MICHAEL PHELAN & MARK PILLING / LONDON
European tour group's choice of aircraft likely to be one of year's largest orders
European tour operator group TUI is finalising what could turn out to be one of the year's largest orders as it looks to rationalise and update the varied fleets of its seven constituent airlines.
The TUI group comprises seven European leisure airlines with a total fleet of 96 aircraft - 75 narrowbodies and 21 widebodies - the majority of which are Boeings. The biggest members of the group are Hapag Lloyd of Germany and the UK's Britannia Airways, with the other partners being low-fare arm Hapag-Lloyd Express, Britannia Airways Sweden, France's Corsair, Neos of Italy and Poland's White Eagle Aviation.
The group is thought to have a requirement for up to 60 large narrowbodies and a significant number of widebodies, according to a senior industry source. The completion of the deal, which sources say could be finalised during 2003, will mark the culmination of a long-running fleet simplification evaluation by TUI (Flight International, 4-10 June 2002).
According to industry sources, a German/UK team led by TUI Airline Management (TUI AM) chairman and Britannia managing director Kevin Hatton is defining the group's needs. The narrowbody requirement is focused on the Airbus A321 and Boeing 737-900X and it is understood that Britannia's fleet - which includes several older 757s - has the greatest replacement need.
The Airbus A330 and Boeing 767-400ER are being evaluated for the widebody requirement, which would cover the eventual replacement of Britannia's 767s, Corsair's Boeing 747 Classics and Hapag-Lloyd's Airbus A310s.
Britannia Airways confirms that TUI AM "is in negotiations with regards to looking at replacement aircraft for its short-haul and long-haul fleets across the airlines in our group", but declines to comment on individual aircraft types under evaluation.
Meanwhile, rival leisure firm Thomas Cook Group, which has just relaunched under the unified brand, is undertaking a similar fleet-wide evaluation, but is at an earlier stage of its planning. The group comprises Belgian, German (formerly Condor) and UK (formerly JMC Airlines) divisions and Turkey's Sun Express Airlines, operating a total of 86 aircraft.
"We've made internal studies to understand our fleet requirements, and have been talking to Airbus and Boeing," says Thomas Cook Group executive vice-president airline operations Dr Rudolf Tewes. "We are in no hurry," he says, adding that the "core" of the group's initial requirements would be to replace the fleet of 25 Boeing 757-200s.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY MAX KINGSLEY-JONES
Source: Flight International
