Thomas Cook Airlines

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.

This article is about the British airline. For its sister companies, see Thomas Cook Group Airlines. For the English businessman, see Thomas Cook.

Thomas Cook Airlines
IATA ICAO Callsign
MT TCX THOMAS COOK
Founded
  • 1 September 1999 (1999-09-01)
    (as JMC Air)
  • April 2003 (2003-04)
    (as Thomas Cook Airlines)
Ceased operations23 September 2019 (2019-09-23)
AOC #549
Operating bases
Destinations82 (at demise)
Parent companyThomas Cook Group
HeadquartersManchester, England
Key people
Net income£103.06 million (2018)

History
A JMC Air Airbus A320-200 on final approach at London Gatwick Airport in 2002
A Thomas Cook Boeing 767-300ER at Manchester Airport in 2011

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]

Collapse
Further information: Thomas Cook Group § 2019: Final year and collapse

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.

Corporate affairs

Overview

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]

Profits
Thomas Cook Airlines Limited Corporate Affairs[14]
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

Business figures
YearTotal passengersTotal flightsLoad factorPassenger change YoY
2005* 9,320,81747,28789.9%
2006* 8,441,27642,18289.0%Decrease009.4%
2007* 8,528,65543,01387.9%Increase001.0%
2008 8,315,32742,41090.0%Decrease002.5%
2009 8,202,53438,84992.0%Decrease001.4%
2010 8,120,81537,57193.1%Decrease001.0%
2011 7,969,69336,10393.3%Decrease001.9%
2012 6,783,66132,10994.1%Decrease014.9%
2013 6,084,31528,43893.1%Decrease010.3%
2014 6,043,48028,85891.4%Decrease000.7%
2015 6,395,62330,60191.8%Increase005.8%
2016 6,623,56432,20889.8%Increase003.6%
2017 7,319,54635,55390.2%Increase 10.5%
2018 8,092,20839,51290.5%Increase 10.6%
* Data for 2005 to 2007 includes MyTravel Airways
Source: United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority [8]

Fleet
Thomas Cook Airlines Airbus A321-200
Thomas Cook Airlines Airbus A330-200

Final active fleet

At the time of closure, the Thomas Cook Airlines fleet consisted of the following aircraft:[15]

Thomas Cook Airlines fleet
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 —

Historical fleet

As JMC Air, the airline has previously operated the following aircraft:[16][17]

Thomas Cook Airlines historical fleet
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

Callsigns

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)

Cabin

Long haul

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]

Short and medium haul

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]

See also

References
  1. Otter, Saffron (24 September 2019). "When was Thomas Cook founded and how old is it?". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  2. "JMC iarline to be rebranded". Travel Weekly. 27 May 2002. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  3. "JMC 757 demonstrates new Thomas Cook livery". Flight Global. 9 December 2002. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  4. JMC Fades Away
  5. "Big two UK holiday groups look set to dominate". FT. 30 September 2008. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  6. "Thomas Cook merges European airline businesses". The Independent. 5 February 2013. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  7. "Thomas Cook plans airline merger". Travel Mole. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  8. "UK Airline Data". Civil Aviation Authority (United Kingdom). 29 April 2017. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
  9. "Thomas Cook set to cease operating as rescue talks fail". itv News.
  10. Duffy, Clare; McLean, Rob (23 September 2019). "Thomas Cook collapses, leaving thousands of travelers stranded". CNN. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  11. "Thomas Cook collapse: Repatriation to take two weeks". Sky News.
  12. Wert, Jakob (23 September 2019). "Thomas Cook Airlines suspends operations, planes impounded". International Flight Network. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  13. "Operating Licence Holders". Civil Aviation Authority (United Kingdom). Retrieved 16 July 2017.
  14. "Annual net profit/loss of Thomas Cook Airlines Ltd from 2010 to 2018". Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  15. "GINFO Search Results Summary, Thomas Cook". Civil Aviation Authority (United Kingdom). 31 October 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  16. "JMC Airlines Fleet Details and History". www.planespotters.net. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  17. "Thomas Cook Airlines Fleet Details and History". www.planespotters.net. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  18. "Thomas Cook Group visit – Replacing the 757 » AirInsight". 16 December 2014.
  19. "Thomas Cook Airlines UK to retire B757s in 1Q19". ch-aviation. 23 November 2018. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  20. "Thomas Cook Airlines UK transitions to all-Airbus fleet". ch-aviation. 15 January 2019.
  21. "Leisure carrier Thomas Cook unveils long-haul premium cabin". Future Travel Experience. 16 September 2014. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  22. "Thomas Cook Short-Haul cabin".
  23. Ireland, Ben (18 September 2017). "Thomas Cook Airlines to introduce Economy PLUS". Travel Weekly. Retrieved 24 September 2020.

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