, Manos and Panorama in the UK,*Sunquest Vacations and *ALBA Tours in North America
, and Ving, Always, Tjæreborg, Spies, Skibby, MyTravel Tango, Bridge and Saga Solreiser in Scandinavia
. The company included an in-house airline
, MyTravel Airways
, however, following the merger of MyTravel and Thomas Cook AG on 19 June 2007, these brands passed to the new combined Thomas Cook Group plc
.
The Group was a FTSE 250 Listed Company with a retail estate of over 700 shops and a total ownership of 31 aircraft, 81 hotels and resorts, 14,600 employees and a customer base of over 5.7 million people worldwide. MyTravel Group PLC had an estimated market capitalization of over £1.43 Billion GBP
.
in Lancashire
, United Kingdom. The group began operating package holidays and launched its own in-house charter airline, in the early 1980s.
During the 1990s, Airtours purchased Scandinavian Leisure Group (SLG) including award winning tour operators such as Ving and airline; Premiair.
In 2002, Airtours Group plc, re branded under the new company wide banner of MyTravel Group plc. This included a name change for Airtours International and Premiair to MyTravel Airways. Shops throughout Northern Europe were rebranded to MyTravel however UK retail outlets remained under the banner of Going Places due to the immense brand awareness and popularity - a brand that continually wins the accolade of ‘UK’s Favourite Travel Agent’ as voted for by Daily Mail readers.
The company ran into financial difficulties in 2004 and needed to implement a debt-for-equity swap in order to complete implementation of a group restructure. It has since completed its financial restructuring and has seen a turnaround in its business and its North America and Northern European divisions have been producing record profits consecutively for the last 2 years.
In November 2003, MyTravel sold off its North America Cruise Division to NLG (National Leisure Group) of Woburn, MA.
In 2004 and 2005, MyTravel took 5.7 million people on holiday of which 3.4 million were from the UK, 1.5 million from Northern Europe and 0.8 million from North America.
On 12 February 2007, MyTravel Group plc announced that they had agreed terms on a merger with Thomas Cook AG. The merger was given shareholder approval at an Extraordinary General Meeting
on 29 May 2007. The parent company of the enlarged group is named Thomas Cook Group plc
with its headquarters in the UK and listed in London.
Thomas Cook Group
Thomas Cook Group plc is a travel company created on 19 June, 2007 by the merger of Thomas Cook AG and MyTravel Group plc. At flotation on the London Stock Exchange 52% of the shares in the new company were held by the German mail order and department store corporation Arcandor and 48% owned by...
MyTravel Group PLC was a package holiday
Package holiday
A package holiday or package tour consists of transport and accommodation advertised and sold together by a vendor known as a tour operator. Other services may be provided like a rental car, activities or outings during the holiday. Transport can be via charter airline to a foreign country...
company based in the United Kingdom. The group included brands such as Airtours, Aspro, Cresta, Direct Holidays, Escapades, Manos and Panorama in the UK,*Sunquest Vacations and *ALBA Tours in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, and Ving, Always, Tjæreborg, Spies, Skibby, MyTravel Tango, Bridge and Saga Solreiser in Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
. The company included an in-house airline
Airline
An airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit...
, MyTravel Airways
MyTravel Airways
MyTravel Airways was a United Kingdom scheduled and charter airline with headquarters in Manchester, England. It operated worldwide holiday charter services mainly for its parent company, the MyTravel Group....
, however, following the merger of MyTravel and Thomas Cook AG on 19 June 2007, these brands passed to the new combined Thomas Cook Group plc
Thomas Cook Group
Thomas Cook Group plc is a travel company created on 19 June, 2007 by the merger of Thomas Cook AG and MyTravel Group plc. At flotation on the London Stock Exchange 52% of the shares in the new company were held by the German mail order and department store corporation Arcandor and 48% owned by...
.
The Group was a FTSE 250 Listed Company with a retail estate of over 700 shops and a total ownership of 31 aircraft, 81 hotels and resorts, 14,600 employees and a customer base of over 5.7 million people worldwide. MyTravel Group PLC had an estimated market capitalization of over £1.43 Billion GBP
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
.
History
The group was founded under the Airtours brand in 1972, when David Crossland purchased a series of small travel agenciesTravel agency
A travel agency is a retail business that sells travel related products and services to customers on behalf of suppliers such as airlines, car rentals, cruise lines, hotels, railways, sightseeing tours and package holidays that combine several products...
in Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, United Kingdom. The group began operating package holidays and launched its own in-house charter airline, in the early 1980s.
During the 1990s, Airtours purchased Scandinavian Leisure Group (SLG) including award winning tour operators such as Ving and airline; Premiair.
In 2002, Airtours Group plc, re branded under the new company wide banner of MyTravel Group plc. This included a name change for Airtours International and Premiair to MyTravel Airways. Shops throughout Northern Europe were rebranded to MyTravel however UK retail outlets remained under the banner of Going Places due to the immense brand awareness and popularity - a brand that continually wins the accolade of ‘UK’s Favourite Travel Agent’ as voted for by Daily Mail readers.
The company ran into financial difficulties in 2004 and needed to implement a debt-for-equity swap in order to complete implementation of a group restructure. It has since completed its financial restructuring and has seen a turnaround in its business and its North America and Northern European divisions have been producing record profits consecutively for the last 2 years.
In November 2003, MyTravel sold off its North America Cruise Division to NLG (National Leisure Group) of Woburn, MA.
In 2004 and 2005, MyTravel took 5.7 million people on holiday of which 3.4 million were from the UK, 1.5 million from Northern Europe and 0.8 million from North America.
On 12 February 2007, MyTravel Group plc announced that they had agreed terms on a merger with Thomas Cook AG. The merger was given shareholder approval at an Extraordinary General Meeting
Extraordinary General Meeting
An extraordinary general meeting, commonly abbreviated as EGM, is a meeting of members of an organisation, shareholders of a company, or employees of an official body, which occurs at an irregular time. The term is usually used where the group would ordinarily hold an annual general meeting , but...
on 29 May 2007. The parent company of the enlarged group is named Thomas Cook Group plc
Thomas Cook Group
Thomas Cook Group plc is a travel company created on 19 June, 2007 by the merger of Thomas Cook AG and MyTravel Group plc. At flotation on the London Stock Exchange 52% of the shares in the new company were held by the German mail order and department store corporation Arcandor and 48% owned by...
with its headquarters in the UK and listed in London.
Awards
- FlightOnTime.info Most Punctual UK Charter Airline - Summer 2006
- FlightOnTime.info Most Improved UK Charter Airline for Punctuality - Summer 2006
- Consumer's Choice Award - Travel Wholesaler - Sunquest Vacations/Vacances Sunquest - 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006
- Danish Travel Awards - Best Air Travel Organiser - MyTravelTango - 2006
- Danish Travel Awards - Best Charter Airline - MyTravel Airways A/S - 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006
- The Guardian - DirectHolidays.co.uk - Best Online Booking Service As Voted For By Readers - 2006
- TTGTTGTTG can stand for:*Tabletop game, any game usually played on a table, but often referring to miniatures wargames*Tea Tree Gully, a city in South Australia near Adelaide*Telltale Games, a video game company in California...
TravelTravelTravel is the movement of people or objects between relatively distant geographical locations. 'Travel' can also include relatively short stays between successive movements.-Etymology:...
TradeTradeTrade is the transfer of ownership of goods and services from one person or entity to another. Trade is sometimes loosely called commerce or financial transaction or barter. A network that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and...
GazetteGazetteA gazette is a public journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper.In English- and French-speaking countries, newspaper publishers have applied the name Gazette since the 17th century; today, numerous weekly and daily newspapers bear the name The Gazette.Gazette is a loanword from the...
- Airtours Holidays - Tour Operator of the Year 'Near to Home ' 2006 - TTGTTGTTG can stand for:*Tabletop game, any game usually played on a table, but often referring to miniatures wargames*Tea Tree Gully, a city in South Australia near Adelaide*Telltale Games, a video game company in California...
TravelTravelTravel is the movement of people or objects between relatively distant geographical locations. 'Travel' can also include relatively short stays between successive movements.-Etymology:...
TradeTradeTrade is the transfer of ownership of goods and services from one person or entity to another. Trade is sometimes loosely called commerce or financial transaction or barter. A network that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and...
GazetteGazetteA gazette is a public journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper.In English- and French-speaking countries, newspaper publishers have applied the name Gazette since the 17th century; today, numerous weekly and daily newspapers bear the name The Gazette.Gazette is a loanword from the...
- Airtours Holidays - Tour Operator of the Year 'Western Mediterranean' 2006 - Cresta Holidays - Winners of Over 100 Industry Awards
- CAAUnited Kingdom Civil Aviation AuthorityThe Civil Aviation Authority is the public corporation which oversees and regulates all aspects of aviation in the United Kingdom. The CAA head office is located in the CAA House on Kingsway in Holborn, London Borough of Camden...
Air Transport Users Council - Most Punctual UK Charter Airline - MyTravel Airways UK - Winter 2005/2006 - CAAUnited Kingdom Civil Aviation AuthorityThe Civil Aviation Authority is the public corporation which oversees and regulates all aspects of aviation in the United Kingdom. The CAA head office is located in the CAA House on Kingsway in Holborn, London Borough of Camden...
Air Transport Users Council - Highest On Time Performance of any Analysed UK Charter Airline - MyTravel Airways UK - Summer 2005 - FlightOnTime.info Most Improved UK Charter Airline - MyTravel Airways UK - Summer 2005
- The Guardian - Going Places - The UK's Favourite Travel Agent As Voted For By Readers - 2005