Thomas Cook partners with easyJet
Thomas Cook extends regional flying programme to include Southend (above) for the first time as well as new routes from Bristol, Belfast, Edinburgh, Stansted and Luton.
Thomas Cook has today confirmed it will be the first mainstream travel company to take an allocation of seats on easyJet flights to package with its own holidays for Summer 2013. The move paves the way for a new generation of holidays designed with the changing needs of the modern holidaymaker in mind and offers customers greater flexibility and value than ever before.
Thomas Cook already operates its own fleet of 35 aircraft and while the majority of its holidays will continue to be packaged with its own Thomas Cook Airline flights, the exciting new partnership with easyJet means the travel giant will be able to offer customers greater choice, convenience and flexibility next summer with 21 local departure airports on offer and more departure dates, times and holiday durations available than before.
The partnership has also enabled Thomas Cook to extend its regional flying programme and for the first time, from 1st May 2013, it will offer six flights a week from Southend airport to Ibiza, Majorca and Mainland Spain, as well as new routes for Bristol, Belfast, Edinburgh, Stansted and Luton customers.
From Summer 2013 holidaymakers will be able to choose from over 50 destinations with Thomas Cook, with easyJet flights being used for all major destinations including Spain and its islands, Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, Malta and Italy.
Rob Thompson who is in charge of flight planning and capacity for Thomas Cook UK & Ireland’s mainstream holidays said: “Combining the best and most experienced name in travel with one of Europe’s leading airlines means holidaymakers will have more choice whilst continuing to offer excellent value for money.
“While we have been using third party airlines for many years, we are the first to work with a leading low cost carrier on this scale. In providing us with new routes, flying days and durations, the partnership is an exciting development for the industry – taking the package holiday to new heights.”
Thomas Cook’s easyJet seat allocations will only be sold as part of a package holiday and all will be fully ATOL protected like all of Thomas Cook’s other packages; Thomas Cook will not sell easyJet as flight only. As before, Thomas Cook will continue to use a mix of in-house and third party flying, including Monarch and Thomson, in order to deliver its large summer holiday programme.
