Wednesday, September 07, 2011

Thomas Cook jobs under threat at Manchester Airport

Around 250 jobs at Thomas Cook are under threat, including a number at Manchester Airport, after the travel company announced plans to reduce its fleet of planes.

The company has announced a 90-day consultation with staff over plans to cut six of its 41 aircraft by the end of the year.

The move has been partly blamed on the end of a contract with third-party operator Canadian Affair, for which Thomas Cook operates three planes, which will not be renewed for the winter season.

Of the other three aircraft, one will be transferred to Thomas Cook's Scandinavian operations, one will join its German sister airline Condor and one will be retired.

The move will affect staff including cabin crew, pilots and operations staff based in Manchester.

A company spokesman said: “We announced in our half-year results in May that we would be looking at our airline structure in the UK and yesterday we told staff that we would be reducing the fleet.

“This is about making sure our airline in the UK fits with capacity and customer demand.”

The announcement comes after a disastrous year for the holiday giant, which is merging its high street network with Co-operative Travel in an effort to save £35m a year.

In August its chief executive Manny Fontenla-Novoa resigned after the firm issued three profit warnings in the last year.

The group is in the middle of a strategic review of its UK business as it looks at the mix of holidays it offers and the utilisation of its airline fleet.

It is also pushing ahead with a £200m asset disposal programme to cut borrowings.

http://menmedia.co.uk

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