| Thomsonfly | ||
|---|---|---|
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| IATA BY |
ICAO TOM |
Callsign TOMSON |
| Founded | 1962 (as Euravia) | |
| Hubs | Belfast International Airport Birmingham International Airport Cardiff Airport Glasgow Airport London Gatwick London Luton Manchester Airport Newcastle International |
|
| Focus cities | Bournemouth Airport Coventry Airport Doncaster-Sheffield Airport |
|
| Alliance | TUI Airlines | |
| Fleet size | 50 (April 2007) | |
| Destinations | 87 | |
| Parent company | TUI Airlines-(TUI Group) | |
| Headquarters | Wigmore House, Luton | |
| Key people | Colin Mitchell (Managing Director), Captain Nick Winspear (Director of Flight Operations) | |
| Website: http://www.thomsonfly.com | ||
Thomsonfly is a British airline owned by the TUI Group. Thomsonfly is the largest charter airline in the world, and also operates scheduled services to 20 European cities. The airline has several bases including Birmingham, Bournemouth, Cardiff, Coventry, Glasgow, Liverpool, London Gatwick, Belfast, London Luton, Manchester, Newcastle, Doncaster-Sheffield and Durham Tees Valley. Thomsonfly Limited holds 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 [1]
Contents |
History
Thomsonfly traces its roots to its parent airline, Britannia Airways, founded by Ted Langton. The airline began as Euravia in 1962. The name was changed to Britannia Airways and remained until December 2004. Britannia grew rapidly when it acquired Boeing 737-200 aircraft, and was the European launch customer for the Boeing 767 and then moved to an all-Boeing 767 and 757 fleet in the mid-1990s, with a total fleet of 45 aircraft by 2004. Thomson Holidays subsequently embraced a web-oriented rebranding and used the Thomsonfly name to include all of the UK flying operations, with the larger Britannia Airways rebranded as Thomsonfly in 2005.
Scheduled operations began on 31 March 2004 with four Boeing 737-500 aircraft, from a new passenger terminal at Coventry Airport. The airline became involved in controversy when it took over ownership of the airport lease. A number of local residents and Warwick District Council mounted a campaign against regular passenger flights from the airport, which had previously been used for both passenger and freight aircraft. The planning case was contentious and lengthy, and Thomsonfly continued to operate from Coventry awaiting the outcome of the case. Planning permission was granted for a larger passenger terminal and the ownership of the lease has passed to CAFCO, an airport and property development company with no links to TUI. On 28 April 2005, Thomsonfly became the first airline to fly from Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield. Thomsonfly was also the first airline to operate direct long haul services from the airport. The airline remains the dominant carrier at Doncaster Sheffield Airport, as well as Coventry Airport and Bournemouth Airport where a base was also established.
Thomsonfly was the best on-time charter airline in 2004 as measured by the Air Transport Users' Council and also won the 'TravelWeekly' best UK charter airline award for 2004. The airline is part of Tui Airline Management (TAM). On 14 December 2006 TUI announced that all of its airlines will be rebranded as TUIfly by 2008. In March 2008 the parent group of the airline First Choice Holidays PLC is to merge with the TUI AG, which will see Thomson Holidays and First Choice Holidays combined. This will eventually see a merger of both holiday company's airlines, (Thomsonfly and First Choice Airways). This merger is expected to be achieved by the start of summer 2009. The new company is to be known as TUI Travel PLC and is to be operational by 3 September 2007.
Destinations
Fleet
In May 2007, the Thomsonfly fleet comprised [2]:
- 8 Boeing 767-300ER
- 14 Boeing 757-200
- 8 Boeing 737-800 (3 on Order, through parent company Tui)
- 11 Boeing 737-300
- 2 Boeing 737-500
The average age of the Thomsonfly fleet was 10.25 years as of October 2007 [3].
Awards
- FlightOnTime.info - Runner-up UK Charter Airline for punctuality - Summer 2005
- FlightOnTime.info - Most Punctual UK Charter Airline - Summer 2004
- AUC Crown Awards: Most Punctual Charter Carrier - Summer 2004
- Travel & Tourism Web Awards: Best Airline - 2004
- Telegraph Travel Awards: Best Charter Airline - 2003
Gallery
 Britannia Airways Boeing 737-204 (1985) |
 Britannia Airways B757-200 in Thomson colors (2003) |
External links
References
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Astraeus · Atlantic Airlines · Aurigny Air Services · BA CityFlyer · Blue Islands · BMI · BMI Baby · BMI Regional · Bristow Helicopters · British Airways · British Mediterranean Airways · City Star Airlines · DHL Air · Eastern Airways · easyJet · EuroManx · First Choice Airways · Flightline · Flybe · Flyglobespan · GB Airways · Global Supply Systems · Highland Airways · Isles of Scilly Skybus · Jet2.com · Loganair · Lydd Air · Manx2 · MK Airlines · Monarch Airlines · MyTravel · Silverjet · ScotAirways · Thomas Cook Airlines · Thomsonfly · Titan Airways · Virgin Atlantic Airways · UK International Airlines · XL Airways · Zoom Airlines See also Defunct airlines of the United Kingdom |
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