The chaos at the airports cost TUI 75 million euros in the third quarter. The press release accompanying the quarterly figures states that "irregularities, particularly in British air traffic," led to the additional costs. It is about 200 canceled flights at Manchester Airport. According to TUI itself, 96 percent of all guests in the months of May and June got to their holiday destination on time or with a delay of less than three hours.
Without the additional costs mentioned above, the adjusted Group EBIT would have been EUR 48 million, making it the first profitable quarter for the TUI Group since the start of the pandemic. Although the company was able to increase its sales almost sevenfold to 4.43 billion euros, the adjusted profit before tax for the months of April to June was again negative: a loss of 27 million euros. The TUI Group speaks of an "almost balanced quarterly result" and expects a return to the profit zone for the year as a whole.
reason for optimism
The remaining figures also give Europe's largest package tour provider every reason to be optimistic. Between April and June, the third quarter for TUI, the number of guests was 84 percent compared to 2019. This means that 5.1 million people traveled with TUI in the reporting period. TUI already has 11.5 million holidaymakers this summer. Group-wide, bookings are 90 percent of the level of summer 2019. According to TUI, this value increases again for the months of July to August.
The CFO and designated TUI boss, Sebastian Ebel, said when presenting the numbers: "People want to travel." Holidays are still the top priority for planned expenses – nothing has changed about that. At TUI Deutschland in particular, bookings have risen by around 20 percent since the last update in May compared to the comparable booking status for summer 2019. This means that the demand for trips within Germany is even greater at TUI than before the Corona pandemic.
Germany popular travel destination
At the same time, the Federal Statistical Office reported an increased interest in domestic travel for June: The accommodation facilities in Germany booked 48.9 million overnight stays by domestic and foreign guests for June, an increase of 60.5 percent compared to June 2021. The number is there According to the Federal Statistical Office, it is almost back to the pre-corona level. Due to the pandemic, a temporary ban on accommodation for private travelers was imposed. Last year it was lifted at the end of May after seven months.
Despite the chaos at the airport and higher prices, the longing for vacation travel among Germans is unbroken. TUI has observed two trends and considers them to be intact: holidaymakers continue to book at short notice and at the same time spend more money on their trips. The average prices for summer 2022 are at a very high level with an increase of 18 percent. According to TUI, holidaymakers are booking more package tours and higher-quality services such as room upgrades and longer stays.
Joussen successor wants to make TUI profitable again
TUI manager Ebel will take over the management of the group at the end of September after long-time boss Fritz Joussen left early at his own request. Not all problems have been solved, Joussen said, with a view to the high level of debt and the losses incurred as a result of travel restrictions during the pandemic. "But the crisis itself has been overcome, that was my concern." Successor Ebel explained that the return to profitable growth is now the top priority.
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