Travel firms accused of hiking prices after Thomas Cook demise

David Kirkwood posted screenshots on social media appearing to show how a Jet2.com holiday in Cyprus increased in cost by £800 between 7.30am and 11.30am on Monday.

Another disappointed customer with the Twitter username @westmitc said he planned to book a holiday with the firm last night but waited until today as he had a question to ask, by which time the cost had increased by £248.

A woman using the Twitter handle @cherrie2502 stated that she booked a Thomas Cook flight for £215 last week when a Jet2.com flight on the same route was £284, but the latter has now gone up to £511.

“Way to go on price gouging,” she added.

A spokeswoman for Jet2.com said: “Our pricing, as is common practice in the travel industry, is based on the principle of supply and demand.

“As supply reduces, an inevitable consequence is that prices increase. However, we are looking at adding more supply (flights and seats) to help customers at this time.”

Twitter user @azza78 said Virgin Atlantic flights to Florida have gone up by £400 since the announcement by Thomas Cook.

She told the airline: “Would be a lovely gesture if you price matched!”

A Thomas Cook customer booking replacement flights with Virgin Atlantic accused the airline of “making extra profit from people’s misery” after the price increased by £150 as he was completing the transaction.

Virgin Atlantic said in a statement: “We have not increased fares on specific routes that were previously also operated by Thomas Cook, nor have we changed any of our pricing policies since Thomas Cook ceased trading.

“We always want to provide the most competitive prices for customers wishing to book future trips with us, and as with all airlines, we operate a dynamic pricing system that is based on availability and demand.”