Defunct charter airline of the United Kingdom (1987–2008)
First Choice Airways
IATA
ICAO
Callsign
DP
FCA
JETSET
Founded
11 April 1987; 37 years ago (1987-04-11) (as Air 2000)
Commenced operations
2004; 20 years ago (2004)
Ceased operations
1 November 2008; 15 years ago (2008-11-01) (merged with Thomsonfly to form Thomson Airways)
Hubs
Birmingham
London–Gatwick
Manchester
Secondary hubs
Belfast–International
Bristol
East Midlands
Exeter
Glasgow
London–Stansted
Focus cities
Cardiff
Cork
Dublin
Edinburgh
Leeds/Bradford
Fleet size
29
Destinations
See List of First Choice Airways destinations
Parent company
First Choice Group plc
Headquarters
Crawley, West Sussex, England
Key people
Christine Browne - Managing Director
Website
firstchoice.co.uk/flights
First Choice Airways Limited was a British charter airline of European tour operator TUI Travel PLC, based in Crawley, England until its merger with Thomsonfly to form Thomson Airways (now TUI Airways) in 2008. It flew to more than 60 destinations worldwide from 14 UK and Irish airports.[1] 70% of the airline's services were operated for its parent company, rising to 85% in the summer season, with the remainder on behalf of some 120 other tour operators. It also operated scheduled year-round leisure routes to Cyprus and the resorts of Spain and Portugal.
Its hubs were Birmingham Airport, London Gatwick Airport (primary hub), and Manchester Airport. The long haul services were sold only by internal companies such as First Choice Holidays, Eclipse Direct, Sunsail, Sovereign, Hayes and Jarvis and Unijet. The airline also operated luxury 'Around The World' flights each winter on behalf of TCS Expeditions. [citation needed]
The company held a United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority Type A Operating Licence, permitting it to carry passengers, cargo and mail on aircraft with 20 or more seats.[2]
^"Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 3 April 2007. p. 82.
^"Page not found - UK Civil Aviation Authority". Caa.co.uk. Retrieved 9 November 2018. {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
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