John Constable to leave Saga following travel division consolidation

Saga is to consolidate its cruise and holiday divisions, with current Saga Travel Group chief executive John Constable exiting the business.

Constable (pictured, left) will leave the company at the end of March, with Saga Cruises chief executive Nigel Blanks (right) taking responsibility for an extended remit including the Saga Holidays and Titan Travel brands as chief executive of travel.

The company said in an internal statement that the decision to “reshape its business” through consolidation had come “with both cruise and travel businesses performing very well”.

It added Constable had decided to leave the business to pursue other opportunities as a result of the change.

Constable said: “It has been a privilege to lead Saga Travel Group through some of the most challenging years in our industry.

“We’ve delivered significant revenue and profit growth, built on a customer-centric and people-first culture that will provide the foundation for sustained long-term success. I wish Nigel and the Saga Travel team all the very best for the future.”

Blanks added: “I am delighted to take on the leadership of the Saga Travel business. I’d like to express my heartfelt thanks to John for his huge contribution and I look forward to building on his great work to deliver further growth for both the cruise and travel businesses.”

Constable joined Saga in 2021 as chief executive of Titan Travel, before becoming chief executive of Saga Travel Group in January 2022. He was previously global chief executive of STA Travel and held senior roles within Tui UK and Austravel.

Blanks joined Saga in 1985 and oversaw the acquisition of its first cruise ship in 1996. He became chief operating officer of the company’s cruise division in 2018 and was appointed chief executive of Saga Cruise in 2021.

In a trading update at the end of January, Saga reported that its tour operating division has seen booked revenue for 2025-26 rise by 10% over this time last year to £126 million.

Passenger numbers were 11% ahead year-on-year at 39,000, the company reported in the update for the period from August 1 last year to January 29.

The company said the travel business was expected to report an underlying pre-tax profit in the “high single-digit millions”, compared with £1.5 million the previous year, reflecting revenue growth of around 15% and passenger growth of 9% on a comparable basis.

The over-50s specialist also reported “another excellent year” for its two-ship ocean cruise arm, building on momentum in 2023-24.

Pre-tax profit at the company’s river cruise operation continued to grow with a load factor of 89%.