As of: March 7, 2024, 5:17 a.m
By: Laura Hindelang
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The travel provider FTI is in financial trouble.
It is not yet clear whether bankruptcy is imminent.
How reliable are the travel offers?
The Munich-based FTI Group, Germany's third largest travel provider, is in financial difficulties.
The financial situation at the group of companies, which includes brands such as 5vorFlug, Flugbörse, BigXtra and Sonnenklar.TV, has been tense for years.
The search for new investors is going slowly and the business figures in the new annual financial statements for 2021/2022 have also alarmed the travel industry.
FTI is trying to calm the situation with better prospects.
However, there is still a lot of uncertainty.
FTI has debts in the three-digit million range
During the Corona pandemic, the German state saved FTI from bankruptcy with 595 million euros.
As
Bild
reports, the group is still burdened with debts amounting to a three-digit million amount.
The high loans are currently saving the travel provider from bankruptcy.
In the new annual financial statements, from which the business magazine
Capital
quotes, it is stated that FTI's solvency "could only be ensured in the past financial year through shareholder contributions, government-backed loans and silent contributions as well as loan agreements with banks".
FTI is best known for package holidays to popular regions such as Egypt and Turkey.
© Ralph Peters/Imago
According to
Business Insider,
the FTI Group, which primarily offers package holidays, recorded an operating loss of 91.5 million euros on sales of 3.7 billion euros.
The equity ratio shrank to 2.4 percent.
The number also provides information about a company's risk of failure.
This is currently high for the travel provider.
Holidaymakers who have booked a trip with FTI still don't have to worry.
Holidaymakers receive reimbursement in the event of bankruptcy
“FTI is insured against insolvency through the German Travel Insurance Fund,” said the German Travel Association DRV when asked by
Capital
.
The North Rhine-Westphalia consumer advice center confirms to the business magazine that payments for package holidays are usually covered, even if the holiday is canceled.
If the tour operator goes bankrupt, the price paid will be refunded.
This also applies to all trips that are now being booked.
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According to reports, the tour operator itself is vehemently counteracting an impending bankruptcy.
For example, with the prospect of increasing sales.
In 2022/23, sales were 4.1 billion euros, around ten percent higher than the previous year, a company spokeswoman emphasized to
Business Insider
.
The numbers are currently expected to be even better.
Bookings for the 2024 summer vacation are a double-digit percentage increase over the previous year.
FTI would like to increase sales and earnings by a “significant double-digit percentage.”
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Travel agents are cautious about FTI travel
That's not enough for travel agencies.
They have repeatedly demanded clarity from the travel provider, as Marija Linnhoff from the Association of Independent Travel Agencies (VUSR) tells
Capital
in an interview .
As intermediaries, travel agencies rely on the commission paid out by the provider.
This is probably one of the reasons why people are currently being cautious and are only offering trips from FTI at the request of customers.
According to Linnhoff's estimates, most bookings are probably made via FTI's own travel agencies or via internet portals such as Check24.
The Munich-based company repeatedly refers to “specifically spread rumors”.
For example, there is speculation that Turkey and Egypt have already stopped working with FTI.
The company denied the
image
to Bild: “The representation is false and has no basis.” And further: “We are still one of the providers with the largest offering in both countries.
We are currently seeing particularly high demand for summer holidays in Turkey.”
The search for investors continues to be slow, but according to the group, it is making progress.
According to
Business Insider,
the US investor Certares is a possible partner.
Bild reports that DER
Touristik
has repeatedly expressed interest in taking over FTI.
When asked, the Munich-based group replied: “We are working with confidence towards a speedy conclusion together with our main shareholder, the banks and the representatives of the institutions responsible for Corona aid.”