Thomas Cook integrates its airlines
From 1st March 2013, Condor – the Thomas Cook airline brand in Germany, Thomas Cook Airlines UK and Thomas Cook Airlines Belgium will come together as one airline segment within the Group, sharing knowledge and skills to meet the ever-changing needs of customers as well as improved efficiencies.
A new Group Airline Management Board will lead the new structure, chaired jointly by Christoph Debus, Group head of air travel and Ralf Teckentrup, ceo, Condor. The Board will also include Torben Østergaard, ceo Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia, Paul Horstink, head of group maintenance and Nikolaus Kirner, procurement director, Thomas Cook Group.
Group head of air travel and lead spokesperson for the Group Airline, Christoph Debus, said: “As we strive to meet the needs of our customers by offering greater flexibility, better choice, high touch service, on time performance and real value, at a time when the European airline industry is experiencing major change, we believe that our airline will be stronger as one integrated business.”
The new Group Airline Management Board will be further strengthened by the appointment of Cor Vrieswijk, who will join Thomas Cook as the new chief operating officer of Thomas Cook Airlines UK from March 1st 2013. In addition to this UK specific role, he will coordinate and oversee all operational activities across Thomas Cook Airlines as part of his wider remit.
Cor brings a wealth of industry experience, having worked at KLM, Transavia and more recently as coo of easyJet where he oversaw the successful integration of GB-airways during a very challenging period for the airline industry. He was also the interim CEO of Air Malta before taking his current consultancy role using his industry experience to advise on a variety of projects in the airline sector.
Commenting on his appointment Christoph said: “As we welcome Cor and the valuable insight he brings, we must also thank Frank Pullman, who is retiring from Thomas Cook Airlines UK as managing director, on 1st March, 2013. I’d like to thank Frank and we wish him all the best for the future.
“I would also like to thank our airline teams across Europe for the hard work and commitment they have shown as we’ve worked towards this important milestone and together build a stronger future for the Thomas Cook Group.”
Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia, which currently operates a different business model, will work closely with the new Group airline, coordinating across all functional areas, whilst exploring ways to integrate more fully in the medium term.
