I heard that Liberty Travel is being bought out is this TRUE???

I just heard it here at the office they say that some company from China is buying Liberty Travel, I am not sure if this is correct, if there are any Liberty Travel People here please answer.

Yes this is true, but not china, an australian company is buying them to have a better prescence in the us

www.reuters.com/article/consumerproducts-SP/idUSSYD15584320071111

MELBOURNE, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Australian travel firm Flight Centre Ltd (FLT.AX: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Monday it has agreed to buy U.S. travel retailer Liberty Travel for $135 million in a deal that will create the United States' 10th largest travel group.

Flight Centre plans to raise A$100 million ($91 million) in an institutional share placement to part fund the acquisition, the company said in a statement.

The placement to be launched on Monday will be led by ABN AMRO Morgans.

Flight Centre said the combined business would create the second-largest chain of travel agencies in the United States, with the addition of 193 stores along the East Coast, in Florida and Chicago.

Flight Centre Managing Director Graham Turner said the firm would gain access to an affluent client base and niche products through Liberty.

"The acquisition ... fast-tracks the business's evolution in this key market, as it would have taken years of organic growth and major financial investment to achieve Liverty Travel's results, size and market penetration," Turner said.

BNT do you work for them too? because my cousin says that they are going to be relocating her over this buy out...

No, I do not work for liberty..will this be a good move for her? or no

Well she is upset over the move, her husband does not want to relocate, but that is life... she makes more money so I am not sure what they are going to do.

She thinks they are gonna role top heads once the buy out is final... they are saying it was not a take over to look nice I guess. They say Liberty was hurting for a while it was that or go out of business, she is no doubt worried and worked there for a long time too.

I am sure she could do something else though with her education level and travel experience she could even open her own store. I already talked to her about YTB of course LOL...

But the Brick and Mortar types are just not feeling the work from home thing. She has gotten offers from quite a few Vendors as well so trust me she will do just fine.

That was my thinking, with that much experience I'm sure you can fill plenty of offers from vendors...where is she located if I may ask...

Here's a better article

www.forbes.com/prnewswire/feeds/prnewswire/2007/11/11/prnewswire200711111912PR_NEWS_USPR_____TO347.html

Arlenie in Old Bridge, New Jersey said: I just heard it here at the office they say that some company from China is buying Liberty Travel, I am not sure if this is correct, if there are any Liberty Travel People here please answer.

yes it is true

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Wow! Had no idea..

Best regards,
David
www.travellinesexpress.com
ebooks4life.blogspot.com

I've used Liberty for at least 25 years. What will change now that its been taken over? Will it still be home friendly? The offices are bright and cheery and my agent is super. She is so much at home at her job and does a really wonderful job each time for me and many, many others. I like that each desk is fixed so nice with little pictures of family around, so interesting and warm. I hope it doesn't become a cold place after the change. I realize that many agents cannot support their family on their salaries and that is not fair. They do one hell of a great job 5 days each week, have great sales for the company and really should be compensated for their diligent work, always with a smile on their face.

This is exciting news for everyone, starting with clients, but also Flight Centre or Liberty Travel staff. It's a very smart move since Liberty has great agents but needed a boost to keep the brick and mortar model successful, which Flight Centre is bringing along with a very young, dynamic, fun, open, corporate culture.

Unfortunately, this has not been a positive change for Liberty Agents. They have fired all support staff and cut everyones saleries down to $30K. Even the agents who had worked themselves up to $80 - $100K a year. Yes, there will be incentives but it is not the same. They are implementing a uniform policy that starts in the next couple months. A lot of agents have left. Now Liberty/Flight Centre is sueing them for leaving. They forced everyone to sign a contract last Oct. because of the takeover with restrictive policies on leaving or you would be fired. Such a shame. They never would of left if they didnt make it so difficult to work there. Most of the agents that left worked there for 18 - 28 years, not an easy decision for them to make. Lastly, they have changed their advertising, if you pick a package on the back of the NYT Times, call and try to get it, it will most likely not be available. Liberty used to have great advertising and they didnt advertise such false packages just to make the phones ring.

Mary,dont you feel the world is changing and lets face it,how long could Liberty Travel have gone without a massive infusion of capital,which came in from Australia. Lets wake up folks. God Bless.

I worked for Flight Centre in Sydney, and can tell you the negative emphasis from above is quite true. They guarantee a salary of AU$40k p.a. but if you earn less in the year with the incentive packages, they just pay you out the difference. The packages advertised are never ever available, and consultants (whose pay is a percentage of their commission) spend hours attempting to honor the price only to net $3. It is a very difficult and stressful environment. Even though it is an open corporate culture, it still is a corporate culture, and may have very negative effects on the levels of service customers of Liberty receive.