should we worry?

[daisysun]

Im starting to worry about been booked up with Thomas Cook! this is the first time we have booked with them and i worried a few month ago when they were on the news about making a loss in sales and struggling etc, so asked about it in the shop i booked in and she said that there was nothing to worry about (but she would say that) and it only made the news about them making a loss because now they have to declare things like that and it makes good news!, which i can understand, where as a few years ago they didn't have to declare it but were in exactly the same position.

i understand that but at the same time i dont hear news about thomson or any other company having problems??
Our holiday is protected through thomas cook with ATOL.
When i looked at hotmails news page this morning there is another article about thomas cook having problems!!
Do you think i have cause for concern or do you think our holiday in September will go ahead as planned?? would you worry? and do you think that if they were going to go out of business before our hols that they would contact us?? im all new to this as i have never had problems with anyone else i've booked with
i suppose the chances are that everything will be ok, but when your so looking forward to your hols its not good to hear things like that in the news

[helen2904]

We also have a flight booked with Thomas Cook. The company that we booked with last year went down while we were in Icmeler, so I hope that this does not happen again this year. It really ruined the end of our holiday as we had to miss a Wedding that had been planned for months and months. Lets cross fingers and wait. I am going out on the 27th July for three and a half weeks. Can't wait.

[daisysun]

ah that must have been awful!
yes i have everything crossed that it doesn't happen

[pompey mick]

i have fligts book for turkey in september2012 and for cuba in march 2013 . i am keeping fingers crossed

[daisysun]

i have just rang thomas cook and the guy i spoke to reassured me that they have just recieved fianance to 2015 so there is no pressure on them yet, he also said that he has his hols booked for this year and next and he is not worried.
He also said that sales are always down over the winter months but pick up in the summer.
This has kind of put my mind at rest, especially the fianance to 2015 part. Im guessing (and keeping fingers crossed) that because of this our hols should go ahead with no problems. The person i spoke to seems to think they will. He also said that he has sghares in TC so he makes sure he keeps up to date on theese things and also said if he thought anything was going to happen he would not have booked his family holiday. So i guess at the min all is ok

[Realist]

But he get a discount on his holidays so he has no great loss not like the rest of us.

I too have a holiday booked with Thomas Cook flying 9th June and back 18th but now I know why my outbound flights was changed from Thomas Cook to Onur Air because they sold their planes to recoup money.

Now my extra's on the flight out choose seats, meals and early flight time has gone out of the window.

We do have Thomas Cook flight on the way back but again plans all changed by TC again.

Anyway, fingers crossed.

[daisysun]

But he get a discount on his holidays so he has no great loss not like the rest of us.

I too have a holiday booked with Thomas Cook flying 9th June and back 18th but now I know why my outbound flights was changed from Thomas Cook to Onur Air because they sold their planes to recoup money.

Now my extra's on the flight out choose seats, meals and early flight time has gone out of the window.

We do have Thomas Cook flight on the way back but again plans all changed by TC again.

Anyway, fingers crossed.

how did you find out your flight was changed to onur air? did they let you know?
i wonder if its worth asking about mine? but they might not be able to tell me as we dont go til sept

[Realist]

They wrote to me and that was that.

[daisysun]

i hope you get your money back for all of the extras that you have paid for if you dont get them.

heres hoping that thomas cook keep going and buisness improves in the next couple of years

[Bev64]

I have two holidays booked with Thomas Cook this year July to Icmeler and Kalkan in September which I have just paid the balance today so I have got everything crossed will be gutted if they go bust. I have not had any letters or emails about our flights being changed over to Onur air and neither have our friends and they fly with Thomas Cook in 3 weeks to Dalyan.

[weetoony]

The worst thing about this is that you never know that they have gone under until the day that they actually do. You will also find that they are still selling flights and holidays right up until the actual announcement. This happened to us with both ExcelAir and ScotTravel and no doubt to others with companies down south.

Guess who's also booked with TC and can type with his fingers crossed.

[daisysun]

the guy in the shop seems to think that the media love this type of thing and hype it up and kept reassuring me that sales will pick up in the summer and about the fianance they have which has taken a lot of pressure off them. I totally paniced before i spoke to him, but afterwards i have a feeling that our hols for this year at least, will be ok. The media need to back off or they will frighten people away from booking

[dragon]

So the guy in the shop thinks that it's a media hype. Thomas Cook had to call an Emergency Shareholders meeting on 29th May, 2012 and if you want to read what was sent to the shareholders you'll find it on
http://online.hemscottir.com/tools/insi ... d=34767958
but be warned it's over 70 pages. The important bit is this which is taken from the information sent

‘If one or more of the Disposals Resolutions is not passed and as a result one or more of the Disposals does not complete, the Company would be required within 21 days from 31 May 2012 to make proposals acceptable to the Majority Lenders to establish alternative headroom. Failure to make proposals accepted by the Majority Lenders would be an event of default under the Amended Facilities Agreement that if not waived would result in the Group’s borrowings (under the Amended Facilities Agreement and the Bonds becoming immediately due and payable, which would result in the Company seeking the appointment of administrators.’

The travel group reported a pre-tax loss of £713m in the half year to 31 March, up from a £269m loss last year.
They have managed to get a £1.4bn refinancing package which gives them a further three years to repay its debts but they're going to have to sell off a lot of the company. They've managed to have a breather but as to what will happen in the future it's anyone's guess especially as the company can go into default.

But he get a discount on his holidays so he has no great loss not like the rest of us.

The person I spoke to in Customer services with fly thomas cook told me that he wouldn't book with them. I guess they weren't recording the phone call as that would have been a sackable offence. If I was a gambling person I wouldn't bet on them succeeding as a company but I don't think they'll go under in the next few months now that this immediate problem has had temporary relief. I hope not anyway as we fly out with them in 4 weeks.

[Harrishawk]

Hi
I booked flights with aegean over 12 month ago and was lucky enough to get my money back i paid £145 each for 3 of us then had to pay £270 each with thomas cook which i thought was still ok because you feel a bit safer with a big company how wrong can i be
They havn't been in touch with me to tell me which airline we've been moved to but we don't fly until the end of july
I just hope everything is ok and we all manage to get sorted
How did they contact the people who have been told?
Thanks

[kirky]

dont worry its probably onur air,i think tommy cook wont go under the goverment probably bail them out it would be total mayhem if they went bust im flying with them in august paid by credit card to be safe side.

[Harrishawk]

Thanks Kirky
Ye i paid with my credit card learned that lesson when aegean went under
Its not too bad if they told people in plenty of time if somthing was realy bad then at least you have time to make new arrangements but they all seem to leave everything to last minute
I think all tommy cook customers could do with a bit of reassurance
Cheers

[dragon]

Just in case there's an oversight you can check the flight online if there are any seats left on your flight. If the flight number starts with TC it's Thomas Cook and if it's OHY then it's Onur Air. We fly out on 29th June and we were told of the change a couple of months ago by email. I really hope that you are with TC and not moved to Onur Air as TC have washed their hands of any involvement for 'flight only' and say that we have to contact OA direct.

We were also caught up with the failure of Aegean Flights. We had the flights and the consequential losses and would never book anything over £100 again without using a credit card. It's just not worth the risk.

[Harrishawk]

Thanks dragon
I'll have a look at that on the web site

[Sue]

Hi Guys I hope that everything will be ok for everyone this summer, just thought i would post this thread when aegean went bust there is some useful info on there just in case

viewtopic.php?f=19&t=14150&start=60
and here
viewtopic.php?f=19&t=14787

[unitedman57]

I too am booked with t.c but we are going to new york,I`m watching like the rest of you but if you look deeper into t.c they are now owned if think by the german company tu.
They have in this country bought going places,co op travel & the holiday hypermarket chains and are now in the process of shutting shops around the country where they have to many in one spot,further to this they suffered in the winter like a lot of other travel firms with the unrest in egypt and this has not help in balancing the books.
They however appear to have the backing of the german banks who have supposedly given them backing till 2015.
So hopefully they will still be trading till then.
Hope this helps