Monarch hails the trade as summer sales rise by 50%

| June 14, 2017, 08:14

Monarch has revealed a 50% growth in bookings this summer thanks to increased trade support following a rise in commission last year.

Immediately after sealing a dramatic 11th-hour refinancing from owners Greybull Capital last October, chief executive Andrew Swaffield flew to Abta’s Travel Convention to deliver the news.

He thanked delegates for their support during a difficult time for the carrier and Monarch Holidays commission levels were later raised for the peaks in January as it sought greater third-party support.

Nine months on, Gary Anslow, Monarch Holidays sales director, said: “Trade sales are really strong. After Abta we put new commercial agreements in place with all our trade partners. Everyone is earning more than they were before. This was our way of saying thanks.”

Anslow said the operator also doubled its above-the-line marketing spend this year. For the first time Monarch Holidays, not just the airline, was on TV.

A new trade website has also gone live, which Anslow said had boosted conversion rates and lifted the online share of trade bookings from 50% a year ago to 65%.

Monarch’s on-the-road sales team has increased from seven to 11.

Monarch Airlines has also been working to increase trade engagement for flight‑only following the decision to restructure under a unified team and ditch the Avro and First Aviation B2B brands.

Dawn Hardwick, head of trade sales and distribution, said Monarch was working more closely with OTAs and agents packaging up beach, ski and city-break hotels, offering low deposit deals and commission on ancillaries such as bags.

“Usually a third of our flight-only revenue comes from the trade but that’s increasing and this financial year to date it’s 35%,” she said.

“Since November we have pretty much seen the same passenger volume we did in the whole of last year. We have seen double-digit growth with the trade.”