Thomas Cook To Base New Airline In Majorca

Travel group Thomas Cook will launch a new airline in Spain, with its first flight expected early next year.

Thomas Cook Airlines Balearics, which will operate under its own Air Operator Certificate, will be based on the Spanish holiday island of Majorca. It will initially operate three Airbus A320 aircraft flying European leisure routes, mostly to Germany.

“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,” Thomas Cook Group’s chief airline officer Christoph Debus said.

The announcement follows a recent seven-year deal with Canada’s Air Transat for the seasonal exchange of aircraft to help balance demand for aircraft in the European and Canadian leisure travel markets.

Thomas Cook Group airlines operate 94 aircraft, flying 16.7 million passengers each year. Palma de Majorca is the group’s most popular destination, with over a million passengers flying there annually on its airlines.