Thomas Cook Airlines

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Thomas Cook Airlines is a British charter airline based in Manchester, United Kingdom. It serves all the main holiday resorts in the Mediterranean and more distant countries from Belfast International Airport, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Nottingham East Midlands, Glasgow, London Gatwick, London Stansted, Manchester, Doncaster-Sheffield and Newcastle. Its main bases are Manchester (MAN) and London Gatwick (LGW).

From 5th November 2007, MyTravel Airways became an subsidiary of Thomas Cook Airlines Ltd, ahead of full integration in March 2008. Thomas Cook Airlines UK Limited holds a United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority Type A Operating Licence: it is permitted to carry passengers, cargo and mail on aircraft with 20 or more seats.^[1]

[edit] History

The airline was established on 1 September 1999 and started operations on 27 March 2000. It was created as JMC Airlines through the merger of Flying Colours Airlines and Caledonian Airways, following the integration of the Carlson Leisure group with Thomas Cook, which bought both airlines under common ownership in October 1999. JMC Airlines was renamed as Thomas Cook Airlines UK on 30 March 2003. The airline is owned by Thomas Cook.

The airline operates for a number of tour operators but Thomas Cook Tour Operations is the main user of the airline. Thomas Cook Airlines launched its own seat only service in 2005 under the name Fly Thomas Cook.

Thomas Cook Airlines, with tour operator Canadian Affair, offers flights to Calgary, Toronto, Vancouver, Halifax, Montreal and Ottawa from Birmingham, London-Gatwick, Manchester, and Glasgow airports in the United Kingdom. The flights to Eastern Canada are operated by re-configured Boeing 757-200 aircraft with 187 seats and 35" seat pitch. The Western Canada flights are on Airbus A330 aircraft.

The company can trace its routes back to three diffent airlines Flying Colours Airlines Limited (incorporated on 24 January 1996), Airworld and Caledonian Airways. It changed its name to JMC Airlines Limited on 28 April 2000. The company changed to its present name, Thomas Cook Airlines UK Limited, on 31 March 2003.^[2].

Thomas Cook AG & MyTravel Group PLC merged to form Thomas Cook Group PLC in June 2007 and opened on the London Stock Exchange, with KarstadtQuelle retaining a 51% stake in the new company. Thomas Cook Airlines and MyTravel Airways will be merged into one airline under the name of Thomas Cook Airlines for summer 2008, with a fleet of Airbus A320, A321 and A330 aircraft along with Boeing 757 and 767 Aircraft.

[edit] Fleet

The Thomas Cook Airlines (UK) fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of October 2007)^[3]:

• 3 Airbus A320-200
• 3 Airbus A330-200
• 16 Boeing 757-200
• 2 Boeing 757-300

In August 2006, Thomas Cook fleet average age was 9.4 years. Also, since the Thomas Cook Group took over Mytravel, the aircraft from MYT now operate for Thomas Cook.

Summer 2008 will add a few new types to the Thomas Cook fleet, 2 Boeing 767-300 and 4 Airbus A321 all of which come from MyTravel. Other aircraft such as A320's and A330's will also be joining the fleet.

[edit] Livery, Interiors and Uniform

All Thomas Cook Aircraft are painted in the white, with the blue and yellow Thomas Cook logo on the rudder. A light blue covers the underbody of the aircraft. The aircraft's cabins feature blue fabric seats and carpets. The same applies on the Boeing 757 transatlantic aircraft, but the seats are leather with a greater seat pitch of 35". From Summer 2008 the longhaul fleet of A330's will all have leather seats with a seat pitch of 33" in the economy.

The Airbus A330 aircraft also feature seat-back entertainment.

The crew wear the stylish blue and black uniform designed by international fashion designers. Blue waistcoats are common for female crew and black for males.

[edit] Awards

• FlightOnTime.info Runner-Up UK Charter Airline for Punctuality - Summer 2006
• FlightOnTime.info Most Punctual UK Charter Airline - Summer 2002 & Summer 2003
• FlightOnTime.info Most Punctual UK Charter Airline - Winter 2002/03 & Winter 2003/04

[edit] External links

• Thomas Cook
• Thomas Cook Airlines
• Route map
• Fleet Age
• Photos
• British Photo Database

[edit] References

id:Thomas Cook Airlines pl:Thomas Cook Airlines