Thomas Cook AG
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Thomas Cook AG is the parent company of Thomas Cook, Condor Airlines and other such subsidiaries. It was originally incorporated on November 1, 1997 as "C&N Touristic AG" but the name was changed following the 2002 acquisition of Thomas Cook. The group is jointly owned by Lufthansa and Karstadt, However Karstadt took control of the company two days before Christmas 2006 by buying the half-share owned by Lufthansa , the German airline. Karstadt paid €800m (£540m), though Lufthansa will for at least the next two years retain a stake in Condor Airlines , Thomas Cook’s in-house airline in Germany.
Contents |
[edit] Worldwide
Thomas Cook Worldwide has 5 wholly owned subsidiaries Thomas Cook UK, Thomas Cook Netherlands, Thomas Cook France, Thomas Cook Belgium, Thomas Cook Destinations and majority holdings in Condor Flugdienst and TC Touristik. Thomas Cook also has a presence in the Middle East - Specifically in the United Arab Emirates through a licensee agreement it has with a local group called the Al Rostamani Group. The venture operates a travel agency and an exchange business - called Thomas Cook Al Rostamani Travel and Holidays and Thomas Cook Al Rostamani Exchange. The venture is a highly successful one and the travel agency is amongst the top travel agencies in the United Arab Emirates.
In the United Kingdom, Thomas Cook conforms to the model of a 'vertically integrated travel company' operating an airline, a retail arm and also a tour operator. This tour operator division has previously been known as Thomas Cook Tour Operations but in early 2006 was restructured as the 'Holidays Division', incorporating the previously separate Thomas Cook Signature brand alongside the Thomas Cook, JMC and Sunset brands. The 'Specialist Products' division includes Uptrips (including the Club 18-30 brand), Style, Neilson Active Holidays and Sunworld Ireland.
In 1999, Thomas Cook AG sold off its worldwide Foreign Exchange business to Travelex to concentrate only on tours and holidays.
After the market depression, particularly following September 11, 2001 attacks, Thomas Cook AG had started a disinvestment programme by disposing off some of its subsidiaries and business ventures to follow a highly flexible business model and become an asset light company with minimum capital tie up. The business focuses on Europe for the sale of package holidays and tailor-made holidays for customers specific requirements.
On December 21, 2005, Thomas Cook AG, sold off Thomas Cook International Markets, a venture which includes 60% of the stake in Thomas Cook India Ltd to Dubai Financial LLC, a part of the Dubai Investment Group (DIG) which manages the financial and real estate interests of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, ruler of Dubai. Thomas Cook India is a profitable venture which offers a broad band of services like package tours, currency exchange and travel insurance besides hotel and flight reservations. Thomas Cook India has been in existence for 124 years and operates 60 offices across various locations. Thomas Cook India has branches in Sri Lanka and Mauritius and reported sales of €23.3 million. After the take over by Dubai Financial LLC, Thomas Cook India has taken over LKP forex, one of India's leading foreign exchange houses and more recently The Travel Corporation of India (TCI) India's leading travel and tourism corporation.
Following this, Thomas Cook Overseas Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Thomas Cook UK was sold off, this time again to Dubai Financial LLC. (Thomas Cook Overseas Ltd consists of 19 travel agencies, 22 currency exchanges in Egypt with 371 employees and during the 2005 business year had a turnover of just under €6 million).
Thomas Cook AG soon entered the market again, this time to sell off two more of its subsidiaries - Thomas Cook Thailand and Thomas Cook Middle East both to Dubai Financial LLC. Thomas Cook Middle East consists of the Middle East region, which has experienced a boom in travel and tourism, especially in places like Dubai, Qatar, Oman and so on. Thomas Cook Lebanon S.A.L. had started in June 2004 providing travel and financial services. The company also operates a travel agency and a currency exchange in Beirut. Dubai Financials has planned an aggressive expansion strategy for its newly acquired arms.
Thomas Cook Canada was sold to Transat A.T in 2006, marking Thomas Cooks exit from the North American market interms of its own retailer.
On 12 February 2007, Thomas Cook AG announced had merged with MyTravel Group PLC. The parent company of the enlarged group will be named Thomas Cook Group plc, headquartered in the UK and listed in London.
[edit] Companies
The companies in Thomas Cook AG include:
- Thomas Cook Holidays Division, includes JMC, Sunset, Thomas Cook Signature, Uptrips (including Club 18-30), Neilson Active Holidays, Style and Sunworld Ireland.
- Thomas Cook Retail
- Thomas Cook Airlines
- Thomas Cook Airlines (Belgium)
- Condor Airlines
[edit] Trivia
Thomas Cook UK is currently the principal sponsor of FA Premier League side Manchester City, with the corporate logo displayed on the club's shirts.[1] Thomas Cook AG is the official travel partner of Chelsea.
[edit] References
- ^ Manchester City: official sponsors (HTML). Manchester City F.C. (2006). Retrieved on 7 August, 2006.
