Who will replace

Who do you think will replace TCD, as the main travel company taking people to florida..

could first choice, thomas cook step in..?

Who will replace

I%26#39;m not sure TCD were the main travel company to Florida. First Choice, MyTravel, Thomas Cook, Virgin and probably others were bigger already

Who will replace

I agree, they were like no4, and never in the top tier for quality.

As a travel company XL were No3 in the UK market for all holidays, which considering their level of specialisation (Florida only in the US I think, Spain, Balearics etc.) was quite significant. They left something like 65,000 people stranded if memory serves, which is probably about 2 weeks worth assuming 2 weeks is the average Brit holiday. I understood they were the number 1 when it came to getting numbers into Florida and people like Virgin used to Charter their aircraft in the past which suggests they had a higher capacity than the others.

Getting to the point of the question, they may not be replaced, or if they are it will be slow as they had such a large share of the Florida market - not good news for Orlando/ Disney etc..

Maybe Ryanair or EasyJet will sniff an opportunity..

TCD / XL Airlines carried more people to Florida than any other single company. And the biggest operator to Orlando.

When they were using their 747 Jumbo%26#39;s they had 96 more seats in them than the standard configuration.

And a little over a 100 more passengers than Virgins as some of their passengers had flat beds.

But at the same time they gave ';ALL'; their passengers more leg room than Virgin or BA, because they were not wasting space on First class and VIP lounge bars.

XL demise will leave a big hole as it was third biggest operator in Britain and one of the biggest in Europe.

Its demise has already caused a government enquiry to be instigated for what was a comparatively small amount of debt, and with rising passenger numbers,and increased bookings.

It was a much bigger Holiday business than Virgin, and probably BA as well. They and particularly BA concentrate on Business class passengers with more money for each seat , but lots empty.

I have never been on a TCD / XL plane that had more than a hand full of empty seats

Monarch will get most of this business. And its got a modern fleet to do it.

I don%26#39;t think it will be Monarch. Not until they increase their leg room in economy or have seatback IFE. Thomsons, First Choice and Thomas Cook (who have now joined up with My Travel) already offer 33'; pitch.

There are more grumbles about Monarch%26#39;s flights to US than any other airline.

Thomson %26amp; First Choice have merged so they are the same company now.

%26lt;%26lt;XR759, Welcome to the USA way of doing buisness. I am sure when you end up looking at the books of this airline, the management will have all made big money, and you will be stuck!%26gt;%26gt;

You%26#39;re not wrong there. Heard the guy behind XL Airways has now started again with Kiss Air.

You%26#39;ve been warned!

If people want cheap flights (which was one o f TCD Attractions) there is only one way to do it.

Space on an aircraft is at a premium.

If you put in Flat bed seats which take the space of 3 economy seats you have to charge 3 times as much for them.

If you fill the aircraft full of economy seats you can get more passengers in and charge less.

If you dont have the expense of installing seat back TV%26#39;s (Which is very expensive) you not only cut down the cost of the equipment but the running costs for paying for a public entertainment licencecs for all the different films personal IFE systems offer.

From now on Thompson%26#39;s/ First choice %26amp; Thomas Cook / MyTravel will be the same prices as scheduled carriers.

Monarch who are Britains oldest airline, who have not stayed in business longer than anyone else by doing this wron, have always had a modern fleet know how to keep a head of the game. And they have done this without any subsidy or government hand outs .

They will continue to fly contract flights for any travel agent who can sell Holidays to the public.

Seat back TV%26#39;s , and flat bed seats are unnecessary expensive items to fly bodies from A to B. And like pay TV we are all soon to get, we will all have to pay for everything we get on board. Either at the point of delivery . Or included in the booking price at a inflated rate.

One way or another we will pay. there are no free lunches out there.