Thomson Airways
Thomson Airways is the airline for Thomson and First Choice. It is the UK’s third largest airline and was formed by the merger of Thomsonfly and First Choice Airways in 2008. It employs over 5,000 people in the UK and Ireland, including approximately 760 pilots and 2,800 cabin crew.
The airline can trace its roots back to 1962 when it was founded as Euravia Ltd – then changing its name to Britannia Airways. In 2005, Britannia became ThomsonFly. First Choice Airways launched in 1987 as Air 2000.
Thomson Airways operates flights from 20 regional UK airports, and carries over five million passengers a year to 88 holiday destinations across the globe.
From 1st May 2013, Thomson Airways will operate Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner – the first UK airline to do so. It will operate from four regional airports – London Gatwick, Manchester, East Midlands and Glasgow on some of the airline’s routes to Sanford, Florida and Cancun, Mexico. Customers will enjoy a smoother, quieter and more comfortable flying experience in the Thomson 787 Dreamliner Economy Club and Premium Club cabins.
The airline has also invested substantially in the Boeing 737-800NG aircraft, with an order for 24 to be completed by April 2014 (14 have been delivered as of April 2012).
Thomson Airways has an extremely efficient fleet. The average CO2 emissions per passenger kilometre for 2009/10 was 75g, against an industry average of 90-110g per passenger kilometre.