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Founded | 1 September 1999 (as JMC Air) | ||||||
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Commenced operations | April 2003 (as Thomas Cook Airlines) | ||||||
Ceased operations | 23 September 2019 | ||||||
AOC # | 549 | ||||||
Operating bases | |||||||
Destinations | 82 (at demise) | ||||||
Parent company | Thomas Cook Group | ||||||
Headquarters | Manchester, England, United Kingdom | ||||||
Key people |
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Net income | £103.06 million (2018) |
Thomas Cook Airlines Limited was a British charter and scheduled airline headquartered in Manchester, England. It was founded in 2007 from the merger of Thomas Cook Group and MyTravel Group, and was part of the Thomas Cook Group Airlines. It served leisure destinations worldwide from its main bases at Manchester Airport and Gatwick Airport on a scheduled and charter basis. It also operated services from eight other bases around the United Kingdom. Thomas Cook Group and all UK entities including Thomas Cook Airlines entered compulsory liquidation on 23 September 2019.
The airline was created on 1 September 1999 as JMC Air Limited through the merger of Flying Colours Airlines and Caledonian Airways. [1] following the purchase of Thomas Cook & Son by the Carlson Leisure Group. It started operations on 27 March 2000, operating flights from 6 bases in the UK, offering seat-only bookings and bookings via Thomas Cook Tour Operations. In 2001, the airline became the first UK operator of the stretched Boeing 757-300. In April 2003, Thomas Cook AG rebranded its airlines under the Thomas Cook name brand. [1] [2] [3] [4]
In June 2007, following the merger between Thomas Cook AG and MyTravel Group to form Thomas Cook Group, on 30 March 2008, MyTravel Airways was merged with Thomas Cook Airlines. [5]
In 2013, Thomas Cook Airlines, Thomas Cook Airlines Belgium, Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia and Condor merged into a single operating segment of a group named the Thomas Cook Group Airlines. [6] [7] Thomas Cook Airlines carried around 6.4 million passengers during 2015, a six per cent increase compared with 2014. [8]
The airline fell into liquidation on 23 September 2019. [9] [10] Airlines around the world took part in ferrying stranded passengers back to the UK, using their aircraft. The repatriation effort covered 165,000 passengers, the largest in UK history, and 65,000 more passengers than the collapse of Monarch Airlines in 2017. [11] The last flight to depart was MT2643, Registration G-MLJL (Airbus A330-243) from Orlando to Manchester. [12] The airline's AOC was revoked on 7 November 2019.
Thomas Cook Airlines was part of the airline division of the Thomas Cook Group, which consisted of three more sister airlines, all of which had a joint fleet management: Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia, German-based Condor and Thomas Cook Airlines Balearics. The airline held a United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority Type A Operating Licence, permitting it to carry passengers, cargo and mail on aircraft with 20 or more seats. [13]
Year | Net Income | CEO |
---|---|---|
2010 | £21.418 million | Manny Fontenla-Novoa |
2011 | £32.03 million | Manny Fontenla-Novoa Harriet Green |
2012 | £54.61 million | Harriet Green |
2013 | £77.218 million | |
2014 | £24.878 million | Harriet Green Peter Fankhauser |
2015 | £85.347 million | Peter Fankhauser |
2016 | £171.952 million | |
2017 | -(£31.109) million | |
2018 | £103.061 million |
Year | Total passengers | Total flights | Load factor | Passenger change YoY | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2005* | 9,320,817 | 47,287 | 89.9% | |||||||||
2006* | 8,441,276 | 42,182 | 89.0% | ![]() | ||||||||
2007* | 8,528,655 | 43,013 | 87.9% | ![]() | ||||||||
2008 | 8,315,327 | 42,410 | 90.0% | ![]() | ||||||||
2009 | 8,202,534 | 38,849 | 92.0% | ![]() | ||||||||
2010 | 8,120,815 | 37,571 | 93.1% | ![]() | ||||||||
2011 | 7,969,693 | 36,103 | 93.3% | ![]() | ||||||||
2012 | 6,783,661 | 32,109 | 94.1% | ![]() | ||||||||
2013 | 6,084,315 | 28,438 | 93.1% | ![]() | ||||||||
2014 | 6,043,480 | 28,858 | 91.4% | ![]() | ||||||||
2015 | 6,395,623 | 30,601 | 91.8% | ![]() | ||||||||
2016 | 6,623,564 | 32,208 | 89.8% | ![]() | ||||||||
2017 | 7,319,546 | 35,553 | 90.2% | ![]() | ||||||||
2018 | 8,092,208 | 39,512 | 90.5% | ![]() | ||||||||
* Data for 2005 to 2007 includes MyTravel Airways Source: United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority [8] |
At the time of closure, the Thomas Cook Airlines fleet consisted of the following aircraft: [15]
Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
P | Y | Total | ||||
Airbus A321-200 | 27 | — | – | 220 | 220 | One in Cook's Club livery. |
Airbus A330-200 | 4 | — | 49 | 273 | 322 | |
3 | — | 49 | 265 | 314 | ||
1 | — | 52 | 261 | 313 | ||
Total | 35 | — |
As JMC Air, the airline has previously operated the following aircraft: [16] [17]
Aircraft | Total | Introduced | Retired | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Airbus A320-200 | 27 | 2000 | 2011 | |
12 | 2012 | 2019 | Leased from SmartLynx Airlines and Avion Express | |
1 | 2017 | 2018 | Transferred to Thomas Cook Airlines Balearics | |
Boeing 757-200 | 21 | 2000 | 2016 | Replaced by Airbus A321-200. [18] |
Boeing 757-300 | 5 | 2001 | 2019 | Transferred to Condor. [19] [20] |
Boeing 767-300ER | 3 | 2010 | 2017 | Withdrawn from use and converted to freighters for Atlas Air. |
McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 | 2 | 2000 | 2001 | |
The airline has used a number of callsigns:
Thomas Cook Airlines callsigns | ||
---|---|---|
Callsign | Dates | Airline |
KESTRAL | 1990-2002 | Airtours International Limited |
KESTREL | 2002-2007 | MyTravel Airways Limited |
GLOBE | 2003-2005 | Thomas Cook Airlines UK Limited |
TOPJET | 2005-2007 | Thomas Cook Airlines UK Limited |
KESTREL | 2007-2018 | Thomas Cook Airlines Limited |
THOMAS COOK | 2018-2019 | Thomas Cook Airlines Limited (before insolvency) |
Premium economy
Thomas Cook offered 'Premium Class' on most long-haul flights on board their Airbus A330 aircraft. [21] The cabin offered extra legroom, wider seats with more recline, personal entertainment, complimentary hot meal and drinks. [21]
Economy Thomas Cook's long-haul 'Economy Class' was offered on all Airbus A330 aircraft. It offered a standard 31-inch of seat-pitch, seat-back entertainment, and complimentary hot meal. [21] Drinks and additional snacks were available to purchase. [21]
Economy Thomas Cook's short and medium-haul economy cabin on their fleet of A321 aircraft offered a standard seat-pitch of between 28-30-inch at 6-abreast. Drinks and snacks were available to purchase on board or to pre-order and inflight entertainment was available. [22]
In 2017, the company introduced Economy PLUS, an upgraded economy class package on short and medium-haul flights. [23] This package included a priority security lane and check-in, an additional 4 kg of hand luggage, inflight drinks and food, access to in-flight entertainment and an option to reserve their seat. [23]
Malaysia Airlines Berhad, branded and operating as Malaysia Airlines, is the flag carrier of Malaysia. The airline is headquartered at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Malaysia Airlines flies to destinations across Europe, Oceania and Asia from its main hub at Kuala Lumpur International Airport as well as a secondary hub at Kota Kinabalu International Airport. Malaysia Airlines Berhad is formerly known as Malaysian Airline System.
First Choice Airways Limited was a British charter airline of European tour operator TUI Travel PLC, based in Crawley, England until its merger with Thomsonfly to form Thomson Airways in 2008. It flew to more than 60 destinations worldwide from 14 UK and Irish airports. 70% of the airline's services were operated for its parent company, rising to 85% in the summer season, with the remainder on behalf of some 120 other tour operators. It also operated scheduled year-round leisure routes to Cyprus and the resorts of Spain and Portugal.
Monarch Airlines, simply known as Monarch, was a British charter and scheduled airline founded by Bill Hodgson and Don Peacock and financed by the Swiss Sergio Mantegazza family. The company later became a low-cost airline in 2004 before abandoning charter flying completely. The airline's headquarters were based at London–Luton, and it had operating bases at Birmingham, Leeds/Bradford, London–Gatwick and Manchester.
Condor Flugdienst GmbH, is a German leisure airline established in 1955 with Frankfurt Airport being its main base. Condor offers scheduled flights to leisure destinations and operates, from Germany, medium-haul flights to the Mediterranean Basin and the Canary Islands as well as long-haul flights to destinations in Africa, Asia, North America, South America and the Caribbean. Whereas medium-haul flights are operated from many German airports, long-haul flights usually depart from Frankfurt, with a few rotations operated from Düsseldorf and Munich. Condor also operates charter flights.
JMC Airlines Limited was a charter airline in the United Kingdom formed by the merger of Caledonian Airways and Flying Colours Airlines, following the purchase of Thomas Cook & Son by the Carlson Leisure Group. JMC Air was named after the initials of the son of Thomas Cook, John Mason Cook. The airline was rebranded and remodeled in March 2003 to Thomas Cook Airlines UK. The airline operated flights from its 6 operating bases in the UK, offering seat-only bookings and bookings via Thomas Cook Tour Operations.
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MyTravel Airways Limited was a British scheduled and charter airline with headquarters in Manchester, England. It operated worldwide holiday charter services mainly for its parent company, the MyTravel Group. The airline merged with Thomas Cook Airlines UK Limited in 2008 and was renamed Thomas Cook Airlines Limited.
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Brussels Airlines is the flag carrier and largest airline of Belgium, based and headquartered at Brussels Airport. It operates to over 100 destinations in Europe, North America and Africa and also offers charter services, maintenance and crew training. It is a member of the Star Alliance as well as the International Air Transport Association. The airline's IATA code SN is inherited from its predecessors, Sabena and SN Brussels Airlines. Brussels Airlines is part of the Lufthansa Group. The company slogan is ′You’re in good company′.
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Media related to Thomas Cook Airlines at Wikimedia Commons