To not understand the fixation about Thomas Cook being bailed out

[EL8888]

I am confused by the petitions and fixation about bailing Thomas Cook out. Let’s have a reality check. Money is tight anyway and Brexit isn’t helping. This is going to be a tough winter especially in the NHS and probably quite a few extra people will die. Why spend £200m on essentially what is a random company. Yeah people will be made redundant but it’s just one of those things. I’ve been made redundant and it’s not pleasant but there are other jobs out there

On the very surface of it it’s 200 m to bail out now and hope it rights itself or 600m to repatriate all those currently overseas.

That’s really top line though and there’s far more actual costs involved

The bosses havent shared their wealth in their good days, so why the hell as a taxpayer should I help bail them out. Monarch repatriation cost Us £60m. There should be enough in reserves to cater for getting people home.

Because if TC cant be kept going, the government needs to foot the bill for getting everyone stranded abroad home.
Of course, there us no guarantee that bailing them out now wont result in needing 600m to get all the stranded holidaymakers home 6/12/18 months down the line!

@Singlebutmarried exactly, l am sure it will spiral from £200m!

@AlwaysCheddar exactly all of this!!!! They should be insured for the repatriation, as should the holidaymakers. Why is it everyone else’s problem? Even if we did have the money

I don't know and haven't got enough economical knowledge to be any kind of relevant voice- but surely 9000 jobs (people who will be claiming benefit next week) a load of landlords will be left with empty shops, and thw upfront cost of 600m vs 200m is pretty worthwhile?

They're one of the biggest employers in Peterbrough, I'm not sure the city can afford so many to people to lose their jobs...

Peterborough sorry.

This isn't just a handful of people losing their jobs though is it?

I had assumed your travel insurance would cover the cost of repatriation, I didn't realise the government stood the cost. But yes, they don't share their profits so why should the taxpayer foot the bill either way?

How do the government decide what is worth shoring up? I know RBS got a bailout during the financial crisis, but am I right in thinking that British Steel didn't get one?

I wonder how many of the people that think there should be a publicly-funded bail-out for Thomas Cook also think that we shouldn't have had 9 years of austerity which has led to significant job losses in the public sector and consequent reduction in services we all use?

Personally l wouldn’t have bailed anyone out. It’s normally throwing good money after bad. The Thomas Cook situation is definitely that. They have been flying close to the wind for a long time and it’s not a sustainable model anymore it would appear. I didn’t like her (or her politics) but Margaret Thatcher was right about the miners. There’s no point propping up things that can’t survive and wasting money

Exactly @SquidgeyMidgey during the good times they didn’t pay more tax etc then they needed to. I’m sure they dodged tax like a lot of bud companies but now want a handout

Sorry

I had assumed your travel insurance would cover the cost of repatriation, I didn't realise the government stood the cost

The government has not paid for the repatriation flights.

The money comes from the ATOL fund, administered by the CAA and funded by the airlines and the passengers themselves (£2.50 per ticket) in order to provide an emergency fund for exactly this type of event and to avoid the government being landed with the bill.

The CAA holds £170m in funds and has a £400m insurance policy in place to deal with this.

TC has debts of 1.7 BILLION. If there was just a cash flow problem then I could understand the government bailing them out. However, with debts that large they are a fundamentally broken company and any money the government put in now would unfortunately be throwing good money after bad.

To say ‘It’s £200m to bail out versus £600m on repatriation’ is far too simplistic. That £200m is not a one-off payment that will save the company and keep it going forever. It won’t solve the fundamental issue behind the collapse - namely that the days of people needing a travel agent for every trip are gone and are not coming back.

Whilst I’m sure there is still a market for all-inclusives and the like, it’s so easy (and often cheaper) nowadays to book you own flights and accommodation in a couple of clicks. What will this bailout do that will put the company in a strong and sustainable position a year, two years, five years down the line?

"flying close to the wind for a long time"

Did you swap sailing for flying on purpose? They're doing neither now!

They should be insured for the repatriation, as should the holidaymakers

1. not government but ATOL fund repatriation

2. travel insurance does not cover airline etc insolvency as standard

TC had structural problems with its business model which caused it t be heavily loss making for years. If the government had stumped up £200m of our money to keep it going, it would only have done so for a few months, then it would have hit another crisis and needing another bail out.

It is very significant that a company with such a strong brand could not find a buyer.

Privatise profits
Socialise losses

Seems good

Yes it is ridiculous. Why bail out Thomas Cook, and not other companies that have gone into administration (eg toys r us or BHS)? It's not the role of the government.

After this though I think that the government should introduce regulations where every flight bought has to have repatriation insurance added to it. Or regulations that travel insurance policies have to cover essential things like repatriation, and state that it needs to be compulsory for travel, like car insurance.

We shouldn't ever be bearing the cost of doing this again.

If anyone should be bailed out (& I'm not saying any should be) it was Wrightbus!

We can't afford to bail them out. And let's face it with brexit happening this won't be the only company to go under. This is just the beginning. We are going to need that money to fund the extra benefits etc.

They ruined their business yet still managed to find massive bonuses. It's their fault. They can take responsibility for a change.

£200 million of public money... Get away!