Thomas Cook Airlines

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    Thomas Cook Selects CFM56-5B to Power New A321s In $200 Million Engine Order

    –West Chester, Ohio– Thomas Cook Group today announced that it has selected the CFM56-5B engine to power 12 Airbus A321 aircraft scheduled for delivery in 2014. The engine order is valued at more than $200 million U.S. at list price. The new airplane order was signed earlier today.

    In addition to the firm aircraft order, Thomas Cook Group also plans to lease CFM56-5B-powered A320 family aircraft from operating lessors.

    Thomas Cook Group plc is one of the worlds leading leisure travel groups and operates a total fleet of more than 90 aircraft and carries 17 million passengers each year. The fleet is split into four airlines: the UK airline, the German airline flying under the Condor brand, the Scandinavian and Belgian airlines.

    All of Thomas Cook’s new CFM56-5B engines will incorporate an engine performance improvement package. The modifications will reduce engine fuel consumption by 0.5 percent and lower maintenance costs by 1 percent.

    The CFM56-5B PIP is currently undergoing flight tests at Airbus and is schedule for certification in the second quarter 2011. Airline entry into service is planned for the third quarter 2011. The engine will maintain the same noise signature as the current production engine. These engines also meet current International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Committee of Aviation Environmental Protection standards (CAEP /6) requirements.

    CFM56-5B engines are a product of CFM International, a 50/50 joint company between Snecma (Safran group) and GE. CFM, the world’s leading supplier of commercial aircraft engines, has delivered more than 21,600 engines to date. The CFM56-5B engine powers every model of the Airbus A320 family and has been chosen to power approximately 55 percent of all A320 aircraft in service or on order.

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    Thomas Cook: Smoking Oven Causes Unanticipated Diversion to London


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Charles Cunliffe

    What: Thomas Cook Boeing 767-300 en route from Manchester to Dalaman Turkey
    Where: West of Amsterdam
    When: Aug 15 2010 8.40 am
    Who: 320 passengers
    Why: While en route over the ocean near Amsterdam, the cabin filled with smoke. The crew diverted to London where they made a safe landing. The source of the smoke was determined to be packaging in an oven. Although the smoke had dispersed, the West Sussex Fire and Rescue Emergency Services were on hand.

    The plane was routed to Manchester for a crew change before the flight could be resumed.

    George’s Point of View

    Hopefully they change out that oven along with the crew.

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    Emergency Landing in Turin


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Jim Groom

    What: Thomas Cook Boeing 757-200 en route from Turin to Birmingham International
    Where: Turin
    When: Feb 21 2010
    Who: 231 passengers
    Why: While en route, the plane developed a fuel leak, substantial enough for passengers to see it pouring out of a wing. Although the captain announced a possible bird strike, a fuel leak had been detected in the plane in an earlier flight. The flight had to turn back, and circled Turin for half an hour before making an applause-filled landing.

    The fuel leak was judged to be a bad valve, which was replaced prior to being ferried back to Birmingham.

    One wonders if the ferry flight was actually the incident involved here:
    https://airflightdisaster.com/?p=8707

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    Thomas Cook Engine Shutdown


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Gilbert Hechema

    What: Thomas Cook Airlines Boeing 757-200 en route from Leeds EN (UK) to Sharm el Sheikh Egypt
    Where: Manchester
    When: Nov 3rd 2009
    Who: not available
    Why: When an engine shut down en route, the flight diverted to Manchester for a safe landing. Passengers debarked and were provided an alternative plane.

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    Cracked Airbus Glass Delays Brussels Flight


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact Photographer Tommy Desmet

    What: Thomas Cook Airlines Airbus A320-200 en route from Brussels Belgium to Tenerife
    Where: over Bay of Biscay
    When: Aug 14th 2009
    Why: While on the way to Tenerife, the windshield of the airbus cracked. The crew declared an emergency and returned to Brussels for repairs that delayed takeoff for about 7 hours.

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    Thomas Cook Airlines Airbus Grounded for Engine Vibration


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact Photographer Karl Nixon

    What: Thomas Cook Airlines Airbus A330-200 en route from Belfast to Orlando
    Where: Norfolk
    When: Jul 10th 2009
    Who: 265
    Why: En route, an engine started vibrating and had to be shut down. The crew decided to divert to Norfolk,VA

    George’s Point of View

    Another Airbus.

    Shutting down the engine is standard operating procedure, and at the same time, it is a near fatality because the pilot had to shut down that vibrating engine while the plane was still over the Atlantic Ocean, 60 miles from land. Can you imagine what was going through this Airbus pilot’s head as he made the decision to shut down that engine? No doubt he was thinking about last month’s two latest Airbus tragedies: Air France flight 447, or perhaps the Yemenia Airlines Airbus.

    I know how overdramatic this sounds. Pilots shut down engines all of the time. it’s the very reason they fly with more than one. Just in case. Pilot training covers how to fly on the remaining engines. But this is just July 2009. Even the most well -trained Airbus pilot has last month’s story of Air France flight 447 in his mind, especially when he’s flying something that fails over the ocean.

    This Thomas Cook Flight wasn’t experiencing a subtle problem. It wasn’t some subtle, quiet control panel error that could be handled as passengers flew along blissfully unaware and uninformed. In interviews of passengers, they are quoted as describing the engine as “vibrating” or “clackity.” No doubt there were 530 sweaty palms on that plane.

    This was one of at least 5 airbus events we heard about today–and it is not in fact, even a complete listing. Hopefully at least the pilot gets serious credit for getting these people safely on the ground.

    Who in the world is going to intercede and demand that Airbuses (every model) get checked from A-Z BEFORE they take off ‘in every part of the globe’? Vero?

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    Airbus Eats Bird over Glasgow


    Contact photographer Wim Callaert
    What: Thomas Cook Airlines Airbus A330-200, en route from Glasgow,SC (UK) to Dalaman (Turkey)
    Where: Manchester
    When: May 3rd 2009
    Who: 322 passengers and 11 crew
    Why: Over Glasgow, the left hand engine apparently ingested a bird; subsequently, the plane suffered failure of the left hand engine while departing (climbing over) Glasgow, then suffered slat failure. The crew was able to shut down the engine and land in Manchester

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    Emergency Landing in Manchester

    What: Thomas Cook Airlines Flight TCX569K Airbus A320 en route from Manchester to Tenerife
    Where: touched down at Manchester Airport
    When: 12.15 pm Friday 7th November 2008
    Who: 180 passengers on board
    Why: A passenger is quoted as saying” “The captain made an announcement about the problems and the plane went silent. You could have heard a pin drop. It circled for around five minutes before landing. As soon as it did, there was a surge of chatter as everyone started talking.”

    After the engine malfunctioned just after take-off, the Airbus returned to the Manchester airport. Passengers were scheduled to leave at 17.15 pm on another plane.