Travellers abroad could be losing out when it comes to exchanging their currency depending on where they bought their notes in the UK, research by a consumer organisation suggests.

Which? magazine exchanged £500 at currency exchange shops in 10 different places in Britain on a particular day in March and discovered “significant” differences in the number of euros they were given.

In London and Glasgow, Which? researchers were given 578.50 euros, but they only received 565 euros in Birmingham, Haverfordwest and Sheffield.

Researchers found their best Thomas Cook offer of the day in Sheffield at 585 euros, while it found the worst Thomas Cook offer was in Manchester at 553.80 euros – a difference of more than £25 that could be used to cover airport transfers to or from an airport.

Marks & Spencer, however, gave the same currency exchange rates throughout the UK and Sainsbury’s also offered very similar amounts in all their branches tested. According to Which? there were also occasional, but uncommon, differences in the amounts offered at different branches of Asda and Tesco.

The consumer organisation urged holidaymakers to shop around for their currency exchange rates, as there were considerable variations in the amounts given by internet and central London outlets across eight weeks.

Which? executive director, Richard Lloyd, said: “Holidays don’t come cheap and these anomalies don’t help hard-pressed consumers. Currency providers need to make sure their rates are consistent to ensure a fair deal for everyone.”

TUI Travel, the owner of Thomson Holidays, has revealed its summer bookings have improved, fairing considerably better that its main competitor, Thomas Cook.

The company, Europe’s largest tour operator, revealed that overall trading was in line with expectations, with bookings as of March 25 down 6%, compared with a 7% decline published two months earlier. Winter bookings are currently 90% full – an improvement on last year’s performance.

TUI went on to reveal that almost half of its summer programme was booked, while the average selling price was up around 8%. Its performance continues to outperform the market and it continues to make gains on Thomas Cook.

Its improved performance was driven by demand for holidays exclusively available through TUI, but disappointing sales of holidays in North Africa, where the Arab Spring hit tourism hard, has affected the company’s overall performance.

Thomas Cook went on a publicity offensive when it encountered financial difficulties last year, with adverts in national newspapers reassuring customers that it was safe to book holidays despite fears of its collapse.

TUI, which offers holidays departing from a number of airports in the UK, including Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Luton, wasted little time in seeking to capitalise on its rival’s misfortune by taking out its own advertisements, which said: “Another holiday company may be experiencing turbulence, but we are in really great shape.”

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Scores of Britons are preparing to enjoy a relaxing getaway, as summer bookings with Thomson Holidays owner TUI Travel outpaced the market during January.

Cashing in on the woes of rival Thomas Cook, which saw its summer holiday sales tumble, TUI Travel fared better than most.

The tour operator said cumulative bookings in the UK as of January 29 were 7% lower, but this compared with an 11% decline as of November 29. Meanwhile, bookings were flat in January alone, compared with a 14% decline in the market as a whole.

Growing numbers of TUI bookings were made online – 49% of January bookings made for winter holidays came through its website, compared with 39% last year, while 42% of summer bookings have been made online, compared with 36%.

Rival Thomas Cook, plagued by uncertainty over the firm’s future prior to a £100 million lifeline from its banks, saw its summer holiday sales tumble 33% in the first two weeks of this year.

However TUI, Europe’s biggest tour operator, acknowledged that weak demand for North African destinations saw operating losses in the three months to December 31 widen by 27% to £109 million.

Flagging demand for getaways in this part of the world have been driven by the ongoing political turmoil in the region.

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There has been a rise in the cost of living for people in the UK, and now it looks like the cost of flying is to go up at one travel company as well.

Thomas Cook has announced that an increase in the price of oil means it is having to charge travellers a fuel surcharge on flights.

Prices vary depending how long the flight is, with surcharges ranging from £7.50 per person to £40.

From Friday, all Thomas Cook Airlines’ bookings for flight-only and package tours leaving from all UK airports it flies out of will have the surcharge added on.

It will apply to the brands Thomas Cook, Airtours, Sunset, Manos and Club 18-30.

Ian Ailles, Thomas Cook UK and Ireland mainstream chief executive, said: “We’ve worked hard to keep the impact of the rising fuel costs on our holidaymakers to a minimum but the fuel levy is an unavoidable result of the rising price of oil.”

The travel giant is not the only company to feel the effects of the rising price of oil, and the subsequent increase in jet fuel costs – which in the last twelve months have gone up by more than 40%.

Last week, Willie Walsh, the chief executive of the British Airways-Iberia merged company International Airlines Group, warned of possible fuel surcharges across the industry.

Holiday companies Thomson and First Choice said they were also imposing fuel surcharges.

The operators offer regular flights from many of the major UK airports, including Stansted and Gatwick.

Copyright Press Association 2011

Thomas Cook Airlines has finished bottom of a Which? Holiday magazine survey on customer satisfaction, it has been revealed.

The carrier was voted bottom of an 18-airline satisfaction rundown for short-haul flights. Thomas Cook only scored 37 points in a survey of 5,745 Which? members about their most recent short-haul journey.

Airlines have been rated in a survey measuring customer satisfaction

Switzerland airline Swiss (72) and Aer Lingus (71) topped the table for short-haul journeys. Ryanair, which counts Luton airport among its base, also finished towards the bottom of the table.

Air New Zealand (86) claimed top honour in the long-flight journey satisfaction list. The highest-placed UK airline among long-haul passengers was Virgin Atlantic (67), which operates out of Stansted among other UK airports, in seventh place. British Airways (58) was 11th and First Choice (51) was 14th.

South African Airways came bottom of the long-haul chart with a score of 37 after 2,987 Which? members were questioned over their latest experience.

Copyright © Press Association 2010