MyTravel Airways

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It has been suggested that MyTravel Airways A/S be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)
MyTravel Airways UK
IATA
VZ		 ICAO
MYT		 Callsign
KESTREL
Founded 1990 (Airtours International)
Hubs Belfast, Birmingham, Glasgow, London Gatwick, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham East Midlands
Fleet size 31 (combined with A/S)
Destinations 45-85 (dependent on season)
Parent company MyTravel Group PLC
Headquarters Manchester, United Kingdom
Key people Frank Pullman (Managing Director), Steve Soloman (Director of Flight Operations), Martin Mahoney (Chief Pilot)
Website: http://www.mytravel.co.uk/
MyTravel Airways A/S
IATA
DK		 ICAO
VKG		 Callsign
VIKING
Founded 1965 (Conair) / 1994 (Premiair)
Hubs Copenhagen Airport, Stockholm Arlanda Airport, Oslo Airport
Fleet size 35 (combined with UK)
Destinations 45-85 (dependent on season)
Parent company MyTravel Group PLC
Headquarters Copenhagen, Denmark
Key people
Website: http://www.mytravelairways.com/

MyTravel Airways is the in-house charter airline of the MyTravel Group of companies. The airline is split into two parts, one serving the UK and the other serving the Scandinavian market.

In the UK, the airline is based in Manchester, England and operates flights to over 60 worldwide holiday destinations from 24 UK airports, mainly for parent company MyTravel Group. Flight crew are permanently based at Manchester, Belfast, Birmingham, Nottingham East Midlands, Glasgow, London Gatwick and Newcastle airports, with additional crew seasonally based at Bristol, Dublin, Cardiff, Leeds Bradford and Liverpool John Lennon airports.

The airline's main hub is Manchester Airport and all flights to all destinations that MyTravel offer are available from Manchester.

The UK division of the airline was formerly known as Airtours International Airways

In Scandinavia, the airline is based in Copenhagen, Denmark and also operates flights from Aalborg, Billund, Sandefjord, Stavanger, Trondheim, Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmo, Linkoping, Oslo, Helsinki, Bergen and other bases.

Both airlines operate charter flights for sports events and trips such as Easter flights to Lourdes and Christmas flights to Lapland. MyTravel Airways is also the airline of choice for Arsenal Football Club and operates charter services on their behalf.

MyTravel Airways Limited holds a United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority Type A Operating Licence permitting it to carry passengers, cargo and mail on aircraft with 20 or more seats.[1]

MyTravel Airways have a virtual airline: MyTravel Virtual - http://www.mytravelvirtual.com. This virtual airline mimics the real airlines flights worldwide and is newly reopened this year and is now a part the the FlyUK group.

Contents

[edit] History

The airline was established on October 1, 1990 and started operations on March 11, 1991 as Airtours International Airways flying MD80s to destinations throughout Europe. Cardiff based Aspro Holidays and their inhouse airline; Inter European Airways were acquired and integrated in November 1993. In 1996 the parent company also acquired Danish charter airline Premiair. Airtours also had operations in Germany with airline FlyFTi operating A320s until this was merged back into the UK fleet during 2003.

In the 1990s Airtours added long haul capabilities, with the addition of the B767 and DC10, flying holiday makers to destinations including the Caribbean and the USA. More Airbus aircraft joined the fleet during the 90s with A320s, A321s and A330s accompanying the fleet of B757s, B767s and DC10s. The A330-200 aircraft delivered to Airtours in 1999 feature improved passenger amenities over the old long haul aircraft and offer Premium Economy cabins in the form on Premiair Gold in the UK and Royal SunClass in Scandinavia, something the B767 and DC-10 did not offer.

On 27th January 2002, Airtours International became the first airline to use the new Swanwick Air Traffic Centre, as flight AIH550 from Las Palmas to Birmingham was handed over to the new facility.

Following the renaming of the Airtours Group to MyTravel Group in February 2002, the Airtours International and Premiair operations were rebranded as MyTravel Airways UK and A/S with effect from May 1, 2002.

In common with airlines worldwide, Airtours/MyTravel saw a reduction in customers due to the effects of September 11, 2001. Official statistics from the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority (see reference below) indicate that the number of passengers carried by MyTravel Airways UK increased from 7.21 million in 2001 to 7.52 million in 2002. However, the figure dropped to 4.38 million in 2005, due to the number of aircraft being reduced from 45 in early 2001 to 29 in 2005, as part of the restructuring of the wider MyTravel Group. The summer 2007 fleet will consist of 33 aircraft with the arrival of one Airbus A320 from Thomas Cook Airlines and one A321 from First Choice Airways.

MyTravel Airways has connections with Canadian operator, Skyservice. The airlines lease aircraft to each other to meet demand during each country's summer seasons.

MyTravel Airbus A320-200 taking off
MyTravel Airbus A320-200 taking off

In late 2004 the last of the McDonnell Douglas DC10s were withdrawn from service. My Travel was the last British airline to operate DC10s.

In December 2005, MyTravel Aircraft Engineering (MTAE) became a wholly owned subsidiary of MyTravel Group PLC, based at Manchester Airport. The facility performs all light maintenance checks (up to 'C' Check) for MyTravel Airways UK and A/S as well as work for third party airlines such as Skyservice Canada.

MyTravel Aircraft Engineering Caribbean, part of MTAE has bases throughout the Caribbean in Cancun, Cozumel, Montego Bay and Sanford. It handles more then 3500 flight for over 40 airlines a year.

In 1995, the airline began offering pre-bookable seats, meal choices and duty free on its flights - a practise that was subsequently adopted by many other UK charter airlines.

MyTravel Group PLC and KarstadtQuelle (owner of Thomas Cook) have announced a merger agreement which will see the two companies as one by June 2007. The company will be quoted on the London Stock Exchange as 'Thomas Cook Group PLC' however no details have been released as to whether MyTravel Airways will become Thomas Cook Airlines or the two brands will continue to operate separately.

[edit] MyTravelLite

In October 2002, MyTravel Airways launched its scheduled low-fare airline offering called MyTravelLite which used MyTravel Airways aircraft, personnel and engineering. It flew from Birmingham to Alicante, Almería, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Belfast, Faro, Geneva, Gran Canaria, Ibiza, Knock, Lanzarote, Mahon, Málaga, Murcia, Palma, Paris, Pisa, Rimini and Tenerife.

MyTravelLite stopped flying on the 31st October 2005 and operations are were covered by the range of MyTravel Airways services. However, this meant that customers could no longer book one way flights and they are tied to 3, 4, 7, 10, 11, 14, 18, 21 or 28 night stays.

MyTravelLite was relaunched in November 2006, and will be able to fully utilise the MyTravel Group fleet of aircraft and offer one way and return flights to all major European charter destinations.

[edit] Destinations

MyTravel Airbus A321 awaiting departure from Malta Luqa Airport
MyTravel Airbus A321 awaiting departure from Malta Luqa Airport

Most flights for MyTravel Group Tour Operators are operated by MyTravel Airways as their in-house airline, however, some niche routes to Greece for example, are outsourced to third parties. All routes to Canada are operated by MyTravel Airways on behalf of specialist Canadian Affair.

List of MyTravel Airways destinations (some destinations operate seasonally): [1]:

[edit] United Kingdom

[edit] European

[edit] North Africa

[edit] Worldwide

*^Denotes Operated By MyTravel Airways A/S Only

[edit] MyTravel Around The World

MyTravel Airways UK operated a round-the-world charter flight from Manchester with an A330 during February/March 2007, calling at ten cities.

MyTravel Airways A/S will operate a round-the-world service on the 18 April 2007, stopping at Stockholm, Niagara Falls, San Francisco, Hawaii, Fiji, Sydney, Great Barrier Reef, Ho Chi Minh City, Chiang Mai and Oman. The tour will last 21 days using an A330-343.

[edit] Recline

MyTravel Airways Recline Magazine, February 2007
MyTravel Airways Recline Magazine, February 2007

Launched in May 2004, Recline is the quarterly magazine for passengers, replacing its predecessor; 'VIP'. Each issue includes interviews with celebrities, destination guides, fleet information, route maps, health tips, holiday information, and "Shop Floor" - the duty free guide.

[edit] Fleet

The MyTravel Airways (UK) fleet includes the following aircraft (at March 2007) [2] :

The average age of the UK fleet is 8.5 years.

The MyTravel Airways A/S fleet includes the following aircraft (at August 2006) [2]

[edit] Gallery

MyTravel Airbus A320-200 Landing

MyTravel Airbus A320-200 Pushing Back At Manchester Airport (MAN/EGCC)

MyTravel Airbus A321-200 and A320-200 On The Ground In Fuerteventura (FUE/GCFV)

MyTravel Boeing 767 at Thiruvananthapuram (AKA Trivandrum) International Airport (TRV/VOTV)

[edit] Awards

  • FlightOnTime.info Most Punctual UK Charter Airline - Summer 2006
  • FlightOnTime.info Most Improved UK Charter Airline for Punctuality - Summer 2006
  • CAA Air Transport Users Council - Most Punctual UK Charter Airline - Winter 2005/2006
  • CAA Air Transport Users Council - Highest On Time Performance of any Analysed UK Charter Airline
  • FlightOnTime.info Most Improved UK Charter Airline for Punctuality - Summer 2005
  • Danish Travel Awards - Best Charter Airline - 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.mytravel.com/flights
  2. ^ a b Flight International, 3-9 October 2006
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See also Defunct airlines of the United Kingdom

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[edit] Bibliography

  • Civil Aviation Authority UK Airline Statistics for 2001 and 2005; total passengers carried by UK airlines. Table 0.1.6
  • Air-Britain Airline Fleets 2001 London, 2001. ISBN 0 85130 296 3.
  • Air-Britain Airline Fleets 2005 London, 2005. ISBN 0 85130 357 9.
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