It’s that time of year when people’s thoughts turn to the annual holiday. Like anything else here in the UK Travel Agents once a mainstay of any British High Street have changed.
In this post we remember Lunn Poly, remember? Lunn Poly…Get away
Summary
Lunn Poly was, once, the largest chain of Travel Agents in the UK, originated from two successful travel agencies established in the 1890s, the Polytechnic Touring Association and Sir Henry Lunn Travel.
The two firms were bought by the British Eagle airline group in the 1950’s who combined the two firms to form Lunn Poly in 1965.
The company became a nationalised industry as part of the Transport Holding Company. In June 1971 travel company Sunair bought the nationalised Lunn Poly for £175,000. A year later, in 1972, the company became part of Thomson Travel Group.
Lunn Poly was an early trade innovator, by splitting its leisure and business travel. High street shops concentrated on package holidays, whilst specialized offices served the needs of business and industry.
This business model was highly successful throughout the 1970’s and 1980’s. By the mid-1990s Lunn Poly was the largest travel agency in the UK.
Where Did they Go?
Travel giant TUI acquired Thomson Travel who owned Lunn Poly. In 2003 they rebranded Britannia Airways as Thomson Fly, at the time they insisted that there we no plans to rebrand Lunn Poly.
However in November 2004 an announcement was made that all Lunn Poly stores would be rebranded to Thomson.
Today the Thomson name has also disappeared and shops trade under the TUI brand.
Commercial Break