Max Kingsley-Jones/LONDON
The European Commission's decision to approve the tour operator merger of Thomas Cook and the Carlson Leisure Group is likely to result in further consolidation of the UK charter market in the next 18 months.
Another major charter airline link-up could follow the merger of Air 2000's parent First Choice and Switzerland's Kuoni.
Flying Colours, the airline arm of the UK's Thomas Cook, looks set to follow the recent integration of charter airline Airworld by swallowing up Carlson's Caledonian Airways. Thomas Cook says it "wants to integrate the two airlines as soon as possible" and has named Flying Colours boss Terry Soult, who took over when chairman Errol Cossey departed last month, to head up the two carriers' combined operations.
Together, the two airlines will become one of the largest charter operators in Europe, with a combined fleet of 32 aircraft and annual traffic of 2.5 million passengers. Between them, they operate 11 Airbus A320s, two A321s, one Boeing 737-200, six Boeing 757s, 10 Lockheed L-1011 TriStars and two McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30s.
The two brands will remain separate this year, but Soult's first task is to select a single management team, based in Manchester, to run the combined business, with a view to full integration for the summer 2000 season.
No final decision has been taken on the identity to be adopted by the combined operation, but the Flying Colours brand is thought the most likely candidate. However, Thomas Cook is known to be finalising a company-wide rebranding, which could influence any decision on the airline division.
Meanwhile, the merger agreement between First Choice and Kuoni sets up the prospect of Air 2000 becoming the UK's third pan-European charter airline grouping, after Airtours and Britannia. The link brings Kuoni's small in-house airline, Edelweiss Air, into Air 2000's orbit. First Choice expects the merger to enable it to "improve aircraft utilisation, load factors and expand the airline fleet across Europe".
Kuoni set up Zurich-based Edelweiss in 1995 and holds a 33% stake. The airline is in the process of replacing its Boeing MD-80 fleet with three Airbus A320s. Air 2000, meanwhile, is finalising the integration of UK charter airline Leisure International Airways, a merger that resulted from First Choice's acquisition of LIA's parent, Unijet, last year.
Source: Flight International
