TTG revealed in January that Tui had ended its agreement allowing First Choice and Thomson agents to sell Jet2holidays product in its stores and Cook confirmed on Wednesday that it too was ending its commercial deal with the firm.
In a conference call following the announcement of its first quarter results on Thursday, Thomas Cook chief executive Peter Fankhauser shrugged off questions regarding the announcement.
He said sales of the product had always been “minimal” while Freedom Travel Group members would be allowed to continue selling the product due to their independent business models.
Cook said in a statement on Wednesday: “This is about Thomas Cook increasing its focus on our own holiday offering.
“We’ve consistently said that by concentrating on our own-brand hotels and resorts, along with a portfolio of carefully selected partner hotels, we can ensure that our customers receive the best quality and service during the most important weeks of their year.
“We believe we have the best holidays on the market and we know our customers buy more of our own holidays from us than anything else.”
Steve Heapy, chief executive of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, said: “It’s not unexpected that Thomas Cook has ceased to sell Jet2holidays as a result of its in house distribution strategy.
"Our focus has and always will be independent travel agents.
"At Jet2holidays we are committed to further increasing our support for independents with even more joint marketing activity and expanding our field sales team.
"There is now a fantastic opportunity for our independent retail partners to grow their business with us.
"They are now the only place on the high street where people can book our award-winning package holidays.
"Why would any customer want to look any further than their local independent travel agent?”
