| Airline: | JMC Air |
| Iata: | MT |
| Icao: | JMC |
| Callsign: | JMC |
| Fleet Size: | 49 |
| Founded: | |
| Ceased: | |
| Parent: | Thomas Cook AG |
| Revenue: | £438.8million (2002)[1] |
| Profit: | £4.14million (2002) |
| Num Employees: | 1,736 (2002) |
JMC Airlines Limited (also known as JMC Air, JMC Airlines or simply JMC and stylised as jmc) was a charter airline in the United Kingdom formed by the merger of Caledonian Airways and Flying Colours Airlines, following the purchase of Thomas Cook & Son by the Carlson Leisure Group. JMC Air was named after the initials of the son of Thomas Cook, John Mason Cook. The airline was rebranded and remodeled in March 2003 to Thomas Cook Airlines UK. The airline operated flights from its 6 operating bases in the UK, offering seat-only bookings and bookings via Thomas Cook Tour Operations (Thomas Cook Package Holidays).
JMC Air was initially announced in 1999, with a five year, £200m rebranding plan to join three of Thomas Cook's holiday brands Sunworld, Sunset, Inspirations and Flying Colours and Caledonian airlines.[2] JMC Air's managing director was Terry Soult who had previously served the same role with Flying Colours.[3] [4] [5] It started operating under the JMC Air name from March 2000. The main operating bases were London Gatwick Airport and Manchester Airport. Aircraft were also stationed at London Stansted Airport, Birmingham International Airport, Bristol Airport, Glasgow International Airport, Cardiff Airport and Newcastle Airport. JMC Air also operated flights from Leeds Bradford Airport.[6] At the start of operations the fleet consisted of Boeing 757-200, Airbus A320, Airbus A330-200 and McDonnell Douglas DC-10 aircraft.
Prior to launch in 1999, JMC sought to acquire Boeing's latest 757-300 aircraft which led to them becoming the first UK operator of the -300 in 2001.[7] [8] [9] [10]
In 2000, Thomas Cook was sold to C&N Touristic, a German based group backed by Lufthansa.[11] JMC Air became closely linked to Condor as a result of the acquisition.[12] During the same year, JMC faced legal action from 20 tourists who fell ill on a package holiday in Majorca.[13] By late 2001, Thomas Cook made over 550 staff redundant of which 100 were with JMC Air.[14] In November of the same year, a JMC flight from Newcastle to Tenerife was diverted due to a drunk passenger incident, which led to the passenger being arrested and jailed for four months.[15] In the same month, JMC took delivery of two leased Airbus A330-200 aircraft via CIT Aerospace and Tyco Capital. The aircraft were configured in a two class layout and powered by Rolls-Royce Trent engines. The aircraft were primarily used for long-haul operations to the Caribbean and United States.[16] [17] [18] [19]
In May 2002, it was announced JMC Air would be rebranded as Thomas Cook for summer 2003.[20] Around this time, JMC were considering a move to offer flight only bookings to compete with no-frills carriers such as Easyjet.[21] The first Thomas Cook liveried aircraft took to the skies in late 2002.[22]
A JMC Air female cabin crew uniform is part of a collection with the Science Museum in London.[23]
JMC Air's final and historical fleet prior to rebrand as Thomas Cook Airlines in March 2003.[24] [25] [26]
| In Service | Passengers | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A320-200 | 5 | 180 | |
| Airbus A330-200 | 1 | 354 | |
| Boeing 757-200 | 13 | 235 | |
| Boeing 757-300 | 2 | 280 | |
| Total | 20 |
| Total | Introduced | Retired | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A320-200 | 5 | 2000 | 2002 | G-BVYC, G-BVYA, G-BVYB re-registered to Thomas Cook Airlines Belgium G-BXKC joined Ryan International Airlines |
| Airbus A330-200 | 1 | 2002 | 2003 | G-OJMB joined Middle East Airlines |
| Boeing 757-200 | 2 | 2000 | 2002 | C-FXOO returned from lease to Canada 3000 Airlines G-JMCD joined Ryan International Airlines |
| McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 | 2 | 2000 | 2001 | G-GOKT re-registered N352WL to World Airways G-LYON was returned to the Boeing Capital |
See: Thomas Cook Airlines destinations