Jetset Travelworld Group is reviewing its commercial deal with the Breakaway Travel franchise following the demise of one of its agents, Breakaway Fairfield.
The agency was part of Rokaca Pty, trading as Bravo International Holidays, and owned by Joseph Sammut.
Sammut had a 50% stake in a company called Mazstar which jointly owns the Breakaway Travel franchise.
A creditor’s meeting of Rokaca, which has gone into liquidation, is scheduled for tomorrow,
Nervous management of JTG is now considering ending its commercial deal with Breakaway, an agreement which dates back to 2009.
Air Tickets general manager Russell Carstensen confirmed the deal is under scrutiny, both on the air ticket consolidation side and Jetset Travelworld. Breakaway tapped into land deals negotiated by JTG.
“We will be looking at our relationship with Breakaway bearing in mind recent events,” Carstensen said.
It is unclear whether JTG will be among Breakaway Fairfield’s creditors, but the business is believed to have owed several hundred thousand dollars to the International Air Transport Association.
George Vella, a fellow director of Mazstar and of the Breakaway franchise, said his family would take sole ownership of the businesses. Other investors “would be considered”, he told Travel Today.
He added that it was business as usual at Breakaway, arguing the failure of one agency — albeit one whose owner had a shareholding in the franchise — did not undermine the network.
Vella added that he saw no reason why the deal with JTG should not continue.
Vella, 66, and Sammut, 65, have worked together for more than 30 years with the two directors recently differing over the future direction of Breakaway with Vella favouring a relationship with JTG and Air Tickets while Sammut preferring the development of his Bravo air consolidation business.
