Thomas Cook bosses were stuck in the past – its downfall was inevitable

In a market increasingly concerned with customer service and online competition, it is clear the travel agency lost its way, writes Chris Blackhurst

Thomas Cook was one of the last travel agencies to keep stores on the high streets (iStock)

A few years ago, I was asked to assist Thomas Cook on a media crisis engulfing them after the deaths of two children on one of their package holidays. The children, Christi and Bobby Shepherd, aged six and seven, died of carbon monoxide poisoning from a faulty hotel boiler while on holiday in Corfu in 2006. A very public row developed over the firm’s handling of the tragedy. One of the central charges was that no one senior from Thomas Cook had met the children’s parents.

By the time I was involved, a new CEO, Peter Fankhauser, was in charge. But the backlash against Thomas Cook had not gone away – in fact, it was worsening. We suggested to Fankhauser that he should show his human side, that he should meet the parents, and tell them how he shared their pain.

He did, and it worked. Suddenly, at least where the claim the company was uncaring was concerned, a cloud was lifted. It was brave of Fankhauser to see them. He did so in the full glare of publicity, knowing that emotions were running high, and, even though it was a private meeting, fully aware that anything he said might be made public and be open to misinterpretation.