Found this recently in a London newspaper " Tour operator Thomas Cook said it was 'business as usual' despite the collapse of its German majority shareholder. The holiday giant sought to reassure customers and staff that they would not be affected after retail group Arcandor,which owns a 52.8% stake in the firm,filed for bankruptcy protection.Its insolvency is likely to see the stake put up for sale which could spark a takeover for the firm.Thomas Cook shares rallied more than 7% as investors welcomed a resolution to woes at Arcandor and the possibility of a stake sale "
So it seems Thomas Cook is operating on its own for the moment. Whether it is strong enough to survive without further financial input remains to be seen.It has already posted airfares to the Gambia this winter on its website.The cheapest this side of Christmas is about £260 return. Not exactly cheap. Whether fares will come down in price remains to be seen. The question is 'whether a takeover will ultimately result in higher fares to the Gambia'.[f If so it could signal the further demise of Gambia as a relatively cheap holiday destination.
Lets just hope Thomas Cook does survive, because they are usually the cheapest company to travel to Gambia with. I know £260 is not so cheap, but its better than £499 that i have just had to pay for a flight in July!!!! Rip off Gambia Experience again!!
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Posted - 28 Jun 2009 : 13:23:46
