TUI Carnival Joint Venture in Play

This is a follow-up to a story earlier this week. This story is from Travelmole.com
written by Phil Davies.

TUI in Carnival joint venture - 65 new aircraft ordered
TUI is to create a joint venture with Carnival Corporation to enter the high volume pemium cruise segment.

The German travel giant, which has announced 2,600 UK job cuts today, is also creating a new Europe-wide internet portal for flights.

A new brand - TUIfly.com - will cover the company's German flight business though the merger of Hapagfly and Hapag-Lloyd Express to give a fleet of 56 aircraft next year.

It has ordered an additional 65 Boeings worth two billion euros for delivery from 2010 to replace leased aircraft currently oeprated in all source markets.

TUI is to acquire up to 25% in a joint venture with Carnival to tap into the German cruise market. The group is currently represented in the luxury segment by Hapag-Lloyd Kreuzfahrten and operates the budget Thomson Cruises brand in the UK.

"We are now planning to close a gap in the high-volume premium sector with TUI Cruises," said CEO Michael Frenzel.

Carnival's German cruise arm AIDA will be brought into the joint company and a separate TUI Cruises brand will be established with the first 3,000-passenger ship to be delivered in 2010.

Meanwhile, TUI signalled an ambition to grow its online business to account for more than a quarter of total turnover - up from 18% - within the next three years.

At the same time, Frenzel stressed that travel agencies will remain a key distribution channel in Germany.

"We are pursuing a clear objective - on an average we are planning to grow 50% inthe internet segment in the respective source markets wthin the next three years," said Frenzel.

Carnival confirms TUI talks

As reported by E-tid.com

Carnival has confirmed that is in talks with TUI AG, although it has not specified what is under discussion.
Carnival did say that ‘the nature of the discussions has been incorrectly reported by various German media as they do not involve exclusive distribution of any of Carnival's cruise products.’
It said that its AIDA brand, which serves the German market, ‘is completely satisfied with its present distribution model and appreciates the support that it receives from its travel agent partners’.
The statement ends with the corporate caveat: 'Should current discussions lead to an agreement with TUI AG, Carnival Corporation & plc will immediately announce details of the agreement. However, until that time, the company will not comment further.'

Further Consolidation on the GDS Front?

The Wall Street Journal and the the NY Times both stated that Sabre was on the auction block today. One of the reports states a deal could be consummated as earlier as Tuesday, while the other states as early as this week. From comparing the two reports and checking with others in the industry, it appears that there are three principal auctioning parties. Reports say the company is in advanced talks to be sold to a consortium of private equity firms for more than $4 billion. The New York Times reports that there are two investor groups vying for Sabre and that the group favoured to win comprises Silver Lake Partners and Texas Pacific Group. The other group is led by Apollo Group and there could be a third group waiting in the wings. Private equity groups like the reservation business because of its steady cash flow and some of the members of these groups bid unsuccessfully for Travelport. Sabre was spun off from AMR Corp, the parent of American Airlines in 2000 and owns Travelocity, one of the 3 biggest OTA's.

Worldspan Travelport Merger

What does this mean for WSPAN customers? A cumbersome migration to Galileo? What is Travelport buying, the declining customer segment count, the e-commerce search capabilities? Was Travelport the only one willing to throw a life-ring to this dwindling player? Others certainly have the means. The competition is probably pleased with this announcement. With only 3 strong players left in the North American GDS markeplace it adds yet another wrinkle to the distribution game. This was not a unforseen occurrence as Expedia was bailing, PCLN in Europe. I am curious if the airlines and Worldspan factored this in their negotiations with all the GDSs earlier this year ?

Cigar Dominincan Republic The Fuentes and Giving Back Via Travel

The title sounds to good to be true, huh? Recently I had the great opportunity to do several things I enjoy doing, and cap it off by doing it for a good cause. First, I'm not a cigar aficionado. I enjoy a cigar about once a full-moon. However, when a group of com padres that belong to the Society of International Business Fellows ( sibf.org ), invited me to go on the first Caribbean Initiative in the dead of winter, how could I say no?

Our trip began by flying an air taxi (satsair.com) to Atlanta, to pick up a flight to Santiago. There I met up with the rest of the group of SIBF'ers. The Dominican Republic or DR is one of my favorite islands in the Caribbean. It's a beautiful diverse island, with the some of the best beaches in all the Caribbean. The dollar goes along way there, making traveling there a joy. But the key for me, is the people, there warmth and good nature are what make the island one of my favorite destinations in the world. Our first days were spent enjoying the local sites and an independence parade, which be equivalent to the American 4th of July celebration.

A couple of days later we packed up and headed to Santo Domingo which was a pleasant 2.5 hour ride through the countryside. There we went directly to the Fuentes cigar factory. Carlos Jr. met us at the door and led us on a 2 hour tour of the factory. All cigars at this factory are hand-rolled, and there are hundreds of highly skilled artisans rolling cigar after cigar. The highlight of the tour was the a insider visit to the Fuente Fuente Opus X room. The Opus X is one of the highest rated cigars. There were around 20 or so rollers, in this room each rolling a specific cigar type. Carlos Jr. explained that there is only one person that rolls each type of Opus X, and that if person happens to go on vacation or becomes ill, production for that size of cigar ceases. A roller is capable of only producing a little more than a box per day. It stands to reason that these cigars are so prized that they have been sold for up to $80 USD each on the secondary market.

The next day we ventured into the country side to see Carlos Jr.'s passion, the Cigar Foundation. (cf-cf.com). Cigar wrappers, the leaves that hold the tobacco, had never been successfully grown in the DR. Even though cigar production is a significant export for the DR, wrappers were imported from other countries. The Fuentes pioneered wrapper production in the DR and from this new industry a village evolved based on the significant need of labor to farm the wrappers. The unique growing area, was relatively far from any developed area. So even though this new industry provided lots of new good paying jobs, in a country and time when this was definitely needed, it created a bit of void for the next generation. This is where the Cigar Foundation came in. Through monies donated primarily from the Fuentes and Newman family, the Foundation developed a school for the children in the region that otherwise would not have been able to get an education. Over time this school turned into two schools with athletic facilities as well as a small health care facility. Many business, government, and entertainment leaders this cause, and at the school there is a wall listing these supporters, which reads like a who's who of renowed celebrities.