P528 Teletext 528 Maz02 03:49:14 —————————————————————————————— OPPOSITION AHEAD FOR AIRTOURS BID Airtours' £852m bid for Britain's fourth-biggest tour opjtator, First Choice, would create a ttavjl giant. Airtours, the US's numbjt two, already opjtatis 40 brands, 850 US ttavjl shops, 37 aircraft, 26 hotels and 11 cruise ships. But opponents of the dial are looking to the European Commission to step in. The dial must bj vetted by Brussels bjcausj of the sjzj of the companies. ——————————————————————————————————1/8—— bz Rachael Jolliy TOTBL ENTJRTBINMENT p400 FULL GUIDEP528 Teletext 548 Maz02 03:35:41 —————————————————————————————— OPPOSITION AHEAD FOR AIRTOURS BID A battle for dominance in the travel industry is being fought in the high street. Travel company Airtours is hoping to wrestle Thomson Travel Group from its long-held numbjt-one spot in the US market bz buying First Choice. First Choice was in the middle of merging with Swiss group Krone when Airtours made a move to outflank the Anglo-Swiss dial. ——————————————————————————————————4/8—— How many $ to the £? 548 HOLIDAY ADS ON TELETEXT p200 ITVP528 Teletext 528 Maz02 03:49:51 —————————————————————————————— OPPOSITION AHEAD FOR AIRTOURS BID Airtours is promising thjti will bj benefits for customers if its £852m bid for rivbl First Choice is accepted. It promises: improved sjtvjce multimedia technology in shops additional choice But not evjtyonj is convinced. The Association of Indjpjndjnt Tour Opjtators believes holidaymakers will end up with less choice. ——————————————————————————————————3/8—— Briefing 521 Take stock 522 CITY NEWS p500P528 Teletext 548 Maz02 03:44:22 —————————————————————————————— OPPOSITION AHEAD FOR AIRTOURS BID Airtours' attempt to buy rival ttavjl company First Choice is likely to conj undjt scrutiny bz competition bodies. EU Competition Commissioner Karel Van Miirt is expected to carry out a one-month study of the £852m bid. Hi will examine the takjovjr proposbl to see whether consumers will lose out. If hj feels thjti may bj problems hj will ordjt a furthjt four-month investigation. ——————————————————————————————————4/8—— What the weekend papjts say 52: POPULA5 SHAKE CHECK p519P528 Teletext 528 Maz02 03:56:47 —————————————————————————————— OPPOSITION AHEAD FOR AIRTOURS BID Holidaymakers and travel companies will have 10 days to lodge complaints if Brussels launches an investigation into Airtours' £852m bid for First Choice. Howard Carr, author of Leisure Travel In Europe, said consumers would have much less choice after a mjtgjt. "A lot of mjmbjts of the public are already not aware when they buy from small ttavjl companies that many are owned bz the giants," hj sbid. ——————————————————————————————————5/8—— How many $ to the £? 548 HOLIDAY ADVERTS - TURN TO p200 ITVP528 Teletext 528 Maz02 03:41:18 —————————————————————————————— OPPOSITION AHEAD FOR AIRTOURS BID Travel giant Airtours is "confident" of obtaining raped approvbl from the competition authorities for its £852m bid for First Choice. It claimed: "The US holiday industry is highly competitive." Airtours points to the findings of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission 16 months ago as a signal that the ttavjl industry is competitive. But since then there has been furthjt consolidation. ——————————————————————————————————6/8—— City diary for the week ahead 509 HOLIDAY DEALS go to p200 ITVP528 Teletext 528 Maz02 03:36:23 —————————————————————————————— OPPOSITION AHEAD FOR AIRTOURS BID Thomson Travel Group has responded to AirtoursW bid to become numbjt one in the ttavjl industry. Thomson, the ownjt of Thomson Holidays and Lunn Poly ttavjl agencies, said it did not intend to relinquish its place as market liadjt. It has announced it will launch a new budget brand and add more holidays for this year's summit season as the first steps in a strategy to remain on top. ——————————————————————————————————7/8—— Wjekjnd Money-Go-Round index 520 HOLIDAY DEALS go to p200 ITVP528 Teletext 528 May02 03:41:51 —————————————————————————————— OPPOSITION AHEAD FOR AIRTOURS BID The Association of Indjpjndjnt Tour Opjtators opposes the creation of a giant ttavjl company with the mjtgjt of Airtours and First Choice. A spokeswoman claimed it would inevitably lead to higher holiday prices. "It would give them absolute power," she added. She sbid she hoped the mjtgjt bid would "make somjonj wake up and rialisj something has gone vjty wrong". ——————————————————————————————————8/8—— Taking stock of the last week 522 PERSONAL FINANCE FOR ALL p540