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10

2019 Ryanair To Continue With Fosun Buys Thomas Cook

6th, T h e Brand Name For $14.2m
November Job Cuts Despite Delays T h o m a s

C o o k
b r a n d

| After 737 Max Groundings name will
on
live
EXAMINER C h i n e s e
after the
conglom-
e r a t e
IRISH F o s u n
snapped
the
up
r i g h t s
from liq-
uidators
of the bust travel firm.
Fosun will pay $14.2m (£11m) to use the Thomas Cook
name and website, along with hotel brands Casa Cook and
Cook’s Club.
Millions of well-heeled Chinese tourists now visit Europe,
yanairhasheldfirmonplans months later than previously The company said it will be and Fosun is hoping to take a greater share of the market.
to cut pilot and cabin crew forecast. forced to “cut or close a num- Qian Jiannong, chairman of Fosun tourism group, said:
Rjobs after it revealed further Ryanair has therefore also ber of loss-making bases this “The group has always believed in the brand value of
delays following the grounding of reduced its passenger figure winter” due to the delays, Thomas Cook.
theBoeing737Maxplanes. forecasts for the next year, affecting pilots and cabin crews. “The acquisition of the Thomas Cook brand will enable
The budget airline said it while it said it had a “cautious” In July, the company said job the group to expand its tourism business building on the
now expects to receive its first outlook over fares for the next losses were “inevitable”, warn- extensive brand awareness of Thomas Cook and the robust
Max planes in March 2020, two year. ing that up to 900 jobs could go growth momentum of Chinese outbound tourism.”
as a result of soaring fuel prices The deal is likely to see a digital-only travel agent emerge
Ireland And Scotland To Hold Bilateral Talks and the grounded aircraft prob- under the Thomas Cook brand, with the new owners hoping
on Trade, Research and Culture lems. the 178-year-old business is still highly regarded by European

A review is taking place into It said it expects the aircraft travelers. C
how Ireland and Scotland can to drive improvements at the
develop links between the two business once they arrive, but The Brogue Means Business: Digital Irish
countries. that it might not see resultant Podcast Showcases Irish Innovation And
The Irish and Scottish gov- cost savings until the 2021 full Tech Talent To Global Diaspora
ernments have launched a bilat- year. Irish people at home and abroad are doing huge things in
eral review, which will look at In a video alongside the the tech and business world — but how do you give the 70+
areas where they already work results, chief executive Michael million-strong diaspora a glimpse at some of these achieve-
together as well as trying to find areas for future collaboration. O’Leary said there is “a real risk ments?
Key fields such as trade, research and culture will be included, that it would have no Boeing The Digital Irish Podcast will shine a spotlight on Irish
as well as initiatives such as the Irish-Scottish Health Forum. 737 Max aircraft flying next innovators and Irish-led innovation, sharing the success sto-
Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Simon summer if there are additional ries of entrepreneurs and corporate leaders that are making
Coveney and Scottish External Affairs Secretary Fiona Hyslop delays to the return to service an impact on the global market. With a diaspora of more
announced the joint initiative – which is the first review under- of the grounded aircraft. than 70 million, and a country with one of the highest num-
taken together by the two countries. “We have now reduced our bers of native-born people living overseas, Irish influences
It will be led by the Consul General of Ireland in Edinburgh expectation of 30 Max aircraft can be found in every industry. The Digital Irish Podcast
and the Scottish Government Hub office in Dublin, with a report being delivered to us in takes a globalized view to feature the Irish business commu-
to be published in the spring of next year, setting out a series of advance of peak summer 2020 nity’s essential contributions to the worldwide market.
shared goals for the five years up to 2025. down to 20 aircraft and there is Their podcast is split between tales of fortune and jour-
Mr Coveney said: “The age-old Ireland-Scotland relationship a real risk of none.” neys on the path of business. Each episode will feature one
has developed and deepened over the last two decades – facilitat- However, the business long-form interview with a successful and established entre-
ed by devolution in the UK; the Good Friday Agreement and the reported post-tax profits of preneur, corporate innovator or global leader, as well as two
establishment of the British-Irish Council; and the opening of our €1.15bn for the half-year to short-form interviews with Irish-founded startups. The long-
Consulate in Edinburgh. September, in line with the form interviews are candid conversations about the guest’s
“I am ambitious for the relationship, and want to build on same period in 2018. life and career, with stories of struggle and triumph on their
existing excellent co-operation, and identify new shared policy It also boosted revenues by journey to success.
areas where we can learn from each other, and collaborate for 11% to €5.4bn driven by a 11% The short-form interviews talk through the pains and tri-
the benefit of our citizens. rise in passenger numbers over umphs when starting a new venture. Startups will have an
“I urge all who care about the Ireland-Scotland relationship to the half year. opportunity to share an ask with the Digital Irish
engage fully with this review, which will bring new focus and Ryanair was buoyed by the Community - just like at their live events. The ask is typical-
energy to the collaboration between our governments in the opening of new bases in ly related to recruiting talent, raising funds, or introductions
years to come.” Bordeaux, Marseilles, to target customers. The goal is to strengthen this communi-
Ms Hyslop said: “Ireland is one of Scotland’s oldest friends, Toulouse, Southend and ty through the podcast so that Irish people around the world
linked by history, geography and culture. Berlin. can support each other to achieve success.
“In this era of global uncertainty it is more important than Nevertheless, the company The Digital Irish Podcast is hosted by Patrick McAndrew
ever that we seek to strengthen our relations even further, allow- said it had tried to avoid the and launched on last Monday on all major streaming plat-
ing us to improve in areas where we already work together and “unreliable optimism of some forms including Spotify, Apple and Google Podcasts.
identify new opportunities for collaboration.” C competitors.” C For more, digitalirish.co/podcast C