THOMAS COOK - A321-200 - LY-VEC

Ton Jochems - AYT

THOMAS COOK - A320-200 - LY-VEL

Ton Jochems - AYT

THOMAS COOK - A321-20Sharklets - G-TCVD

João Luis Pessoa
LGW - UK

Thomas Cook Sets up New Airline in Spain amid Cost Drive

Thomas Cook is setting up a new airline in Spain, a move it hopes will lower costs at a time of tough conditions in the European short-haul market.

The new airline will be based in Palma de Majorca and plans to start its first flights in early 2018 with at least three Airbus A320 planes, which were previously flying for the group's Belgian airline.
The Majorca aircraft, which fly under a Spanish operating licence, will also be used for Thomas Cook's other airlines, according to seasonal demand, while some staff will be on seasonal contracts.


"The new airline and base will provide us with the right platform to better manage the seasonal demand in our business, giving us more control at lower cost as we continue to expand the choice of destinations we offer our customers," Christoph Debus, chief airline officer at Thomas Cook, said in a statement.

Holiday companies and airlines like Thomas Cook have the problem of how to use aircraft and crews efficiently during the off-peak season in winter, and typically make a loss during that period.

Thomas Cook announced earlier this month it would exchange several aircraft with Canada's Transat AT Inc. Under the deal, Thomas Cook will provide planes that fly short-haul routes in the summer to the Canadian company during the winter, while it will receive a long-haul plane to take Europeans seeking winter sun to further flung destinations.

EasyJet also has a seasonal base in Palma, with aircraft stationed there between March and October and crew working eight months of the year with four months off.
Rival tourism group TUI is also trying to find ways to bring costs down at its German TUIfly.

Thomas Cook Airlines have a combined 94 aircraft, flying 16.7 million passengers a year to holiday destinations, and have revenues of 2.8 billion euros (US$3.3 billion). (US$1 = EUR0.8508)
Victoria Bryan, Reuters

THOMAS COOK - A320-200 - LY-VEL

Ton Jochems - IBIZA

THOMAS COOK - A320-200 - LY-VEI

Ton Jochems - PMI

Thomas Cook Airlines commenced its seventh long-haul route from London Gatwick (LGW) on 15 December, as it added a three times weekly operation to Cape Town

It joins the carrier’s other global destinations of Cancún, Goa, Holguin, St. Lucia, Bridgetown and New Orleans from the London airport. The inaugural flight, operated by the airline’s A330-200 fleet, departed the UK at 19:30 and arrived in Cape Town at 09:00 on 16 December. Deon Cloete, GM of Cape Town Airport said: “Cape Town International Airport is delighted that the carrier is now offering direct routes from London Gatwick. South Africa’s ‘Mother City’ offers its warmest welcome to Thomas Cook Airlines’ passengers ‒ Cape Town is consistently rated as one of the world’s number one tourist destinations and at CTIA we aim to offer travellers a top class passenger experience.” James Burrows, Aviation Director for Thomas Cook Airlines, added: “Cape Town is an enormously popular destination for UK tourists and Thomas Cook Airlines is excited to be able to offer our clients the convenience of affordable direct flights from London Gatwick to Cape Town International three times a week.” The route will face direct competition from British Airways, which only launched its own three times weekly service from the London airport on 24 November.

Aenna

THOMAS COOK - A320-200 - YL-LCK

Ton Jochems - PMI

THOMAS COOK - A320-200 - YL-LCK

José Ramon Valero - PMA

Thomas Cook Airlines UK to lease in five Baltic A320s

Thomas Cook Airlines Uk will lease in additional A320-200 capacity from Baltic ACMI/charter specialists SmartLynx Airlines and Avion Express this coming summer.

According to Jethros, the UK leisure operator will source three jets - YL-LCL (cn 533), YL-LCK (cn 936), and YL-LCO (cn 1873) - from the Latvian operator while ​​LY-VEM (cn 747) and LY-VEN (cn 1626) will be sourced from the Lithuanians.

Photo:Paul Bannwarth - TFS

Thomas Cook Airlines to lease three B767s to Condor in winter

Thomas Cook Airlines UK will transfer its last three remaining B767-300(ER)s - G-DAJC (msn 27206), G-TCCA (msn 27205), and G-TCCB (msn 28865) - to fellow Thomas Cook Group partner, Condor, at the end of the current summer season with the aircraft scheduled to operate for the German sister carrier all winter.

Ton Jochems - PMI

THOMAS COOK - A320-200 - LY-VEN

José Ramon Valero - PMI

THOMAS COOK - B757-300 - G-JMAB

Paul Bannwarth - TFS

THOMAS COOK - B757-200 - G-JMCD

Paul Bannwarth - TFS

THOMAS COOK - A321-200 Sharklets - G-TCDC

Paul Bannwarth - TFS

THOMAS COOK - B757-200 - G-FCLA

Paul Bannwarth - TFS

THOMAS COOK - A321-200Sharklets - G-TCDC

Jan Jurečka - Ostrava Leos Janacek Airport - LKMT

THOMAS COOK - A321-200 - G-OHJH

Ton Jochems - PMI

New brand and livery for Thomas Cook

All aircraft in the Thomas Cook Group will soon feature a new logo and livery under its ‘sunny heart’ brand.

The new look features a yellow heart and is part of the group’s transformation plan, the company said.

The new ‘sunny heart’ brand will be featured across most of the company’s brands and market activities, including Neckermann in Europe, Ving in Sweden, Condor in Germany and Airtours in the UK.
Thomas Cook said in a statement that “the intention isn’t to rebrand all with the sunny heart, but they form part of the group architecture and will, in most cases, carry the heart as some part of their logo”.

Harriet Green, group CEO of Thomas Cook Group plc said: “This isn’t just a rollout of a new logo, it’s about a promise. What we’re announcing today is a renewed promise to our customers, our people and suppliers. A promise that we’re putting them at the heart of our transformation it’s the essence of who we are.”

 She added: “The heart will appear on the web, in brochures, in our aircraft, in our concept hotels, our other hotels and in our stores: in short, everywhere that our customers connect with us.”
Routes

THOMAS COOK - B767-300ER -

FPP - Faro