Online agency Travel Up has launched a holiday packages division staffed by a team of ex‑Monarch Airlines employees.
The Berkshire-based agent has opened a temporary office in Luton, where Monarch was based, ahead of securing a permanent base for its packages arm.
The new fully-fledged tour operating division will be headed by managing director Tracy Sharp, who will start next month having been recruited from rival online agency Jetline Travel.
A ‘Holidays’ tab has been added to the Travel Up homepage and the operator estimates the new division will generate £50 million of sales by March 2019.
The holidays division was set up by a team of former Monarch executives who were brought in by Travel Up on a consultancy basis.
They established operations, product and marketing functions, creating 11 full-time roles to which Monarch Airlines and Monarch Holidays staff have been appointed.
Travel Up founder and chief executive Ali Shah said: “We see online holidays as a real growth opportunity for us. We already have a very strong online presence in flight and accommodation‑only, so ramping up our holiday business is a logical next step.
“Since October, we have worked with ex-Monarch executives to drive this project and to enable us to be live before the January peaks.
“We have also taken the opportunity to expand into short-haul and city breaks to complement our existing long-haul strengths.”
More than 1,800 people were made redundant when Monarch Airlines collapsed in October.
Travel Up is the parent of Bookable Holidays, Holiday Genie, Bravo Travel and Magic Holidays.
The group carries 400,000 customers a year.