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 plc and all UK entities including Thomas Cook Airlines entered compulsory liquidation on 23 September 2019.

History

Following the 2007 merger between Thomas Cook AG and MyTravel Group to form Thomas Cook Group plc on 30 March 2008 MyTravel Airways was merged with Thomas Cook Airlines.
In 2013, Thomas Cook Airlines, Thomas Cook Airlines Belgium, Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia and Condor merged into a single operating segment of the Thomas Cook Group, named the Thomas Cook Group Airlines. Thomas Cook Airlines carried around 6.4 million passengers during 2015, a six percent increase compared with 2014.

JMC Air

was launched on 1 September 1999 but did not start operations until 27 March 2000. The airline was created through the merger of Flying Colours Airlines and Caledonian Airways. On 31 March 2003 Thomas Cook rebranded the airline along with its other airlines as Thomas Cook.

Collapse

The airline fell into liquidation in the early hours of 23 September 2019. 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. The last flight to depart was MT2643, Registration G-MLJL from Orlando to Manchester. The airline's AOC was revoked on 7 November 2019.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.

Business figures

Destinations

Fleet

Final active fleet (in September 2019)

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

Historical fleet

Callsigns

The airline has used a number of callsigns:

Cabin

Long haul

Premium economy
Thomas Cook offered 'Premium Class' on most long-haul flights onboard their Airbus A330 aircraft. The cabin offered extra legroom, wider seats with more recline, personal entertainment, complimentary hot meal and drinks.
Economy
Thomas Cook's long-haul 'Economy Class' was offered on all Airbus A330 aircraft. It offered a standard seat-pitch of 31-inch. Seat-back entertainment, complimentary hot meal. Drinks and additional snacks were available to purchase.

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 onboard or to pre-order. Inflight entertainment was available via overhead screens and radio channels.
An upgraded economy class package was available on short and medium-haul flights called Economy PLUS. This package featured standard economy seats towards the front of the aircraft. Plus complimentary hot meal, drinks, earphones as well as additional baggage allowance and ground services.