Thomas Cook's bookings pick up

25th Mar 2010 07:27

Tour operator Thomas Cook has echoed bullish comments from rival TUI and reports a steady increase in bookings for the Summer as consumer confidence recovers."As the Winter 09/10 season draws to a close, trading has continued to show steady progress and Summer 10 bookings have continued to pick up across all major markets. The board remains confident that the group will perform in line with its expectations for the year," it said.Winter bookings are moving towards planned capacity levels, with changes in average selling prices broadly in line with those reported at the beginning of the season, it added. Aircraft utilisation has been good, with the departed load factor to date ahead of last year at 93%.For the Summer, sales have increased in recent weeks, Cook said, resulting in an improvement in the cumulative booking position across all our major markets. Cumulative average selling prices have continued ahead of last year in the UK and Northern Europe.