Thomas Cook, the popular UK-based travel agent, announced this week that they were going to take the reins of Essential Travel through the acquisition of Essential’s parent company Think W3.

If the deal is approved by the FSA, as expected, it will be a real boon to Thomas Cook’s portfolio of travel services they are able to offer customers.

A Nice Coup For Thomas Cook

Essential Travel have been around for about a decade and have established themselves as a leading online travel extras provider, with products ranging from travel insurance to airport parking to airport hotels with parking. The company reported gross assets of £2.5 million for the financial year that ended on the 31st of March 2009.

The Reasoning Behind The Move

Manny Fontenla-Novoa, chief executive of the Thomas Cook Group, said:

“We continue to believe a strong position in the direct travel insurance market is strategically important.

“Furthermore, we expect that together with the experienced directors of Essential Travel, we can build upon our respective strengths to enhance Thomas Cook’s position in both travel insurance and other travel services such as airport parking and airport hotels.”

Tell Us What You Think

What do you think? Should service providers like Essential Travel try to remain independent to prevent just a few big companies from creating a stranglehold on the market? Leave us a comment and let us know.

Earlier this week, The Telegraph reported that a Muslim woman was believed to be the first passenger to be prevented from boarding a flight after refusing to go through Manchester Airport’s security scanner for religious reasons.

The woman was about to board a flight bound for Islamabad when she was randomly selected to pass through one of the new full-body scanners, designed to detect concealed weapons, explosives or other dangerous contraband.

She was warned by security staff that she would not be allowed to board her flight if she did not comply, but she decided to forfeit her ticket.

A spokeswoman for Manchester Airport said, “Body scanning is a big change for customers who are selected under the new rules and we are aware that privacy concerns are on our customers’ minds, which is why we have put strict procedures to reassure them that their privacy will be protected.”

Unfortunately, all the reassurance in the world won’t sway a person to discard their religious beliefs, no matter what the situation. Still, it’s hard to imagine anyone feeling comfortable boarding a flight with the knowledge that a fellow passenger had refused a scan and was still allowed on the plane.

Although Transport Secretary Lord Adonis has stated that passengers would not be selected for the full-body scan “on the basis of personal characteristics“, it will be interesting to see what conflicts may arise as the use of these scanners becomes more prevalent in months to come.

Tell us what your opinion is of these scanners by leaving a comment. Would you refuse to be scanned for any reason, even if it meant sacrificing your trip?

****************************************************************************************************************

Save a bundle when you pre-book your Birmingham Airport parking, parking at Manchester Airport or Liverpool Airport parking. Book now and save up to 60% off the standard daily rate!