Richardson, Nigel Thomas Cook Airlines

Thomas Cook was founded in 1841 and developed into one of the largest and most popular tour operators in the United Kingdom. After acquiring the airline Airworld Aviation and its parent company Sunworld, the company established its own airline in 1996. JMC Airlines was founded in November 1999 and renamed Thomas Cook Airlines in 2003 as part of the company's rebranding strategy. Thomas Cook AG and MyTravel Group merged in 2007 to form Thomas Cook Airlines. The group's four regional airlines then merged in 2013 to form an airline holding company, Thomas Cook Group Airlines Ltd. This was a single operating entity that enabled the flexible exchange of aircraft and crews, thereby achieving new efficiency gains and operational savings. However, a series of financial challenges, significant losses and insurmountable debts led the Thomas Cook Group to file for compulsory liquidation on 23 September 2019. With more than 140 colour images, this book traces the history of Thomas Cook Airlines, its aircraft and its operations from 1996 to its demise in 2019. It describes how other British charter airlines eventually became part of Thomas Cook Airlines (UK) through acquisitions or mergers, and includes details of the partner airlines that became members of Thomas Cook Group Airlines Ltd.