Tripsta SA, the parent company of travel sites Airtickets.gr and Travelplanet24, announced on Thursday the suspension of all new ticket sales as part of a radical restructuring of the Greek-owned firm, which has also resulted in the sacking of 180 employees from its Athens headquarters.
According to sources, clients who have already acquired airline tickets on the two websites will be served as planned, nevertheless.
In an announcement, the company noted it was compelled to take such radical action because of the “causeless and unfair” aggressive behavior of “specific multinational reservations systems management and ticket distribution companies.”
Media report that Tripsta apparently owes IATA 75 million euros, with market analysts pointing to 80 to 85 percent of the sales coming overseas.
The negative development comes after another major such online operator in the Greek market, airfasttickets, stopped operations in June 2014.
Tripsta S.A. Official Statement
Tripsta, the parent brand of airtickets®, has officially announced that the Group’s operations will be significantly restructured within the following months. At this time, the issuance of new airline tickets is temporarily suspended.
In spite of the organization’s constant efforts to deal with the unjust and unexpected behavior of certain partners and specifically multinational global distribution systems, Tripsta and airtickets® were unable to withstand the unfair and aggressive behavior that was directed towards them.
A new business plan had been recently implemented that was performing with positive results. This plan included an innovative agreement with the International Air Transport Association (IATA)—who represent 290 airlines around the world— for the repayment of their financial obligations and had a favorable outcome for all parties involved.
Unfortunately, certain partners who expected temporary benefits rather than standing assets, undermined this agreement and prevented Tripsta and airtickets® from successfully executing their plan, and ultimately from surviving. These partners created such a massive liquidity problem that made it impossible for Tripsta and airtickets®to continue functioning properly. It goes without saying that Tripsta and airtickets® are taking legal actions to seek justice for this unethical situation. Since this legal process will be time consuming, the difficult decision was made to restructure the organization and suspend the issuing of future airline tickets. The organization’s first priority in this process was to fully protect and provide all accrued and legal compensation to their employees and pay off any required payments to the State.
Tripsta and airtickets® were, and still are, the largest Greek companies in the industry and the only ones that competed directly with multinational competitors (who will be the only ones benefiting from today’s development).
Tripsta and airtickets® websites are functioning normally. Any tickets that have already been issued and all current reservations remain valid. The management and employees will remain dedicated to serving their clients throughout this turbulent time. Tripsta and airtickets® will continue to provide information on further developments in the coming weeks.
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