News

THE RIFT between Thomson and Airtours is set to widen as a tit-for-tat battle erupts over each other’s advertising tactics.

Thomson has vowed to press on with a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority, despite a climbdown by Airtours, which resulted in toned down advertisements in the national press.

Meanwhile, Airtours has made a counter-attack on Thomson’s new advertising campaign, which claims the TUI operator’s ‘differences’ make it number one.

The initial row was sparked by Airtours’ slogan ‘We’ve cut prices. Others have cut corners’ to accompany its second-edition 2003 brochure launches. Airtours has now dropped the advert after a complaint from Thomson that it suggested lower health and safety standards.

But the replacement advertisement ‘We’ve shrunk our prices. Others have shrunk your holiday’, which is running indefinitely, has failed to appease Thomson.

TUI UK managing director Chris Mottershead said: “We are less disgruntled than we were but we are still not happy. We’ve not shrunk our holidays. We have given the client a choice of services. It suggests we have taken services away.”

Thomson is in the process of filing a complaint to the ASA, although it has dropped its legal action after Airtours changed its advertising. It is still refusing to rack MyTravel products.

Mottershead added: “We will guard the Thomson name to the hilt. It has concentrated on quality to a greater degree than any other operator. To be attacked on it is unpalatable.”

Airtours managing director Seamus Conlon pulled the original advertisement after conceding a potential health and safety issue but said the operator’s sales had leapt by 20% since Thomson took its products off sale.

But he hit back at Thomson’s advertisements that claimed its reps, number of flights and satisfied clients make it the number one UK operator. “We have asked Thomson to clarify the fact it is number one because we are wondering how it came to that conclusion,” said Conlon.

Thomson maintained its campaign focuses on its points of difference and is particularly aimed at drawing in independent travellers.

Lunn Poly adverts are also planned from Thursday with the slogan ‘We go further’ and a headline discount to promote summer 2003.