First Choice Airways Ltd. (previously Air 2000 Ltd.) was a British charter airline of European tour operator TUI Travel plc, based in Crawley, England until its merger with Thomsonfly to form Thomson Airways (today TUI Airways) in 2008. It flew to more than 60 destinations worldwide from 14 UK and Irish airports. 70% of the airline's services were operated for its parent company, rising to 85% in the summer season, with the remainder on behalf of some 120 other tour operators. It also operated scheduled year-round leisure routes to Cyprus and the resorts of Spain and Portugal.
Its hubs were Birmingham Airport, London Gatwick Airport (primary hub), and Manchester Airport. The long haul services were sold only by internal companies such as First Choice Holidays, Eclipse Direct, Sunsail, Sovereign, Hayes and Jarvis and Unijet.
The company held 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.
History
Air 2000
thumb|left|145px|Air 2000 logo
thumb|left|An Air 2000 [[Airbus A321-200 in 'Tapestry' livery taxiing at Manchester Airport in 2002]]
The airline was estabilished in 1986 and started operations on 11 April 1987, launched by the Owners Abroad Group under the name Air 2000, with two Boeing 757-200s and a flight from Manchester to Málaga. In 1998, Air 2000 parent company First Choice purchased rival tour operator Unijet for £110 million, with Unijet's in-house airline Leisure International Airways (LIA) being fully integrated in to Air 2000 in November. In 2000, additional scheduled services were introduced from eight UK airports to six major Spanish and Portuguese holiday destinations. Air 2000 received a new more colorful livery which disappeared in October 2003 when the airline changed its name to First Choice Airways.
First Choice Airways
thumb|left|A First Choice [[Boeing 757-200 in 'Starfish' livery taking off at Manchester Airport in 2005]]
The renamed airline carried 6.5 million passengers during 2002. In 2004 it announced plans to refurbish another six Boeing 767-300 aircraft to expand its long haul operations. The airline was the first in the UK to use the Boeing 777-style interior on their 767 fleet. The company had six aircraft flying long haul in 2007, in a two class layout, 63 Premium, 195 Economy. All seats featured Panasonic seat back entertainment and mood lighting in Star Class Premier. The 2005 total passenger traffic was 6.0 million.
On 23 April 2007, First Choice confirmed it was to close its bases at London Luton Airport and Cardiff from next 1 November. However, due to the merger with Thomsonfly who also operated from these airports, the combined airline would keep them.
Thomson Airways
In September 2007, parent company First Choice Holidays and TUI merged to form the large travel organisation TUI Travel. As a result, the respective airlines First Choice Airways and Thomsonfly operated under a single AOC from 1 May 2008. On 1 November 2008, the new name Thomson Airways was adopted for flight operations. The combined fleet included 75 aircraft. There was however an order of 12 new Boeing 787 aircraft.
From October 2017, Thomson Airways began operating as TUI Airways.
In-flight services
First Choice Airways could include a three course meal pre-ordered for the flight; on First Choice-operated flights it was free of charge if the flight was a long haul flight, if the passengers had booked a Premier Holiday. In addition the airline offered drinks, snacks, and sandwiches for purchase as part of a buy on board programme.
Corporate affairs
thumb|right!First Choice House in 2005
The head office was located in the First Choice House in Crawley, West Sussex. When First Choice was an independent airline, 450 employees worked there. After the merger with Thomsonfly, TUI moved employees out. The final 70-80 employees were relocated to the former Air 2000 offices at Gatwick Airport.
Fleet
Final fleet
The First Choice fleet included the following aircraft (at May 2008):
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:0.5em auto; text-align:center"
|+ Air 2000 and First Choice Airways fleet
|-
!Aircraft
!In <br> service
!Orders
!Passengers
!Notes
|-
|Airbus A320-200
|7
|—
|180
|Few wet lease to Skyservice Airlines for winter season
|-
|Airbus A321-200
|6
|—
|218
|
|-
|Boeing 757-200
|20
|—
|233
|Few wet lease to Skyservice Airlines for winter season
|-
|Boeing 767-300ER
|8
|—
|258
|2x ex Leisure International Airways
|-
|Boeing 787-8
|—
|12
|<abbr title="To Be Announced">TBA</abbr>
|Orders transferred to Thomson Airways.
|-
!Total
!41
!12
!colspan=2|
|-
|}
Aircraft orders
The airline would have been the UK launch customer for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, having placed a firm order for six aircraft in February 2005, with an option for a further six. In December 2006, the airline announced the purchase of a further two 787 Dreamliners, taking its order to eight aircraft. In March 2007 First Choice Airways announced it was converting all four remaining options to orders, bringing the total to 12 aircraft.
Although planned to enter service in summer 2009, delays to the Boeing 787 programme meant that First Choice Airways would not have been able to introduce the aircraft to the fleet until 2011. Each Boeing 787-8 would have replaced a Boeing 767-300 on long haul routes as they were delivered. The deliveries were expected to take around two years, with six aircraft expected to be based at Manchester Airport and the remainder based at London Gatwick Airport.
The 2008 merger with Thomsonfly meant the newly formed airline, Thomson Airways, inherited the orders and was the UK launch customer. Following the delays in Boeing's development programme, the airline began flights with its first 787 in June 2013
Gallery
Air 2000 first livery
<gallery mode="packed">
File:Boeing 757-225, Air 2000 AN0677286.jpg|Boeing 757-225
File:Boeing 737-3Q8, Air 2000 AN0350376.jpg|Boeing 737-3Q8
</gallery>
Air 2000 second livery
<gallery mode="packed">
File:204aw - Air 2000 Boeing 767-300, G-OOAN@SZG,25.1.2003 - Flickr - Aero Icarus.jpg|Boeing 767-300
File:Boeing 757-225, Air 2000 AN0139735.jpg|Boeing 757-225
File:Airbus A321-211, First Choice Airways JP6301897.jpg|Airbus A321
</gallery>
First Choice Airways
<gallery mode="packed">
File:First Choice Boeing 767-324ER; G-OOBK@MAN;15.05.2011 597an (5740462271).jpg|Boeing 767-324ER
File:Boeing 757-236, First Choice Airways AN1608671.jpg|Boeing 757-236
File:Airbus A321-211, First Choice Airways AN1018728.jpg|Airbus A321
File:First Choice Airways Airbus A320 Simon.jpg|Airbus A320
</gallery>
See also
- List of defunct airlines of the United Kingdom
References
- United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority Statistics of passengers carried by UK. Airlines 2002 and 2005 (Tables 1.6.0)
External links
- [Dead Link]
- Official website (Archive)