UPDATE 2024 – Please note TUI has changed their vision from 2023 onwards. I have created a new 92-page document for all TUI 2024 applications.

This blog is dedicated to inspire those considering the TUI MPL Pilot Cadet Programme 2022-23 (which I will explain below). I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Please note – I am making notes on the webinars and the AGM – this will be uploaded in due course.

Pilot Cadet Programme – background.

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Who is the ‘LIVE HAPPY’ brand?

TUI is the world’s only fully integrated end-to-end holiday provider. What do I mean when I say that? They offer a unique business model with physical and virtual touch-points that covers the booking phase as well as the flights, hotels and the ‘Things to Do’ at your destination! In order to achieve this TUI has an extensive portfolio of tour operators, travel agencies, airlines, hotels, cruise-liners and TUI employees across major destinations all over the world. As a customer this gives you the confidence  

TUI Strategy Diamond

TUI’s strategy for growth is defined by their ‘Strategy Diamond’. This focuses on growth in Holiday Experiences and Market & Airlines surrounded around a central customer ecosystem. In order to drive growth implementing effective sustainability agenda and focussing on their people is key. One way TUI will see growth is through their ‘asset-right growth’ approach through joint ventures with suppliers and hoteliers to market and design the experience (I cover this concept of asset-right approach in more detail later on). Another method is through the Global Hotel Fund which was recently launched by TUI and focuses on the expansion and collaboration with suppliers and franchise partners. Upgrading their fleets will prove to be vital – for example, adopting new-build ships and replacing older vessels in the Marella fleet.

In 2023, it will prove vital for TUI Musement to focus on growing customer demand as travel confidence increases post-pandemic and customers put in effective financial planning contingencies in response to the living crisis. Therefore offering more products and a better online interface will be important for TUI. Hence TUI strategy is to focus on customer demand, product offer and digitalisation. More products means new tours, excursions, mobility, multi-day city tours and destination passes

They create unforgettable moments and those moments that make life richer. Having a TUI experience at the age of six – I’d bet all my toy planes that I’m in some sort of dream – a relaxed, stress-free family holiday? Impossible! It’s always the case – Parents arguing over which tour guide to choose, a crazy aunt giving 100 reasons why the hotel is unsafe and even my sister convinced the holiday is ruined when certain activities and excursions are no longer available! With TUI’s end-to-end service you know what to expect and can book your entire experience before setting foot onto the plane! No arguing, no crazy hotel theories and no breakdowns in the middle of the street! How exciting.

TUI Board – as of December 2022

The history of TUI in a nutshell.

If you’re like me and love visual aids. Here is a visual aid I created to explain the history of TUI in colours:

Segments at TUI

These segments include:

TUI Hotels and Resorts
TUI Musement
Airlines
Cruises

Airlines

TUI Musement is one of the largest digital providers in the onine market. This goes for tours, activities and experiences – with TUI everything is connected – Market & Airline customers then become customers of TUI Musement. The above point is incredibly important, and I want you to make note of this. All other tourism/leisure brands in the world only produce, source and distribute. However, TUI is the only brand with thousands of TUI employees stationed internationally to deliver these experiences personally. The customer has access to multiple digital and physical touch-points – this offers them digital and human interaction. This a key example of customer-centricity and building long-term relationships.

Who are their customers in the Musement industry?

• TUI Customers: book via reps, TUI digital assistant (TDA) or TUI experience Centre (TXC).
• B2B strategic clients: E.g. Airlines, cruiselines or tour operators.
• B2C Open Market Customers: All travellers across the world can book tours.

On-demand TUI Seminar: ‘How digitalisation is delivering unmatched customer experiences’

On-demand seminar: Cloud tech and delivering unmatched customer experiences. Below I write a summary of what I picked up on from this talk. I would recommend watching the entire talk – I found it really insightful. For those interested click here.

This was a talk hosted by Slalom and AWS in collaboration with TUI. Slalom, a management consulting company and AWS, a cloud software company are suppliers of TUI. They are a key link in ensuring TUI achieve their digitalisation ambitions – to connect with the customer on online platforms and be able to interact with customers in far more unique ways. Pieter Jordaan is the Chief Technology Officer heading up transformation at TUI. Pieter spoke about the importance of digitalisation to TUI and their customers – as holidaymakers there’s nothing more stressful than sifting through paperwork or various online apps and portals to find out ‘which gate we’re boarding from’ or ‘which bus do I go on and where to?’. Therefore adopting a more integrated digitalised system to offer a smooth experience is key.

Having a cloud software is vital in this day and age – and TUI knows this first hand – This has helped TUI in two ways. The first way is during COVID 19. In this period many airlines collapsed – TUI saw a sudden surge and influx in traffic. Moving to the cloud helped control this sudden influx and enabled TUI to be agile – as a result customer experience and satisfaction remained unaffected. The second way it helped TUI was to transform the customer experience. Cloud services enable the deployment of servers to develop and roll out applications – particularly when it came to the app it helped transform the customer experience.

As Pieter mentions – the cloud is the oxygen. The cloud is an opportunity for TUI to do more – and hence digitalisation is mentioned many times in the annual reports as this remains a key focus for TUI. We need to remember TUI operates globally – across 13 + markets. Therefore, having the cloud allows there to be one platform for a single TUI ecosystem. This is important as this allows information to reach all markets at the same time. The cloud has the benefit, impact and speed to reach goals – it has the ability to tackle complex workloads to drive customer value. When we mention customer value – what do we mean by this? How does digitalisation and the cloud helped the customer in particular? It helps them in many ways. One way is scalability – the ability to automate information means information is easily available across all markets and platforms – TUI can now add new products whilst you’re still on holiday and you will have access to this right away allowing you benefit from newer, more exciting excursions than you had at your dispensary before! Not only this but the transition of products and experiences to the cloud creates a digital experience using the various services available – improving the overall customer experience with the digital interface. Investing more into digitalisation is an exciting prospect for TUI as it allows to innovate much faster and provide benefits right away. In addition to this, machine learning is another exciting prospect – the idea of handling multi-dimensional data, identifying trends and patterns and enabling continuous improvement will lead to: better customer experiences, more customer relationships and more market share.

What is TUI all about?

What is their focus as a company?

• A customer associating reliable travel and TUI in a single sentence is extremely important to them. It can’t be JET2, Lastminute nor Loveholidays. But TUI. It has to be TUI the first time and every time. TUI knows this and that’s why it’s pioneering ways to achieve this through flexible, personalised experiences, sustainability, customer-centricity and an employee focus. So let’s TUI it! (as the HR director says).

The culture at TUI

Well-being support

• Training and support: Health and Safety training for all employees. In addition to mind and body programmes for specific roles.
• Well-being weeks

Learning and Development

• Change Learning Hub – How to Respond to Change
• Learning lounge – offers general learning to professional learning centred around your division
• Leadership academy – virtual sessions, Q&A, e-coffee sessions with board members
• TUI Masterclass: life-long learning
• TUI employees have allocated work time to attend professional development TUI employee
• Global VIBE leadership model
• Spotlight initiative

Other support

• Global 360 programme set up by TUI: help-to-work scheme internationally.
• TUIWorkwide – enabling employees to work up to 30 days abroad p/a (launched in August, 2021)
• Flexible working arrangement – childcare support
• Open-plan offices with unique interiors and inspiring views (New Work @ TUI scheme)

Diversity and Inclusion

• TUI has employees from 120 + nationalities
• TUI follows “Freedom within a framework” approach
• Spotlight initiative – encourage women into leadership (since 2016)
• Unconscious bias training
• Piloting unbiased job adverts – UK&I recruiting teams
• Signed the Diversity charter (signed 10 years; 3000 other companies on it)

Promoting leadership

• Global TUI leadership model – called VIBE. This has been developed to enable employees to become TUI leaders. I.e. I wish to become a TUI captain in the future – this would be highly relevant to me.

The VIBE model:

• V: Vision (define your strategy)
• I: Inspire (create engagement + share strategy + lead by example)
• B: Build teams (right people, right positions)
• E: Execute (Empower, motivate,)

The four Global TUI leadership programmes

• One of the four programmes is called Digital Strategy Execution Programme (Digital. STEP)

This aimed at senior leaders to become better leaders. It involves:

• Driving change: 2 day launch workshop.
• Leading self: identify macrotrends.
• Leading others: build teams.
• Leading strategy: use smart, practical tools for better communication.
• Sustaining change: share and make progress.  

The other programmes are mentioned below:

• Perspectives: For high potential, emerging leaders
• HOW 2: For new leaders
• Horizons: For senior, high potential leaders

TUI and Sustainability

TUI aims to reduce carbon emissions in line with the Paris Climate Agreement (2030) and TUI objectives – Net Zero by 2050. For TUI, off-setting is a last resort – rather they create processes to reduce emissions.

One of the reasons I admire TUI and apply to their cadet programme is their relentless contribution to sustainability. TUI is a market leader in sustainability and want to continue to be that way – for example, it introduced the first sustainability department in tourism (30 years ago).

How emissions work in aviation

TUI airlines and TUIFly – Amongst the best!

TUI is a market leader in pioneering for sustainability and want to continue its work. For example, TUI airlines and TUIFly are amongst the first airlines to be scientifically audited for carbon emissions. In the Airline Index for most carbon-efficient airlines TUIFly and TUI airlines are always at forefront. An example of this is – In the latest survey (2018) – they were 1^st and 4^th out of 125 airlines.

So already TUI is doing incredibly well. They have one of the world’s most carbon-efficient fleet of modern aircrafts. But they are relentless to become pioneers and market leaders. I will explain what they are doing in more detail below.  

TUI’s sustainability focus

• Better Holidays, Better World
• Force for good
• Positively contribute to communities, reduce footprint and create sustainable tourism

Four core pillars of sustainability in TUI

• Step lightly: Reduce environmental impact of holidays
• Make a change: people and communities
• Lead the way: Pioneer
• Care more: Best place to work – where people are passionate

One way we as consumers can achieve this is to donate to TUI’s Care Foundation – which is doing a phenomenal job in helping locals and communities.

TUI Care Foundation

• Harnessing new opportunities through education and training for young people.
• TUI Academy – empower careers.
• TUI Junior Academy – empower young talents.
• TUI Future Fund – Reach out to young children in distress.
• Vocational training, internships with conditional job offer.

TUI – People, Progress and Planet

The introduction of the 3 P’s in sustainability – People, Progress and Planet. Sebastian Ebel makes reference to this in annual report (2022).

The 3 P’s in sustainability at TUI has recently been launched – People, Planet and Progress. It has introduced this in order to TUI group to achieve their net-zero emissions across operations by 2050 (latest). They are already focussed on prevention through submitting their SBTi’s (explained above) which shows their dedication and interest to see where to focus on to reduce emissions. An example of a big project to reduce emissions is the destination Co-lab Rhodes project – which I will explain as you read along.

Below are examples how TUI is becoming sustainable across the board globally.

Fair Travel – Belgium/Netherlands

• Package holiday – with a sustainable certified hotel, sustainable mobility and the customer automatically contributes to the TUI Care foundation – support locals. (€2 per person also matched by TUI)
• Electric charging stations – Curacao, Aruba and Bonaire

Futouris – Germany

• Initiative to reduce plastic waste in Ibiza and Majorca
  TUI Magic Life and Robinson Club hotels involved in this initiative
• Installation of water dispensers for free water re-fills/compostable coffee cups

TUI Green IT award

• Awarded every year by TUI
• Honours company that demonstrate sustainability and best practises – TUI suppliers
• Apply to one of three categories:

People (Human rights protection initiatives, IT processes, diversity/inclusion)

Planet (reduce server emissions, reduce water wastage, better greener options)

Progress (NGO partnership; bridging digitalisation; sustainable transformation via collab/innovation)

TUI partners with Cepsa for SAF

• Cepsa will provide Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) to TUI
• Reduce emissions up to 80% compared to traditional kerosene
• SAF produced from biomass, waste material or renewable energy
• TUI already amongst the most carbon-efficient airline in the world

Destination Co-lab Rhodes project

• This is sustainability project to transform Rhodes, Greece into a blueprint for sustainable tourism transformation.
• This is currently in the pipeline with TUI in partnership with the Greek Government and Southern Aegean.
• Internal SteerCo has been set up for internal employees from all departments to send ideas for the Co-lab project.

The four cornerstones of focus for Destination Rhodes:

• Creating green economic growth – modern mobility/fuel transformation.
• Develop a circular economy – benefit to locals, training/education.
• Restoring biodiversity and protecting the natural environment.
• Strength the positive social/economic tourism impacts.

Opening a sustainability Academy

• TUI plans to open a digital “Sustainability Academy”
• Employees can get information and training on sustainability
• This will be available to all hotels – to encourage implementation across all hotels.

Science based Target initative (SBTi)

• TUI is focussing on reducing emission, instead of off-setting.
• They are planning to reduce emissions from aircrafts, hotels and cruises.
• They have submitted its targets to the SBTi for validation.
• The science based target initiative involves renowned organisations like the UN Global compact and WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature).
• This will help TUI to draw up a roadmap based on scientific findings and invite climate experts to help TUI become net-zero before 2050.
• Great example of TUI being transparent and getting the numbers.

Using Photovoltaics to generate power – TUI Campus, Hanover.

• The Hanover campus is working to generate most of its power through photovoltaics
• This is the conversion of light into electricity.

Sustainability successes at TUI

Since 2008, they have reduced CO2 emissions from TUI airline by 14%. And today they are amongst the most carbon-efficient airlines in the world flying a modern fleet of aircrafts.

In their cruises business – there has been a 13/6% reduction in CO2 and again there is a focus to use sustainable fuel.

In their hotels business – 83% of TUI hotels and resorts are now sustainability certified. Offering customers a more sustainable way to holiday – which makes TUI unique against competitors that don’t have certifications (or an end-to-end holiday experience with modern, carbon-efficient aircrafts and ships).

Modern slavery

In accordance with the UK modern slavery act (2015) – TUI has taken preventative measures in modern day slavery and human trafficking. They are currently a signatory to the UN Global compact principles of human right, labour, environmental and anti-corruption (2014).

They are also a signatory to the UN world tourism organisation (UNWTO) global code of ethics (2012) and sit on Orphanage Tourism taskforce. Orphanage Tourism is where orphanages are visited by tourists – which can leave a sense of neglect and sadness when tourists leave (after receiving love and gifts). TUI actively agree on vision and actions to address orphanage tourism.

Other ways TUI is ethically contributing to a better world

• TUI operates a SpeakUp line for employees to report any infringement in policies – In 2019, 50 reports regarding modern slavery.
• UK Air crew receive Vulnerable children and trafficking training.

Financial reporting

Current global tourism as of now

Below is a graph showing the TUI Group Key Figures for Year 2022 vs 2021.

• Market and airlines

Reflection and looking to the Future

I always like to do a SWOT analysis. this looks at the strengths, the weaknesses, opportunities and threats. In this next section I will incorporate this in the best way I can.

Reflection – 2022 successes

• Over 16 million customers travelled with them.
• TUI worldwide was implemented successfully – almost 15,000 days spent abroad on average of 8.2 days.
• 7.9 million customers stayed in sustainability certified hotels.
• In the summer Market & airlines were back to 90% pre-pandemic levels (in customer numbers).
• Following successes and profits – TUI repaid the silent participation II to the Economic stabilisation fund (repaid their COVID government loans) (as of June 2022).

Issues and challenges

• War in Ukraine
• On-going impact of COVID
• Inflation and high energy prices
• Exchange rate fluctuations
• Summer delays at UK airports – ground handling staff/immigration staff shortages
• Compensations due to delays/cancellations at UK airports

Annual report – Sebastian Ebel – Success for 2023:

• According to Sebastian the secret to success in 2023 lies in three things:
• New products, more customers and more market share.

• For customers – this means more choice, personalisation and flexibility.

• TUI will continue to be their integrated end-to-end partner in travels and in their home country.
• Asset-right approach:

An asset-right approach is focussed on the Hotels & Resorts business. What Sebastian means by this is you don’t need to own the real estate to manage hotels successfully. For example, Marriot, Hilton and Hyatt don’t usually own the buildings. They design and manage hotel brands and experiences. This is what TUI plans to do more of – because it has worked in the past and their strong 70 + years of brand heritage will help them achieve it again!

Growth strategy in 2023

• More flexible, personalised packages – e.g. combine cheap flights + hotel at short notice
• New packages – e.g. city breaks
• Additional services to be offered separate in future, e.g. rental cars, excursions
• Implement the asset-right strategy (introduced in 2019) – develop + design the hotel / experience without outright owning the real estate – successful model other hotel chains do.
• Continue to be agile and flexible – during COVID, TUI flew back 200,000 home and provided capacity to other tourism companies.

I really hope this in-depth analysis into TUI does help all of you – particularly if you are deciding to apply to the TUI Pilot Cadet Programme and want to know more about TUI or whether they are the organisation you can see you career growth with. For me having spoken to a TUI pilot many years ago and having recently spoken to some TUI reps – I can definitely see myself starting my flying career with TUI and maintaining that through captaincy.

For those that are looking to apply or have applied – I hope you can take some pointers away from this post and they help you on your application process for the TUI Pilot Cadet Programme. If anyone has any questions, I’m happy to help – feel free to email me.

Happy flying.