Thomas Cook CEO: Plans Expanded Winter Offers To Boost Profit

13th Jul 2010 09:00

By Natali Schwab Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES FRANKFURT (Dow Jones)--Travel company Thomas Cook Group PLC (TCG.LN) is expanding its capacity for the 2010-2011 winter season in a bid to boost profit while growing naturally, Chief Executive Peter Fankhauser said Tuesday. "We want to grow, but naturally not at any price," he said. In recent years, the company consciously cut capacity to increase profit. Thomas Cook is able to expand its offerings for the coming winter through cooperation with holiday flight operator Condor and the use of air carriers such as Air Berlin PLC (AB1.XE), Germanwings and Tunis Air to various destinations, as well as through wider flight offers at prices updated daily. Prices for short and medium-haul flights will drop by about 2%, he said. Currency fluctuations between the euro and the dollar and the continuing rise in oil and fuel prices will be noticeable in prices for long-distance flights and will mean a slight increase of about 1%. -By Natali Schwab, Frankfurt Bureau; Dow Jones Newswires +49 69 29725500, [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 13, 2010 04:00 ET (08:00 GMT)