Tag Archives: Thomas Cook Group

Thomas Cook Group to be liquidated, Thomas Cook Airlines UK stops flying, Condor continues to fly (for now)

Thomas Cook Group made this dramatic announcement today:

Further to the announcement made on September 20, 2019, Thomas Cook Group plc continued to engage with a range of key stakeholders over the weekend in order to secure final terms on the recapitalization and reorganization of the Company.

Despite considerable efforts, those discussions have not resulted in agreement between the Company’s stakeholders and proposed new money providers. The Company’s board has therefore concluded that it had no choice but to take steps to enter into compulsory liquidation with immediate effect.

An application was made to the High Court for a compulsory liquidation of the Company before opening of business today and an order has been granted to appoint the Official Receiver as the liquidator of the Company. We anticipate that the Official Receiver will make an application to the High Court for members of AlixPartners UK LLP to be appointed as Special Managers in respect of the Company, to act on behalf of the Official Receiver, and we further anticipate that an order will be granted to that effect. As part of this process, a number of other Thomas Cook Group companies have also entered into compulsory liquidation, with members of either AlixPartners UK LLP or KPMG LLP (depending on the company) being appointed as Special Managers in respect of the relevant Group companies.

We expect that AlixPartners UK LLP will now work very closely with the Civil Aviation Authority in the UK, to effect the repatriation of all UK customers impacted by this announcement.

Peter Fankhauser, Chief Executive of Thomas Cook commented:

“We have worked exhaustively in the past few days to resolve the outstanding issues on an agreement to secure Thomas Cook’s future for its employees, customers and suppliers. Although a deal had been largely agreed, an additional facility requested in the last few days of negotiations presented a challenge that ultimately proved insurmountable.

“It is a matter of profound regret to me and the rest of the board that we were not successful. I would like to apologise to our millions of customers, and thousands of employees, suppliers and partners who have supported us for many years. Despite huge uncertainty over recent weeks, our teams continued to put customers first, showing why Thomas Cook is one of the best-loved brands in travel.

“Generations of customers entrusted their family holiday to Thomas Cook because our people kept our customers at the heart of the business and maintained our founder’s spirit of innovation.

“This marks a deeply sad day for the company which pioneered package holidays and made travel possible for millions of people around the world.”

The Company has requested that its ordinary shares be suspended from listing on the premium segment of the Official List of the FCA and from trading on the main market of the London Stock Exchange with immediate effect.

Thomas Cook Airlines (UK) has made this announcement:

Thomas Cook has confirmed that all the UK companies in its group have ceased trading, including Thomas Cook Airlines.

As a result, we are sorry to inform you that all holidays and flights provided by these companies have been cancelled and are no longer operating. All Thomas Cook’s retail shops have also closed.

The Government and the Civil Aviation Authority are now working together to do everything we can to support passengers due to fly back to the UK with Thomas Cook between 23 September 2019 and 6 October 2019. Depending on your location, this will be either on CAA-operated flights or by using existing flights with other airlines.

If you are already abroad you will find all the information you need about your arrangements to get home on this website.

If you are due to depart from a UK airport with Thomas Cook Airlines, please do not travel to your UK airport as your flight will not be operating and you will not be able to travel.

This repatriation is hugely complex and we are working around the clock to support passengers.

Customers already abroad

If you are currently abroad and your flight was with Thomas Cook we are providing new flights to return you to the UK. These repatriation flights will only be operating for the next two weeks (until 6 October 2019). After this date you will have to make your own travel arrangements. From a small number of locations, passengers will have to book their own return flights.

For further advice and details of your return journey please read I am currently abroad. Please note that repatriation flights are only available for passengers whose journey originated in the UK.

If you are currently abroad and due to return to the UK after 6 October 2019, please read the additional information section.

Customers yet to travel out of the UK

We are sorry to inform you that all future holidays and flights booked with Thomas Cook are cancelled as of 23 September 2019.

If you are booked on a Thomas Cook Airlines flight, please do not go to your UK airport, as your flight will not be operating. The Civil Aviation Authority’s repatriation programme will not include any outbound flights from the UK.

If you choose to book a new flight with another airline out of the UK, you will not be eligible for a repatriation flight.

PLEASE NOTE: Some of Thomas Cook’s package holiday bookings include flights with airlines unrelated to the Thomas Cook Group. If your return flight is not with Thomas Cook’s airline it may still be valid. However other elements of the package, such as accommodation and transfers might be affected.

Condor Flugdienst issue this statement:

All Condor flights are operating as scheduled.

Please find below information for our tour operator guests from: Thomas Cook, Neckermann, Oeger Tours, Air Marin and Bucher Reisen:

Condor has been informed by your tour operator that unfortunatly your flight will not be carried out as planned today or tomorrow. Therefore, it is with are sincerest apologies that we will not be able to accept on for your flight today.

Thomas Cook scrambles to avert a collapse

Thomas Cook Group, according to Reuters, is scrambling to find $251 million for its lenders to avoid a total collapse.

The group is the parent organization of the following airlines:

Thomas Cook Airlines UK

Thomas Cook Airlines Balearics

Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia

Condor Flugdienst

Thomas Cook Aviation

Read the full story.

Thomas Cook reportedly receives inquiries for its divisions

Thomas Cook has received inquiries for its business and also parts of its business according to the BBC. The company put its airline division up for sale in February.

Read the full report.

Thomas Cook Group plc is a British global travel company. It was formed on June 19, 2007 by the merger of Thomas Cook AG.

The airline group includes:

Thomas Cook Airlines (UK)

Thomas Cook Airlines Balearics

Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia

Condor Flugdienst

Thomas Cook Group operates across 16 source markets, employs 21,000 people and has generated a total of £9.6 billion in group sales in the year ended 30 September 2018. Thomas Cook has around 200 own-brand hotels and resorts across seven brands – SENTIDO, Sunprime, Sunwing, SunConnect, smartline, Casa Cook and Cook’s Club.

For the 2019 summer schedule the group is making these changes:

Group Airline with a total of four additional short- and medium-haul aircraft compared to summer 2018
Three further Airbus A321s in service for Condor as of early summer, one additional A321 to take-off for Thomas Cook Airlines UK
105 aircraft in UK, Scandinavia, Spain and Germany

The Thomas Cook Group Airline is taking delivery of two additional Airbus A321 aircraft, which will be added to the Condor fleet for the 2019 summer flight schedule.

The jets will be in service for Thomas Cook Airlines UK from winter 2019/20 afterwards.

The Group Airline recently announced to include two further Airbus A321 for summer 2019, and will have a total of 105 aircraft then. Its short- and medium-haul fleet has been expanded by four additional own aircraft in total compared to the previous year.

Two Airbus A321s fly for Condor and are stationed in Leipzig and Hanover in summer 2019. In Leipzig, Condor is significantly increasing capacity with around 100,000 additional seats to the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands, Turkey and Egypt. Another A321 is flying in Germany as well, the fourth airplane completes the A321 fleet of Thomas Cook Airlines UK.

Top Copyright Photo: Thomas Cook Airlines (UK) (Avion Express) Airbus A321-211 LY-VEC (msn 3267) TFS (Wingnut). Image: 946248.

Thomas Cook (UK) aircraft slide show:

Thomas Cook Group will offer a larger fleet for the Summer 2019 schedule, Thomas Cook to introduce new “flat beds”

The Thomas Cook Group made this announcement:

•Group Airline with a total of four additional short- and medium-haul aircraft compared to summer 2018
•Three further Airbus A321s in service for Condor as of early summer, one additional A321 to take-off for Thomas Cook Airlines UK
•105 aircraft in UK, Scandinavia, Spain and Germany

The Thomas Cook Group Airline is taking delivery of two additional Airbus A321 aircraft, which will be added to the Condor fleet for the 2019 summer flight schedule. The jets will be in service for Thomas Cook Airlines UK from winter 2019/20 afterwards. The Group Airline recently announced to include two further Airbus A321 for summer 2019, and will have a total of 105 aircraft then. Its short- and medium-haul fleet has been expanded by four additional own aircraft in total compared to the previous year.

The fleet growth is a clear sign for the Group Airline’s focus on operational stability during high season: “Using additional aircraft of our own is another measure to live up to our quality promise next summer, even during the high season”, says Christoph Debus, Chief Airline Officer of the Thomas Cook Group. With the additional aircraft, the Group Airline has further reserves available and has hired additional personnel on the ground and in the air. As part of an internal project, numerous other measures were implemented to ensure stable flight operations in the summer of 2019.

In other news, Thomas Cook Airlines (UK) on May 13 will introduce “flat beds” for its long-haul routes to the USA.

Video:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtX5IqeW06w&w=560&h=315%5D

Top Copyright Photo: Condor Flugdienst-Thomas Cook Airbus A321-211 WL D-AIAG (msn 6590) AYT (Andi Hiltl). Image: 945978.

Condor aircraft slide show:

Thomas Cook Group shows profitable growth in a disrupted environment

Thomas Cook Group issued this report:

• Strong Airline profit growth of £35 million despite higher disruption cost

• Increased capacity with revenues growth of 10.1% to £3.5bn

• New airlines founded in Spain and Germany to support growth

Manchester/Frankfurt/Copenhagen – The Thomas Cook Group Airline has increased its underlying profit by 37% to £129 million for the financial year ending September 30, 2018. With an increase of available seats of 8.8% and a fleet of 100 aircraft overall revenues have grown by 10.1% to £3.5bn in the financial year 2017/18.

With the two brands Thomas Cook Airlines (in UK and Scandinavia) and Condor (in Germany), the Group Airline has carried over19 million passengers to over 120 destinations worldwide.

As part of the airline strategy for profitable growth, two new airlines have been set up in 2018. Based in Mallorca and Oberursel the new platforms provide greater operational flexibility at competitive costs, while better ensuring the quality and customer experience compared to third-party lease arrangements.

Peter Fankhauser, Chief Executive of Thomas Cook, said:

“Our Group Airline delivered strong growth in customers and profit, benefitting from increasing capacity in a turbulent European aviation sector.”

The pan-European airline could realize £31 million by implementing cost reduction measures that address synergies across its markets. The integration of the airline is well advanced with a consistent product, customer experience and management approach.

The European Aviation market was marked by disruption in Summer 2018 caused by delays of the registration of new aircraft, shortage on spare parts and an air traffic control system that was not fully prepared for the strong growth. This resulted in a substantial increase of irregularity cost (which include EU261 compensation costs, welfare, sub-charter and denied boarding costs) of £101 million in Summer 2018 vs. £49 million in Summer 2017.

The Group Airline has put several measures in place to optimize its operational performance, such as additional reserve aircraft, a streamlined aircraft basing with an all Airbus fleet in UK and Scandinavia and all Boeing aircraft operated in Germany and a dedicated team for customer communication in the case of a delay.

The Thomas Cook Airlines Group Fleet

The Thomas Cook Group of airlines flies from Germany, the United Kingdom and Scandinavia and operates a fleet of 100 aircraft as portrayed on this new graphic:

Transat A.T. Inc. continues its fleet reconfiguration, signing an agreement with Thomas Cook

Transat A.T. Inc. has announced the signing of a seven-year agreement with Thomas Cook Group Airlines for the exchange of aircraft on a seasonal basis. Under the terms of the agreement, Thomas Cook will make available every winter to Air Transat a number of narrow body Airbus A321s and will receive at least one wide-body Airbus A330-200 in return. This will enable both companies to manage and utilize their fleet more efficiently.

The agreement takes advantage of the different seasonality of the two companies: Air Transat uses a greater number of smaller aircraft in winter to serve its destinations in the Caribbean, Mexico and Florida, and larger aircraft in summer to serve the transatlantic market. In contrast, Thomas Cook uses smaller aircraft in summertime to fly to destinations around the Mediterranean Sea and larger wide-body aircraft in the winter to fly to the long-haul destinations like Cuba and the Dominican Republic.

In the past few years, Air Transat has implemented a flexible-fleet model, through agreements with various carriers, enabling it each winter to increase the number of narrow-body aircraft it operates and to reduce the number of wide-body aircraft. For example, in the winter 2016–2017, the Company operated 20 narrow-body aircraft (Boeing 737) and 12 wide-body aircraft (Airbus A310 and A330), while in the summer 2017, it used 7 narrow-body aircraft and 25 wide-body aircraft.

“This agreement marks a new step in the reconfiguration of our fleet,” says Jean-Marc Eustache, President and Chief Executive Officer of Transat. “It allows us to improve our flexible-fleet model, making it even more efficient. Our fleet will eventually consist solely of Airbus A330 and aircraft from the A320 family, such as the A321, which will mean a more harmonized travel experience for our customers as well as lower operating costs,”.

Optimization of the Air Transat flexible fleet began with the recent announcement that its A310s would be replaced, beginning in early 2019, by A321neo LR aircraft, which have a range well-suited for operations in both of the carrier’s markets. This agreement is the second step in that optimization, and will see Air Transat’s seasonal Boeing 737s replaced by A321s. The third step will be the replacement of the Boeing 737s in its core fleet, which today number 7, also by A321s. At the same time, Air Transat has endeavoured to extend the leases on a large number of its A330 aircraft, thus taking advantage of lower leasing costs and ensuring stability for the years to come.

Above Copyright Photo: All Air Transat Boeing 737s will be replaced with Airbus A321s. Air Transat (Transavia France) Boeing 737-8GJ WL F-GZHA (msn 34901) FLL (Tony Storck). Image: 925674.

All of the A321s from the Thomas Cook fleet will be recent aircraft, and will have the same cabin configuration as Air Transat’s coming fleet of A321neo LRs: 199 seats, 12 of which will be Club Class. This means Transat customers will enjoy a more comparable in-flight experience regardless of destination.

In addition, once the optimization is complete, Air Transat will operate only two types of aircraft, and reap the benefits of the Airbus shared-cockpit philosophy and so-called mixed-fleet flying (i.e., pilots can be rated to fly more than one type of aircraft). This will enable the company to reduce costs (for example in maintenance and training) and considerably simplify its operations.

Aircraft Endangered Species List:

Top Copyright Photo: All of the Airbus A310s will be replaced with newer A321neo LRs by 2020. Air Transat Airbus A310-304 C-GTSW (msn 483) YYZ (TMK Photography). Image: 928787.

Air Transat:

Is the end coming for Thomas Cook in the airline business?

Thomas Cook, the world’s oldest travel group, is considering selling its airline arm, Thomas Cook Group, as it continues to recover from its near-collapse in 2011.

According to the Independent, the company, which can trace its roots back to 1841 when Thomas Cook arranged for 500 people to travel between Leicester and Loughborough for a shilling, has reportedly sounded out potential buyers for the airline group. These are believed to include rival carriers and private equity investors, although no talks are currently taking place.

The holiday giant found itself under a mountain of debt in 2011 but has since axed jobs and shut high-street shops.

“We are always open for opportunities, which might include partnering with other partners/airlines,” it said in a statement.

However, it added: “We are very pleased with the development of our airlines. We have refurbished the cabins of our long-haul fleet and added long-haul aircraft to our Condor fleet in Germany and the UK. We see our airlines as an important part of our business.”

Thomas Cook AG currently has 88 active aircraft in it’s fleet, spanning 4 airlines: Thomas Cook Airlines (UK) (29) (Manchester), Thomas Cook Airlines Belgium (3) (Brussels), Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia (14) (Copenhagen-Oslo-Stockholm) and Condor Flugdienst (42) (Frankfurt), making it the 11th largest airline operator in Europe, and has ordered 25 new Airbus A321s (above) to replace older aircraft. However such moves could affect the order as well as result in airlines being shutting down or being rebranded.

The airline has refuted the conjecture in the UK media according to ch-aviation.

Could this be the end for the Thomas Cook we’ve come to know for so many years? Watch this space.

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

Assistant Editor Oliver Wilcock reporting from Manchester.

Copyright Photo: Ton Jochems/AirlinersGallery.com. Thomas Cook Airlines (UK) Airbus A321-211 WL G-TCDD (msn 6038) taxies to the gate at Palma de Mallorca.

Thomas Cook Airlines (UK) aircraft slide show:

Thomas Cook Airlines to add new routes from Manchester to Miami and New York

Thomas Cook Airlines (UK) (Manchester) is returning and will commence scheduled passenger services at Miami International Airport (MIA) effective on May 3, 2015. Thomas Cook plans on operating twice-weekly nonstops between Manchester and MIA utilizing Airbus A330-200 aircraft. The new route is seasonal and is expected to be operated for eight months.

The airline is also starting three times a week service from Manchester to New York (JFK) starting also in May.

The airline currently operates from Manchester to Orlando and Las Vegas.

Copyright Photo: Arnd Wolf/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A330-243 G-OMYT (msn 301) with the new Thomas Cook Group “Sunny Heart” logo on the tail arrives in Munich.

The new Thomas Cook Group “Sunny Heart” logo:

Thomas Cook Airlines (UK):

Thomas Cook Group unveils its new “Sunny Heart” livery

Thomas Cook Group (London) has unveiled its new “Sunny Heart” livery. Airbus A321-211 G-TCDC (msn 5872) was delivered to Thomas Cook Airlines (UK) (Manchester) on November 22 and will go into revenue service in mid December. the second of the 23 new Airbus A321 aircraft to be delivered to the Thomas Cook Group Airlines by 2016, previously announced in early 2013. This follows the first A321 delivered to sister airline Condor Flugdienst (Frankfurt) in May 2013.

Six aircraft will be deployed in the UK and will be in operation by the summer season of 2014.

The group explains the new look, a departure from its traditional blue and white colors:

“Our new ’Sunny Heart’ livery expresses the philosophy of our airline; our team putting their heart into every flight and making sure our customers’ holiday starts as soon as they board their flight to their holiday destination. The Sunny Heart is the perfect symbol for our passion to create memorable holidays for our guests.”

G-TCDC is also the first Airbus aircraft in the Thomas Cook Group to be fitted with wing-tip Sharklets which help the aircraft fly using less fuel, contributing – with the new fuselage shape – to an overall fuel efficiency of up to 6 per cent compared to the existing aircraft in the fleet.

Meanwhile Condor Flugdienst has already painted its first aircraft in the new brand, Boeing 757-330 D-ABOJ (above).

Copyright Photo: Bernhard Ross/AirlinersGallery.com. Condor’s Boeing 757-330 D-ABOJ (msn 29010) sits at the Frankfurt base today between flights in the new look.

Thomas Cook Airlines (UK):

Condor Flugdienst:

Video: Painting of the first A321 for Condor (in the old colors):

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORIhcHwsZ0E&w=560&h=315]

Video: Thomas Cook Airlines:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kstcZjk9IW4&w=420&h=315]

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