When it comes to orange-liveried UK airlines, your first thought is probably Luton-based low-cost carrier easyJet. However, until 2008, this is a color that you could also find on British-registered aircraft in the form of MyTravel Airways. Before its merger with Thomas Cook, this carrier made its name in the leisure and charter sectors.

Early growth under the Airtours brand

MyTravel Airways can trace its roots back to the early 1990s. This was when Airtours Holidays established its own in-house carrier, known as Airtours International Airways. The airline was founded in 1990 and commenced operations on March 11th, 1991. In its early years, it served European leisure destinations using McDonnell Douglas MD-83s.

It didn't take long for the carrier to experience further growth. In November 1993, it acquired Aspro Holidays' in-house airline Inter European Airways and integrated the Cardiff-based company's operations into its own. This saw AirTours add Airbus A320s and Boeing 757s to the fleet. More A320s joined in the mid-1990s to replace the MD-83s.

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The advent of widebodies and a new name

1996 heralded the acquisition of another charter airline in the form of Denmark's Premiair. All the while, Airtours' fleet continued to grow, with widebody aircraft also coming onboard. The Airbus A330, Boeing 767, and McDonnell Douglas DC-10 allowed the airline to unlock lucrative leisure markets in destinations in the Caribbean and the US.
In February 2002, the Airtours group changed its name to MyTravel. Correspondingly, its airline also took on the MyTravel Airways name. This year, the carrier was also bestowed with the honor of being the first airline to use NATS's new air traffic control facility at Swanwick. This event concerned a flight traveling from Las Palmas to Birmingham.
A MyTravel Airways Boeing 757-225 landing in Luqa, Malta.
Photo: InsectWorld/Shutterstock.

MyTravel's passenger numbers were as high as 7.52 million annually in 2002. However, this figure had dropped to 4.38 million by 2005, after a restructuring program at its parent company saw its fleet cut by a third from 45 aircraft to 29. Among the aircraft lost to this scheme were its DC-10s, of which MyTravel was the last UK-based passenger operator.

Merger with Thomas Cook

By 2007, consolidation in the UK leisure market had become increasingly necessary. In March of that year, MyTravel Airways agreed to merge with Thomas Cook Airlines. This process was completed a year later, with MyTravel's last flight operating on March 30th, 2008. Of course, Thomas Cook itself sadly ceased operations in September 2019. A MyTravel Airways Airbus A320-231 in Luqa, Malta. During its 17 operational years, first as Airtours and then as MyTravel, the airline operated an interesting variety of aircraft. According to ch-aviation, it flew the following models:
  • Airbus - A320, A321, A330.
  • Boeing - 757, 767.
  • McDonnell Douglas - DC-10, MD-83.

Of these planes, some are currently still active. This is a list of former MyTravel aircraft that are still flying nowadays:

  • Airbus A320-200s: Of the former MyTravel Airbus A320-200 fleet, 17 are stored, scrapped, on display, and serving as a training mock-up in Mexico. Six are currently active, flying with airlines such as Fly Lili, Iran Aseman Airlines, GLOBALX, Brussels Airlines (two), and flynas.
  • Airbus A321-200s: it operated nine throughout its history. Three are currently stored, two are undergoing conversions to freighters, three are flying with Titan Airways, and one with Sunclass Airlines.
  • Airbus A330-200s: only two of the airline's six are currently active, flying with Sunclass Airlines.
  • Boeing 767-300s: all former MyTravel 767s are currently with Atlas Air. MyTravel had five aircraft of this type.
  • Boeing 757-200s: three former MyTravel 757s are currently scrapped. Six are still active flying with companies such as FedEx, DHL Air, SF Airlines, and Honeywell Aviation Services.
  • DC-10s: all are currently retired or scrapped.
  • MD-83s: two are currently flying in Mexico with Aeronaves TSM, one is flying with Iran with Zagros Airlines, and the other one is retired.

MyTravel also had a Scandinavian arm known as MyTravel Airways Scandinavia. This became Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia after the aforementioned merger. However, after Thomas Cook collapsed, it managed to carry on operating under a new name: Sunclass Airlines. It has a close affiliation with the Nordic tour operator Ving Group.

Did you ever fly with MyTravel Airways? If so, where did the airline take you, and on which aircraft? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments!

Source: ch-aviation.