Thomas Cook Airlines

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

Thomas Cook Airlines

Airbus A321
IATA ICAO Call sign MT TCX THOMAS COOK
Founded	1 September 1999 (1999-09-01) (as JMC Air)
Commenced operations	31 March 2003 (2003-03-31) (as Thomas Cook Airlines)
Ceased operations	23 September 2019 (2019-09-23) (as Thomas Cook Airlines)
AOC #	549
Operating bases	Belfast–International Birmingham Bristol Cardiff East Midlands Glasgow London–Gatwick London–Stansted Manchester Newcastle upon Tyne
Destinations	82 (at demise)
Parent company	Thomas Cook Group
Headquarters	Manchester, England
Key people	Peter Fankhauser (CEO) Christoph Debus (managing director)
Net income	£103.06 million (2018)

Thomas Cook Airlines Ltd. 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 airports around the United Kingdom. Thomas Cook Group and all UK entities including Thomas Cook Airlines entered compulsory liquidation on 23 September 2019.

History

An Airbus A320-200 on final approach at London Gatwick Airport in 2002

Four mergers

The airline origins go back to 1 September 1999 when JMC Air Ltd. was created through the merger of Flying Colours Airlines and Caledonian Airways following the purchase of Thomas Cook & Son by the Carlson Leisure Group. It started operations on 27 March 2000, operating flights from 6 airports 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.

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 into Thomas Cook Airlines.

Thomas Cook brand

A Boeing 767-300ER at Manchester Airport in 2011

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. Thomas Cook Airlines carried around 6.4 million passengers during 2015, a six per cent increase compared with 2014.

Collapse

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

The airline fell into liquidation on 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, an (Airbus A330-243) 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.

Profits

Thomas Cook Airlines Ltd. - Corporate Affairs

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

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%	009.4%
2007*	8,528,655	43,013	87.9%	001.0%
2008	8,315,327	42,410	90.0%	002.5%
2009	8,202,534	38,849	92.0%	001.4%
2010	8,120,815	37,571	93.1%	001.0%
2011	7,969,693	36,103	93.3%	001.9%
2012	6,783,661	32,109	94.1%	014.9%
2013	6,084,315	28,438	93.1%	010.3%
2014	6,043,480	28,858	91.4%	000.7%
2015	6,395,623	30,601	91.8%	005.8%
2016	6,623,564	32,208	89.8%	003.6%
2017	7,319,546	35,553	90.2%	10.5%
2018	8,092,208	39,512	90.5%	10.6%
* Data for 2005 to 2007 includes MyTravel Airways Source: United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority

Fleet

Airbus A321-200

Airbus A330-200

Final fleet

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

Aircraft type	In service	Orders	Passengers			Remarks
			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 had operated the following aircraft types:

Aircraft type	Total	Introduced	Retired	Remarks
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.
Boeing 757-300	5	2001	2019	Transferred to Condor.
Boeing 767-300ER	3	2010	2017	Withdrawn from use and converted to freighters for Atlas Air.
McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30	2	2000	2001

See also

• List of defunct airlines of the United Kingdom

Further reading

• Wickstead, M.J. (2014). Airlines of the British Isles since 1919. Staplefield (West Sussex - U.K.): Air Britain (Historians) Ltd. pp. 401–403. ISBN 978-0-85130-456-4.

External links

Media related to Thomas Cook Airlines at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website