TUI to phase out Thomson and First Choice

Popular holiday brands Thomson and First Choice are to be phased out by Tui Group, the company has announced.

Instead the company will be selling holidays under a single brand.

This follows recent news that the UK and their German counterparts will be merging, a process which may take as long as three years. WORDS: PA.

The company is also planning on selling its booking website, LateRooms.

According to the Guardian, Joint chief executive, Fritz Joussen said: "It is not a secret that I am not a fan of having lots of brands."

The merger will also include the airlines owned by the group which include, Thomson Airway, Jetairfly, Arkefly, TUIfly and TUIfly Nordic.

The world's largest travel and leisure company was created in 2014 when Tui AG and Tui Travel merged to form one company.

Sky News reports that Thomson and First Choice served 5.2 million holiday makers last year alone.

Peter Long, joint chief executive, has said that the regional European brands would be phased out first, including those in France and the Netherlands.

Thomson was started in the 1960s by press baron Roy Thomson who also owned The Scotsman, The Times and The Sunday Times.

A statement released by the company said: "Our post-merger integration process is ahead of our original plan. Our growth phase is gaining momentum."

Related articles:

Thomson Airways unveils plans for family booths and couples' pods on planes​

Manchester-bound holiday plane 'plummets 500ft a minute' after engine failure

Passenger thrown off Egypt to Manchester fight after 'threatening to kill everyone