Jet2 displaced Tui as the biggest Atol-holder this week, increasing its licence to 5.86 million passengers, half a million more than Tui.

Tui’s market leadership has only once been displaced by a rival – in the 1990s, Tui, then known as Thomson, briefly lost its place to the former Airtours brand.

Speaking as he detailed Tui’s latest financial results, Tui chief executive Sebastian Ebel told TTG: “We have not benefited as much as Jet2 from the disappearance of Thomas Cook. We do see that as a challenge.”

Ebel indicated Tui would use dynamic packaging in order to regain its market leadership. Unlike Jet2, it is developing an app-based proposition and is in a broader range of market segments.

“We are very active to gain profitable market share and that is why we have defined a full range of activities,” Ebel said. “We want to be the market leader not just across passenger numbers. We are taking this challenge and want to grow stronger than our dear competitors.”

Market share

In his presentation, Ebel indicated strong sales and a positive outlook meant Tui was back in expansion mode following the pandemic.

“Our priority is to grow market share and gain more customers,” he said. “We are very strong in wholesale packages, where we buy aircraft and hotels long in advance. There is no reason why we should not be as strong in dynamic packaging.”