Belleair to sell Ryanair flights
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Belleair Holidays has announced it is to package its holidays with Ryanair flights from mid-December.
The tour operator is working with the low-cost carrier to increase its departure points from the UK and capacity into Malta, which will include flights from Edinburgh, Glasgow and potentially Bournemouth.
“We started packaging with easyJet a year ago and were unaware how popular it would be,” Richard Gamber, sales and marketing manager at Belleair told Travel Daily at WTM. “The new Ryanair deal will also be web-based so can be integrated into systems seamlessly and they will be protected by our ATOL licence. It is a natural progression for us.”
Belleair’s CEO Martin Zahra added that the company is still a preferred partner to Air Malta and will also look to offer flights from Ireland again thanks to the new Ryanair deal.
“We have a stronger deal with Air Malta for continuity [after Belleair was sold off by the airline earlier this year] but we are always looking for incremental business and airports. Our travel agent support is strong and every airport we operate from we have seen a good response,” he explained.
Routes from Ireland could commence as early as January with protected packages for customers. Air Malta pulled flights from the region a while ago but Belleair had continued to offer accommodation-only.
Brochure vs. online
In addition, Belleair unveiled its new 2013 brochure at WTM which has no prices but an insert listing prices instead.
“We will update prices on a regular basis, the market changes so often now that we have to show the latest prices and offering, which will be mirrored on the website” explained Gamber. With tour operators thought to be moving brochures more online, Zahra defended its print brochures saying that there is a significant sector that still uses brochures to plan a holiday.
“There has been a change in what the customer wants to find out in a brochure, they want more information and what to do, but I believe the brochure is still the place and retail agents need the tools,” he said. “A number of travel agents were linked up to ViewData and needed that tool so we supported that, but the situation is changing so we have to re-assess that. ViewData will be shifted to other networks but we are still committed to agents so if they want that, it is there”.
Looking back on 2012 so far Zahra admitted the company faced a slump during the Olympics but was “delighted” at its business considering the economic environment. Its response for summer 2013 is also looking positive.
