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Sunclass Airlines

Sunclass Airlines A/S (formerly Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia) is a Danish charter airline that operates charter services from Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland. The company is affiliated with Ving Group, a Nordic tour operator. It was, together with Ving Group, a part of Thomas Cook Group until 23 December 2019 when Norwegian investor Petter Stordalen and Strawberry Group rebranded the company as Sunclass Airlines.[1]

Sunclass Airlines A/S
IATA ICAO Call sign
DK VKG VIKING
Founded1 January 1994; 30 years ago (1994-01-01)
(as Premiair A/S)
Commenced operations
  • 1 January 1994; 30 years ago (1994-01-01)
    (as Premiair A/S)
  • 1 May 2002; 22 years ago (2002-05-01)
    (as MyTravel Airways A/S)
  • 8 May 2008; 16 years ago (2008-05-08)
    (as Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia)
  • 1 November 2019; 5 years ago (2019-11-01)
    (as Sunclass Airlines)
Operating bases
Fleet size12
Parent company
HeadquartersCopenhagen, Denmark
Key peopleValdemar Warburg (CEO)
Websitewww.sunclassairlines.dk

The airline was originally founded in 1994 as Premiair. It was renamed MyTravel Airways in 2002 before being renamed Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia when Thomas Cook Group acquired the previous parent company MyTravel Group. In 2019, the airline was renamed Sunclass Airlines after Thomas Cook Group entered liquidation.

History

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A former Airbus A320-200 in Premiair livery

The airline's roots trace back to two airlines: Conair of Scandinavia owned by Danish Spies Group and Scanair, of the Swedish SLG - Scandinavian Leisure Group. It formed when the two charter airlines were merged and was established on 1 January 1994 as Premiair A/S.

In 1994, SLG was acquired by Airtours;[2] on 1 May 2002, the airline was renamed MyTravel Airways A/S (MyTravel Airways Scandinavia).

In May 2008, after MyTravel Group was acquired by Thomas Cook Group, the airline was renamed to Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia.[3]

On 23 September 2019, Thomas Cook Group plc went into administration and ceased trading with immediate effect after failing to secure £200 million in emergency funding. Causing the airline to initially suspend operations,[4] but has since resumed flights.[5][6] It continued to operate flights to leisure destinations, mainly in the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands, as well as some long-haul service from several bases in the Nordic countries until November 2019.[7]

On 30 October 2019, it was announced that a new investment consortium consisting of Norwegian businessman Petter Stordalen (Strawberry Group) and two private firms (Altor Equity Partners and TDR Capital) had acquired Ving Group (also known as Thomas Cook Northern Europe) from AlixPartners which handled the acquisitions of Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia, Ving, Tjäreborg and Spies and was also one of the liquidators of Thomas Cook Group.[8] Following the acquisition, Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia was renamed Sunclass Airlines and acquired a new air operator's certificate (AOC).[9][10]

While the Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia name would continue to be present to passengers including on tickets, airport signage, and aircraft liveries for an unspecified period during the rebranding process to the Sunclass Airlines name, the airline would retain Thomas Cook's original "sunny heart" logo as part of its branding.[11]

On 26 November 2019, it was announced the airline had secured its new AOC.[12]

In December 2020, just over a year since its rebrand, Sunclass unveiled a rebrand, doing away with the sunny heart logo associated with the Thomas Cook Group to make way for its own new identity.[13]

In November 2021, Sunclass Airlines announced an Airbus A330neo would be delivered in 2022 for its long-haul operations. Sunclass is also eyeing potential routes within the Airbus A330-900's range like Delhi, Newark, Toronto, Chicago, Hong Kong, and Johannesburg.[14]

Fleet

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Current

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A Sunclass Airlines Airbus A321-200 wearing the former Thomas Cook Group Airlines titles
 
Another Sunclass Airlines Airbus A321-200 with the new, post-Thomas Cook Group livery

As of May 2024, the Sunclass Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft:[15][16]

Sunclass Airlines fleet
Aircraft In
service 		Orders Passengers Notes
W Y Total
Airbus A321-200 7 — – 212 212 To be replaced by A321neo by 2030[citation needed]
Airbus A321neo 2 7 – 218 218
Airbus A330-300 1 — – 388 388 Winter configuration
396 396 Summer configuration
Airbus A330-900neo 2 2 – 373 373 Winter configuration
385 385 Summer configuration
Total 12 9

Former

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Sunclass Airlines had previously operated the following aircraft:[17][18]

Aircraft Total Introduced Retired Notes
Airbus A300B4 3 1994 2001
Airbus A320-200 20 1994 2015
Airbus A330-200 3 1999 2024
Boeing 757-200 1 2002 2003
McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 4 1995 2001
McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 1 1997 1998

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Nikel, David. "Norwegian Billionaire Invests In Thomas Cook Scandinavia, Airline To Rebrand". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-02-21.
  2. ^ "pounds 10m Danish buy takes Airtours to Finland". The Independent. 1996-02-16. Archived from the original on 2022-05-25. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  3. ^ "Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia - History". thomascookairlinesscandinavia-newsroom.condor.com. Retrieved 2019-12-15.
  4. ^ "Informasjon i forbindelse med Thomas Cooks konkurssøknad" [Information in connection with Thomas Cook's bankruptcy application]. Ving Norge (in Norwegian). 23 September 2019. Archived from the original on 23 September 2019. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  5. ^ "Thomas Cook Airline In Nordic Region To Resume Flights". MorningstarUK. Alliance News. 2019-09-24. Retrieved 2019-09-24.
  6. ^ Rohr-Staff, Siri (23 September 2019). "Vinggruppen i Norden fortsetter å investere (Translated: "The Ving Group in the Nordics continues to invest)". Ving.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2019-09-23. For our travelers, Thomas Cook Group's bankruptcy has no direct impact
  7. ^ "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-04-10. p. 54.
  8. ^ TTR Weekly (1 November 2019). "Investors rescue Thomas Cook Nordic". TTR Weekly. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  9. ^ "Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia renamed Sunclass Airlines". ch-aviation. ch-aviation GmbH. 31 October 2019. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  10. ^ Aagaard, Jan (31 October 2019). "SunClass Airlines er i luften" [SunClass Airlines in the air]. check-in.dk (in Danish). Travelmedia Nordic ApS. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  11. ^ "Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia" (in Danish). Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  12. ^ "Denmark's Sunclass Airlines secures AOC, outlines fleet plan". ch-aviation.com. 26 November 2019.
  13. ^ "Sunclass Airlines Rebrands with New Livery". airportspotting.com. 19 December 2020.
  14. ^ Jolly, Jasper (2019-11-01). "Thomas Cook brand name bought by Chinese conglomerate". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-07-19.
  15. ^ "Flyflåde" [Our Fleet]. Sunclass Airlines (in Danish). Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  16. ^ "Sunclass Airlines Fleet Details and History". www.planespotters.net. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  17. ^ "Premiair Fleet Details and History". Planespotters.net. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
  18. ^ "Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia Fleet Details and History". Planespotters.net. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
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