Patrick Whyte

Inquiries like these are often pretty brutal on company executives. Former CEO Peter Fankhauser shoulders a lot of responsibility for what went down at Thomas Cook, but he's not the only one at fault. The actions of his predecessors, as well as the UK government itself, are likely to also come under scrutiny.

We get it, startups often have to accept substantial losses in order to quickly expand a particular business. But given the size of Culture Trip's revenue and the market in which it operates, it's difficult to see why investors have pumped more than $100 million into the business.

Airlines aren't always the most customer-centric businesses so any move to make things easier to understand should be welcomed. As usual, we'll believe it when we see it.

Given the state of the traditional retail industry, on the surface this appears to be a risky deal. But Hays Travel is a profitable, growing business and will probably have secured the assets at a knockdown price. The company knows better than most how to make shops work.

Each airline failure, of course, includes a number of problems related to the specific business. In Europe, at least at the moment, many of the smaller players that found they could once eke out a living on the edge of the market are no longer able to do so.

Thomas Cook's collapse was a disaster played out in slow motion. An ill-fated acquisition spree, a bloated retail footprint, and a commoditized product left it unable to deal with changes in consumer behavior and economic shocks.

Thomas Cook wasn't just a UK business: It had operations across Europe, some of which were pretty profitable. They're now in a race against time to secure their future and find new owners.

Expedia, Webjet, and On the Beach all had exposure to Thomas Cook, but given their size they can probably handle it. It's the smaller tour operators and travel agents that will be the hardest hit.

The bankruptcy and liquidation of Thomas Cook is a monumental blow to the travel industry. The collapse of the company will continue to have ripple effects across the industry for a long time to come.

Saga is making a big bet on cruising with its new ships and will be hoping that Brexit doesn't scupper its plans.