Tag Archives: TUI Group

TUI Group sells a majority stake of Corsair to INTRO Aviation

TUI Group has made this announcement:

German aviation investor acquires majority stake in French scheduled carrier
Corsair’s Employee Trust Fund and TUI to retain minority stakes
Further milestone in the implementation of TUI’s strategy in all business segments

TUI is the world’s leading tourism group. Since 2014, its portfolio of subsidiaries and international shareholdings has been clearly aligned to help implement the Group’s strategy. The Group has now taken the next step towards becoming a “pure play tourism” company with the sale of the French scheduled carrier Corsair. TUI Group has sold a majority stake in its French airline Corsair to German investor INTRO Aviation. INTRO will acquire a 53 percent stake in Corsair as a first step. Under the agreement, TUI Group will initially retain a minority stake of 27 percent, while Corsair’s Employee Benefit Trust will retain a 20 per cent stake. The financial details of the agreement have not been disclosed.

The French long-haul scheduled carrier is unable to deliver any synergy effects for TUI Group, TUI tour operators and cruise companies, and the Group’s five European charter airlines. The sale will reduce TUI’s fleet by seven long-haul aircraft: three 747-400s as well as two A330-200s and A330-300s each.

“We are consistently transforming TUI to focus on tourism, its core business. Here, we are investing in hotels and cruise ships, and increasingly in holiday experiences in the destinations. These are segments in which we are growing, and where we are continuing to expand our global activities. We are exiting non-core business areas that do not leverage any synergies for the Group. The sale is the right move for TUI and will also benefit Corsair and its staff,” said TUI CEO Fritz Joussen.

Since the merger and integration of its former subsidiary TUI Travel at the end of 2014, TUI AG has successfully transformed from a trading business to the world’s leading integrated tourism group focusing on hotels, cruise ships and destination activities. This strategy resulted in the sale of numerous non-core subsidiaries and it has increased the Group’s leeway for comprehensive investments in hotels, ships and digital platforms in order to strengthen its future business.

The sale now initiated will create new and sustained prospects for the French airline Corsair and its employees. The investor is specialised on aviation and investments in aviation companies. Corsair’s business will be part of the investor’s core business.

Corsair aircraft slide show:

TUI Group takes delivery of its first Boeing 737-8 MAX 8

TUI Group, the world’s largest tourism business, is celebrating the delivery of the operator’s first Boeing 737-8 MAX 8 (OO-MAX). TUI Airlines (Belgium) is the TUI Group operator of the new type.

The 737 MAX delivers the highest efficiency, reliability and passenger comfort in the single-aisle market by incorporating the latest technology CFM International LEAP-1B engines, Advanced Technology winglets, the Boeing Sky Interior, large flight deck displays, and other improvements. The efficiency gains have helped make the MAX the fastest selling airplane in Boeing history with more than 4,300 orders to date from 92 customers worldwide.

TUI Group has 51 additional orders of the 737 MAX 8 and four 787 Dreamliners. The Group also has 18 unfilled orders for the 737 MAX 10 and was the first European operator to select the latest and largest member of the 737 MAX family of airplanes.

The pictured OO-MAX was officially handed over on January 29, 2018. OO-MAX went into revenue service on February 5, 2018 between Brussels and Tenerife Sur (TFS).

TUI Airlines (Belgium) aircraft slide show:

TUI Group converts 18 orders to the Boeing 737 MAX 10

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Boeing and TUI Group, the world’s number one tourism business, on June 19, 2017 announced its selection of 18 737 MAX 10s at the 2017 Paris Air Show. TUI Group already had 70 unfilled orders for the 737 MAX and will convert 18 of these existing orders to the 737 MAX 10. The leisure group is the first European operator to select the latest member of the 737 MAX family of airplanes.

TUI Group aims to operate Europe’s most carbon efficient airlines and has committed to reduce the carbon intensity of its operations by a further 10 percent by 2020.

Boeing continued;

The 737 MAX 10 is the largest member of the 737 airplane family, the world’s best-selling jetliner family.

The MAX 10 will be the most profitable single-aisle airplane, offering the lowest seat-mile cost ever in a commercial aircraft. The 737 MAX 10 has more range than today’s Next-Generation 737s and substantial fuel efficiency and economic advantages over heavier competing models, including five percent lower trip cost and five percent lower seat-mile cost.

Like Boeing’s other 737 MAX models, the MAX 10 incorporates the latest technology CFM International LEAP-1B engines, Advanced Technology winglets, Boeing Sky Interior, large flight deck displays, and other improvements to deliver the highest efficiency, reliability and passenger comfort in the single-aisle market.

Along with the 737 MAX, TUI Group has unfilled orders for four 787-9 Dreamliners. The Group also has 50 options for the 737 MAX and has converted 10 of these to the 737 MAX 10. The Group will take delivery of its first 737 MAX aircraft in January 2018.

TUI Group, domiciled in Hanover and Berlin, is the largest integrated tourism group worldwide. The Group operates six airlines across Europe and operates approximately 150 medium and long-haul aircraft, including more than 100 Next-Generation 737s and 15 787s. TUI serves more than 20 million customers in 180 destinations around the world, employing more than 67,000 people.

TUI and Niki move one step closer to a joint venture based in Vienna

TUI AG‘s Supervisory Board has given the green light on November 23, 2016 for further steps with the goal to create a new European airline joint venture with Etihad Aviation Group. TUI Group’s supervisory body approved the plan to contribute its German leisure airline subsidiary TUI fly GmbH (TUIfly-TUI Airlines Germany) to a joint venture with Etihad. Etihad is in negotiations with Airberlin to acquire its touristic operations primarily in Southern Europe and North Africa, and including Airberlin’s participation in Niki, with the objective to contribute it to the joint venture.

The new airline joint venture, headquartered in Vienna, is planned to serve a broad route network with its two airlines, TUI fly and Niki, a total fleet of around 60 aircraft and a seat capacity of 15 million seats per year, operating from key departure airports in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

TUI AG is to hold a stake of 24.8% in the joint venture, with Etihad holding 25% of the interests. The remaining 50.2% would be held by the existing private foundation Niki Privatstiftung.

The commitments made to the TUI fly employees remain in place and are currently being further negotiated and specified. This includes the commitments to the Hanover location.

The contractual negotiations between all involved stakeholders are expected to be finalized in the next few weeks. Details regarding the future joint venture will be jointly presented by Etihad and TUI after successful completion of the negotiations.

The planned joint venture is subject to approval by the relevant antitrust and aviation authorities.

In the summer of 2007, Hapag-Lloyd Express (HLX) and Hapagfly merged to form TUIfly. The airline is a wholly-owned enterprise of the TUI Group, the world’s leading tourism troup with headquarters in Hanover, Germany. TUIfly flies to the classic holiday regions all around the Mediterranean, the Canary and Cape Verde Islands, Madeira and Egypt for TUI and other tour operators. By the summer of 2014, TUIfly used 40 Boeing 737 aircraft to fly to these destinations. TUIfly headquarters are at the Hanover Airport.

Top Copyright Photo: TUI Airlines (Germany) Boeing 737-86J SSWL D-ABKI (msn 37748) PMI (Ton Jochems). Image: 933944.

TUI:

Niki:

Bottom Copyright Photo: Niki Luftfahrt (flyNiki.com) Airbus A320-214 OE-LEF (msn 4368) ZRH (Rolf Wallner). Image: 927323.

TUI Group to retire the Thomson brand in the UK

TUI Group (Hannover) has decided to retire the Thomson brand in the United Kingdom according to this report by Reuters. The retirement of the Thomson brand, which started selling holiday packages in 1965, would presumably also include Thomson Airways (formerly Thomsonfly) (London-Gatwick), although this remains unconfirmed.

The TUI Group is moving towards a single TUI brand and this of course would probably also affect Arke (Arkefly) and Jetairfly. The move is expected to take several years to complete.

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

Route Map: Current routes from London Gatwick:

Copyright Photo below: SPA/AirlinersGallery.com. Thomson Airways’ Boeing 737-8K5 G-TAWA (msn 37264) completes the final approach to the runway at London’s Gatwick Airport (LGW).

Thomson Airways aircraft slide show:

TUI Group finalizes its order for one Boeing 787-9, converts two 787-8 orders to the larger 787-9

Boeing (Chicago, Seattle and Charleston) and TUI Group, one of the world’s largest integrated leisure travel companies, have finalized an order for one 787-9 Dreamliner with an option for one further 787-9. The order is valued at $257 million at current list prices. TUI Group also announced that it will substitute two unfilled orders for 787-8s for two 787-9s.

The European leisure group will operate a fleet of 13 787-8s from this summer and with today’s announcement will add three 787-9s to its fleet within the next three years.

The 787-9 complements and extends the 787 family. With the fuselage stretched by 6 meters (20 feet) over the 787-8, the 787-9 will fly up to 40 more passengers an additional 830 kilometers (450 nautical miles) with the same exceptional environmental performance – 20 percent less fuel use and 20 percent fewer emissions than the airplanes they replace.

There are six airlines in the TUI Group operating 144 medium and long-haul aircraft, including the 787. The airlines are TUIfly, Thomson Airways, TUIfly Nordic, Jetairfly, Corsair International and ArkeFly (Arke), serving more than 180 destinations around the world. Throughout its history, Boeing has delivered more than 165 airplanes to TUI Group airlines. As well as the orders for 787s, TUI Group also has ordered 60 737 MAXs.

In addition to TUI Group’s selection of the efficient 787 Dreamliner and 737 MAX, TUI Group is a partner on the Boeing ecoDemonstrator 757, which is currently testing new technologies to reduce airplane carbon emissions and noise.

Videos: The Thomson Boeing 787-8.

Video: Flight review: Thomson Boeing 787-8 to Puerto Plata: This is a flight review of our Thomson Airways Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner flight to Puetro Plata (Gregorio Luperón International Airport) in the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean. We flew in economy class called “Dreamliner Class” on the Dreamliner. All footage of the journey is filmed from the economy class cabin. Our flight crew was mainly British with a Scandinavian stewardess on board too. Our Thomson Airways Dreamliner (Boeing 787-8) had registration number G-TUIA and was named “Living the Dream”. Our flight started at Copenhagen Airport in Denmark and the aircraft passengers where mainly Scandinavians (Swedish and Danish nationality). Our charter holiday trips where booked via Star Tour (name for TUI in Denmark) (Fritidsresor as TUI are called in Swedish) which is the same as TUI travel in the UK and Germany.

Copyright Photo below: Evert Keijzer Ironbird Photography/AirlinersGallery.com. Jetairfly (TUI Airlines Belgium) Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner OO-JDL (msn 34425) beautifully flies over the English Channel in the 2012 TUI livery.

Jetairfly aircraft slide show:

TUI to cut costs and services at TUIfly, TUIfly to drop its yellow airplanes

TUIfly‘s (Hannover) parent, TUI AG (TUI Group) wants to cut costs at the German airline subsidiary by 65 million euros ($88.9 million) each year by cutting back on free services for passengers and lowering staff costs according to the daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung and this report by Reuters.

The new cost savings program is called “Max Thrust”. TUIfly will expand the fleet by four new aircraft for medium-haul flights and two planes for long-haul operations according to the report.

Tuifly plans to divide its cabin into three classes from May and stop offering free newspapers, inflight entertainment and blankets according to the report.

Read the full report from Reuters: CLICK HERE

In another report by Romania-Insider.com, TUIfly is also considering moving 350 maintenance jobs to Romania in order to reduce costs.

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Paul Bannwarth/AirlinersGallery.com. TUIfly will reportedly drop its trademark yellow canary fuselages for the new TUI Group blue brand. Boeing 737-8K5 WL D-AHFY (msn 30417) lands at EuroAirport serving the Basel/Mulhouse/Freiburg area.

TUIfly: