Tui finances hit by UK air traffic disruption

In the three months to June 30, the company incurred 75 million in air traffic disruptions.

Europe's largest travel group handled 5.1 million tourists in the third quarter, a seven-fold increase over the same period a year ago.

The company said there was a loss of 27 million in underlying earnings.

In May and June, the vast majority of tourists reached their destinations on time.

Roughly 200 flights were canceled in the period due to departures from Manchester airport, which made up less than 1% of the summer programme.

Excluding these costs, the underlying group EBIT would be 48 million, the first profitable quarter since the start of the Pandemic.

The summer peak months of July and August have seen a return to pre-pandemic levels. There are more than 10 million customers for summer 2022.

The UK is the most advanced market in terms of bookings with cumulative volumes remaining well ahead of summer 2019.

The UK bookings for winter 2022-23 have started positively, with volumes up 16% compared to the same stage of winter in the previous year.

It is expected that the later booking profile will continue into the winter.

The company said it expected a positive profit for the full year.

At the same time, holidaymakers spend more money on their trips because they book more quickly.

For summer 2022, average prices are 18% higher than they were in the previous year, with more people booking package holidays and higher value services.

In order to further reduce Covid debt and German state participation, opportunities are to be exploited.

It's not easy to predict the impact of the war in Ukraine and the Pandemic. The greatest area of uncertainty will be the impact on consumer confidence, should travel restrictions be reintroduced, should there be further cost inflation and/or an increase in the war in Ukraine.

The group expects to see a significant increase in underlying EBIT in the medium term, driven by revenue growth and the benefits from the efficiency programme, which was launched during the swine flu epidemic.

Sebastian Ebel said people would like to travel. The list of planned spending continues to include holidays.

Although the entire European airline sector continues to face challenges, we have succeeded in ramping up our business with a significant increase in demand.

Our integrated business model is strong again. Holidaymakers and our partners trust the brand of Tui.

The operational challenges of the restart are being tackled. Our guests will get the usual high quality and service from us.

Quality and customer experience are at the forefront of my mind. I will engage in intensive dialogue with the destinations, retail, and system partners.

Tui's travel summer capacity will be close to pre-crisis levels. The underlying EBIT is expected to be positive for the year.

In June, the current chief executive announced that he would be stepping down in September to be replaced by Ebel.

After nine months, the figures confirm the trends. We are traveling a lot this summer.

I will hand over the chairmanship to Sebastian Ebel on September 30th.

Hotels, cruises, and the tours and activities field are back on track after the corona expansion.

After the crisis of the century, Tui will still be strong and profitable.

I would like to extend my gratitude to our customers and employees.

They were able to focus on growth after two years of crisis management.

Sebastian Ebel is familiar with the company. When it comes to new growth and dealing with the aftermath of corona, he's in charge.