Thomas Cook operated by Air Tanker

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Sep 13, 2016, 6:25 pm

djk7

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Thomas Cook operated by Air Tanker

I'm flying MCO-GLA in October, and and the best fare by far is from Thomas Cook operated by "Air Tanker". I've never heard of it, SeatGuru has nothing, an FT search turns up nothing. Wikipedia has a very short entry including:

Quote:

operates charter services using reserve aerial refuelling aircraft.

There are a bunch of questions I have, starting with what the interior of the aircraft looks like, and just how bad the seating is.

Anybody know any more about this?

Thanks.

Sep 13, 2016, 8:10 pm

KLouis

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Not super-helpful, but still: here.

Sep 13, 2016, 10:20 pm

Yoshi212

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Also from Wiki: "From May 2015, AirTanker leased one aircraft to Thomas Cook Airlines to be deployed on holiday routes. The contract will initially run for three years and involve mainly long haul flights from Glasgow, Manchester and London Stansted Airport. Their first commercial flight took place on 1 May 2015 from Manchester to Cancun and Punta Cana for Thomas Cook Airlines using an Airbus A330.[4]"

Sep 14, 2016, 2:28 am

oliver2002

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Interesting find. They seem to lease out their A332:
http://www.airtanker.co.uk/leasing/c...rcraft-leasing

Airfleets has G-VYGK leased out from Air Tanker to Thomas Cook: http://www.airfleets.net/ficheapp/plane-a330-1498.htm

This page has an image of it too: http://www.airtanker.co.uk/leasing

http://www.airtanker.co.uk/images/de...webbanner2.jpg

One of the spotter has figured out that its a converted MRTT:
http://www.planepictures.net/netshow.php?id=1403366

My guess the interior will be the same as the other 6 TC A330, since its operating for them exclusively since early 2015.

In this image you can still see all the MRTT equipment attached to it:
http://www.airliners.net/photo/Untit...43MRTT/2590050

Sep 14, 2016, 9:30 am

djk7

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Quote:

Originally Posted by KLouis

Not super-helpful, but still: here.

Thanks, not sure how I didn't find that, but it did have some useful info.

Quote:

Originally Posted by oliver2002

Airfleets has G-VYGK leased out from Air Tanker to Thomas Cook: http://www.airfleets.net/ficheapp/plane-a330-1498.htm

This page has an image of it too: http://www.airtanker.co.uk/leasing

My guess the interior will be the same as the other 6 TC A330, since its operating for them exclusively since early 2015.

Thanks for the links, some interesting info there. KLouis's link says Air Tanker's planes are configured in a single class all economy plus layout with 34" seat pitch. Nothing I've seen so far provides any clarity about whether this plane is using Thomas Cook's layout (31" pitch in standard econ, plus a premium econ with 35") or the standard Air Tanker layout.

EDIT: found this thread on TripAdvisor that says the plane is in Air Tanker layout, one class with good seat pitch, but not especially comfortable seats. Real info starts around page 12.

Last edited by djk7; Sep 14, 2016 at 10:08 am Reason: More info

Sep 14, 2016, 3:18 pm

mjuler

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I've been on one of the military registered AirTanker A330s and I don't think you'd find a better economy seat layout. The extra few inches of leg room make a big difference.

Sep 27, 2016, 5:14 am

blowstar

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I think your biggest issue may not be the interior fitout of the aircraft, but raucous Glaswegians who've been to Orlando for their holidays ;-)

Sep 27, 2016, 9:40 am

cyberbiker

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Did you use one of the travel search apps to find that or did you go to Thomas Cook on a tip?

For the right fare, I'll sit in a mil cargo net seat.

Sep 27, 2016, 11:50 am

djk7

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Quote:

Originally Posted by cyberbiker

Did you use one of the travel search apps to find that or did you go to Thomas Cook on a tip?

For the right fare, I'll sit in a mil cargo net seat.

This came up in Orbitz. Condor was also selling seats on the same flight.

Sep 28, 2016, 8:34 am

#10

Engines turn

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On their website, clicking on "Commercial Aircraft Leasing", then choosing "Passenger Transport" at the bottom of the page brings up a 3D model. Clicking on "Passenger Cabin" brings up a box that says their standard configuration is 0F-0J-0P-291Y in a 2-4-2 with 34" pitch. The plane has IFE and long haul catering capability.