TUI Tourist operator is benefiting from the loss of market competitor Thomas Cook, who went bankrupt earlier. The German-British company is counting on a stronger profit increase for the current financial year than it had previously assumed. This despite the problems with the Boeing aircraft of the type 737 MAX, which are not allowed to fly because of safety.
TUI reported, among other things, that winter bookings are 3 percent ahead of a year earlier. The average selling prices were around 6 percent higher. Bookings for the coming summer are 14 percent ahead of last year, with holidays generally made 3 percent more expensive.
The start of the new year for TUI is particularly strong in the UK, where Thomas Cook was a particularly large player. Also, holidaymakers at TUI do not seem to be impressed by the new corona virus, as the company does not notice a decline in its bookings for package holidays or cruises.
The costs for keeping the 737 MAX jets on the ground amounted to 45 million euros in the first quarter of the financial year, according to TUI. A cost of 375 million euros is expected for the entire financial year. That is less than the 400 million euros that were previously taken into account. In the past financial year, the MAX issue amounted to 293 million euros in extra costs.
For the entire financial year, TUI expects a gross result of € 850 million to € 1.05 billion. This makes the company slightly more cautious than in an earlier estimate when it was expected to be at least 950 million euros. TUI reported that the new estimate includes “some level” of compensation for the Boeing issue, without going into details.