Europe Weekend Review: Ryanair Smells Blood at Norwegian + Trivago's Pivot

The Travel Industry's Daily Agenda-Setting Newsletter

July 28, 2018 View in browser

Editor' Note For much of its existence Ryanair took a pretty relaxed approach to customer relations. This all changed in 2014 with its "Always Getting Better" campaign. The airline would — in the words of CEO Michael O'Leary — stop "unnecessarily pissing off" its passengers. Unsurprisingly, treating passengers better proved to be a commercial success. Revenues continue to grow and the airline made an annual pre-tax profit of almost $2 billion this year. But while Ryanair was fixing one problem, another appeared. Pilots and cabin crew across its markets are staging walkouts and making a series of demands aimed at changing work practices at the airline. Ryanair is keen to play down the numbers involved, but at the same time has decided to use the nuclear option to try and win back control. This week it announced it was cutting its fleet at its Dublin base this winter, "partly as a result of recent rolling strikes by Irish pilots." While some investors might cheer the airline's hard-line approach, others aren't so impressed. "Antagonizing the workforce in the context of labour disputes is a very risky strategy, and will likely lead to greater union membership and higher strike participation, effectively increasing a union's bargaining power," said Bernstein analyst Daniel Roeska. When Ryanair moved to accept unionzatiation last year it looked like the start of a new era. How quickly things have changed. — Patrick Whyte, Europe Editor New Skift Research Report: The State of Online Travel Media 2018 The early phase of travel planning in the U.S. is still laptop and desktop heavy, and travelers have a wealth of options for getting destination inspiration. Subscribe today for the Skift Research take on 48 online travel media publishers. Learn More Top Stories Ryanair Plans to Capitalize on Norwegian's Problems With Norwegian and others out of the way, Ryanair would have access to more pilots and probably be able to reduce its aircraft costs. Amadeus Hospitality Is a Tough Sell Despite Progress With InterContinental Hotels Group Amadeus hopes to clear some of the underbrush that's grown up in hotel technology. If it succeeds, it will likely reshape the costs and systems used for selling rooms industrywide. Trivago Lays Off Staff in Strategy Shift to Emphasize Profitability Over Growth A lot of Trivago's problems, including an advertising diss from Booking Holdings, are beyond the company's control so it is doing what it can, namely reducing advertising spend and headcount in an attempt to get into the black. Speaking of Booking Holdings, Trivago may need a dot-com-like Priceline comeback to right the ship. AccorHotels Sets Up $1 Billion Fund With Qatar Partner to Focus on Africa So much for being asset light. However, this strategy does align with previous comments AccorHotels' CEO has made about wanting to lead in emerging markets, Africa included. British Airways Owner Poaches Flybe Executive to Run Low-Cost Carrier Level IAG has big plans for Level and with a new dedicated CEO, we can expect further expansion. The only question is what would happen to the carrier if the airline group added Norwegian to its growing family. AccorHotels Takes $288 Million Hit on Onefinestay and John Paul Investments Uh oh! Is this the start of Accor's ambitious acquisition strategy unraveling or simply a bump in the road? Oral History: Ebookers and LastMinute Deals Showed Mergers Can Be a Blood Sport When mergers go awry, it isn't always merely because the acquired company was a dog. Sometimes the purchaser likewise screws the whole thing up. Ryanair's Summer of Strife Dents Profits It's been a difficult few months for Ryanair, with many of its problems showing no sign of abating. Still, Ryanair remains in robust financial health. And if fuel prices keep rising and capacity doesn't fall, we should expect it to come out on top. Radisson Hospitality in the Dark Over HNA's Plans Given HNA's willingness to sell many of its other assets, offloading the Radisson Hotel Group looks like a likely scenario. Meliá Hotels Wants to Address Overtourism by Focusing on Quality Over Quantity The travel industry is still trying to figure out the best way to deal with overtourism — but just the fact that so many players are talking about the issue is a good thing. Small Luxury Hotels of the World Appoints New CEO As the big hotel companies increase their focus on soft brand collections, it'll become even tougher for collections like Small Luxury Hotels of the World, Relais & Châteaux, and Leading Hotels of the World to compete. Ferret has some stiff competition to battle in the coming years. Ends Tonight! Save 20% On Your Ticket to Skift Global Forum You're almost out of time to take advantage of huge savings on your ticket to Skift Global Forum! Use the promo code LOYAL when you register — but act fast! Sale ends tonight at 11:59pm. Rest of the World 5 Great Summer Reads From Skift It's summer. Slow down. Take a breath. And catch up with some of Skift's best deep dives and enterprise stories so far in 2018. Every One of Expedia Group's 23 Brands, Explained Check out our Skift Takes on Expedia Group's brands for consumers and businesses. Time for some #realtalk. American Airlines Legend Bob Crandall on How Mergers Led to Increased Inequality Bob Crandall called it in the late 1970s, saying airline deregulation would be the ruination of U.S. aviation. You can credit the retired American Airlines chairman and CEO with consistency as he argues that airline mergers — and mergers in general — have contributed to capital accumulation at the expense of workers, and the demise of small cities. Hotel Direct Bookings Remain Flat Despite Big Marketing Push Overall guest satisfaction with hotels in North America is at an all-time high. Still, that doesn't mean the hotel industry should be congratulating itself; there's still work to be done. Walk a Few Miles and Earn Points: New Location-Based Loyalty Program Launches A new loyalty program aims to reward travelers for everything from taking a walk to road tripping across the country. But will users find the rewards to be worth the cost of sharing their location data? For Gmail users: If you are using the tabbed inbox, Skift emails may be pushed to the 'Promotions' tab. To get updates from Skift direct to your primary inbox, drag and drop this email to that tab. You received this email because you are subscribed to Skift Daily Newsletter from Skift.

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