Thomas Cook rerouts 1.2 million airline seats away from Turkey

Revenues and bookings at Thomas Cook dropped in the last three months of 2015, in the wake of the terror attacks in Paris, Istanbul and Sharm-el-Sheikh, the tour operator said today.

Customers have been switching from Turkey to Spain, Cyprus, Bulgaria and Greece, as well as to long-haul holidays in US and Cuba.

Current trading is in line with expectations with 82 per cent of the programme sold, broadly the same as past year although pricing was "significantly higher".

Fankhauser said the company had anticipated a shift away from Turkey as early as October, with bookings not as strong as they usually would be at that time of year for the destination. Demand for Spanish holidays was "boiling", Fankhauser said.

Still, Thomas Cook said it has seen "clear signs of recovery" after the terrorist attacks in Paris and Istanbul.

Geopolitical uncertainty and the threat of terrorism were putting a dampener on some of Thomas Cook's operations in its first quarter, though the company appeared to have a handle on it, with solid volumes and increased prices on its winter holidays.

Cook said: "Although bookings have been disrupted by geopolitical concerns which have affected consumer confidence, in recent weeks we have seen clear signs of recovery". In light of the terrorist attacks and in anticipation of changes in customer demand, the travel operator said it has rebalanced its programme to include more holidays to the Western Mediterranean.

"We've made a good start to the year, despite challenging trading conditions", Fankhauser claimed.

"We are maintaining our previous guidance for the 2016 financial year, provided that the recent recovery we have seen in customer confidence is sustained", he revealed. The company said that this was due to customers travelling to more profitable destinations, and the growth of its own-brand hotels, which operate with higher margins.

Shares in the company dipped 3 percent to 93 pence, slightly lagging a 2 percent fall in the British midcap index.

The consensus forecast for Thomas Cook's core earnings (EBIT) now stands at 347 million pounds ($501 million)according to Reuters data, representing a 12 percent rise on last year's result.

N.H. primary results were expected but still surprisingThey are anxious about the economy and distrust establishment politicians they perceive as being part of the problem. Bush's campaign released a radio ad Wednesday in SC featuring his brother, former President George W.

Source: Thomas Cook rerouts 1.2 million airline seats away from Turkey